Macao and a city within

Having enjoyed a week of bliss in Hong Kong at a cousinrsquos place inside the quiet university campus I feel like doing something crazy So three of us incidentally all journos who all happen to be in Hong Kong around the same time hitch up and catch a morning ferry from the Hong Ferry Terminal Our destination the Venetian MacaoResort Hotel mdash home to the biggest casino in Asia The Venetian MacaoResort Hotel in Macao Each of the hotelrsquos four blocks has 20 floors and each floor has over 100 suites of varying sizes AFP Photo Itrsquos early February and the weather is still chilly So a few sips of wine at 8 am mind you does us a world of good The terminal is a miniairport with its checkin lounge and the immigration counters We breeze through On board there is breakfast and free beer as well In 30 minutes we reach the Taipa terminal Macao and Taipa are twin islands connected by a bridge and a sedan is waiting to take us to the Venetian We feel rich On the way our driver tells us what we already know ldquoThis is a big hotelrdquo Oh yeah ldquoWe are from Indiardquo we shoot back ldquoOur cities are bigger that your country so we know what big is ldquoThe driver just smiles u00a0Soon we know why The casino at The Venetian MacaoResort Hotel AFP Photo A hotel or a town Is the Venetian big It has 3000 suites mdash it is an allsuites hotel It has lobbies on all four corners We enter through the West Lobby and are promptly presented with a map of the hotel A map We are told this is essential to keep ourselves from getting lost The hotel is divided into districts and road signs help me find my way to the Marco Polo District and then onto St Markrsquos Square My suite is on the 15th floor of the North Block overlooking the golf course Each of the four blocks has 20 floors and each floor has over 100 suites of varying sizes The Royal Suite where I am staying is around 1000 square feet in size about the same size as my entire apartment in Mumbai The gondola at the Venetian MacaoResort Hotel PicDhiman Chattopadhyay And this is one of the smaller suites Is the Venetian big You bet u00a0I am already done with breakfast but a few cold cuts and fruits will do me no harm A wise man once advised me to have my calories in the morning so I can use up the energy during the day I listen to wise counselu00a0 But pretty soon pushed by my friends who it seems want to buy out every shop we head to the third level of the hotel which houses over 350 stores among them some of the bestknown brands from the world of fashion From Zara and Fendi to LV Armani Prada and Chopard mdash they are all vying for attention ldquoHahrdquo I tell myself ldquoThis is like Palladiumrdquo No but it isnrsquot I pick up an Armani watch for myself and a Zara jacket for my wife and it costs me a little over half the price I would pay in Mumbai ldquoImport dutiesrdquo whispers my friend I get it u00a0ldquoQuick Pick up a few more stuffrdquo a voice whispers in my ear But nohellipI am convinced by that other voice which says ldquoSave it Use it in the casino and get richrdquo Damnu00a0 Chinese tourists at the ruins of St Paul the facade of what was originally the Cathedral of St Paul in Macao The ruins are one of the former Portugese colonyrsquos most famous landmarks AFP Photo I look up for divine intervention Itrsquos 1 pm but therersquos something wrong with the sky Itrsquos already pale blue as if the sunrsquos about to set It takes me a while to figure out that the entire sky all around the hotel is artificial This is to ensure that all through the day and night it is always the right time to shop Eat and party sip a drink or just go gamble Itrsquos lunchtime and as we walk along food street we reach a Portuguese restaurant called Madeira on St Markrsquos Square A gondola with a singing oarsman goes past on his way to the ldquoBridge of Sighsrdquo Yes Venice recreated brick by brick inside the old Portuguese colony of Macao Thank god they didnrsquot recreate the floods too The food is superb and by the time I am done with the roast lamb and the chicken I am sleepy I head for my suite since this is perhaps the only sleep I am going to get all night The bed is king size since I am alone I try sleeping in all possible angles and for some reason there are two giant plasma TVs in the room I dream of pocketing millions at the casino Till my friends ring the bell and wake me up A glimpse of old Macao We head out to the city for there is a lot more to Macao than the hotels The old town in fact is fascinating If we were here for a day more we would have in hindsight spent an entire day here Dotting the narrow cobbled pathways are old Portuguese homes and a host of familyrun restaurants mdash some dating back to Macaorsquos colonial past while others set up by immigrants from mainland China who have come here in search of business We walk into a join that serves ChinesePortuguese fusion food and the meal of braised pork and Chinese greens goes down surprisingly well with a bottle of Portuguese shiraz u00a0Right next door is Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro the main downtown thoroughfare in the southwestern part of the city This is a popular shopping area and we do the touristy thing by picking up a few curios Next we drive down to the Monte Fort one of the bestpreserved forts in Macao While it can be seen from the main town square we walk up to the ruins of St Paulrsquos right next to the Fort The St Paulrsquos Church we are told was devastated by fire in 1835 The city has a few modern landmarks too and our local guide insists that we see the Macao Tower It was designed by Gordon Moller a famous architect of New Zealand The construction was finished in December 2001 at the 2nd year anniversary of Macaorsquos freedom from the Portuguese Apparently one million people to visit this 1000foot high tower every year We get up on the Observation Deck and the view is super a panoramic view of the Peal River Delta the Macao Peninsula and the nearby islands Gamblerrsquos den Back at the hotel our selfrestraint finally gives out Spread across 5000 square metres the casino here is teeming with people sitting or standing at each of the few thousand tables and slot machines Itrsquos nearing midnight After warming up with a few slot machine games and winning a princely sum of 11 HK dollars Rs 77 I find myself at the roulette table simply because the minimum bet here is just HK25 Rs 175 Soon however I realise that one really has a slim chance in guessing the correct number here the dice is rolled on the roulette and one has to bet on any number from 1 to 36 hoping that the dice will stop at the chosen number Poorer by Rs 700 but wiser I make a dignified escape to the baccarat table at the other end of the hall Here the minimum bets are higher HK100 for a single chip but the game is simpler The banker lays the cards on the table and then a machine shuffles them for all the contestants I lay my chips on the table and pray that my three cards add up to a higher number than those of the banker Simple right So I think too when I begin winning Within an hour I amass a thousand dollars Rs 7000 I am tempted to go get some sleep But no itrsquos that voice again And that pretty woman smiling at me from the other end of the table is not helping At 2 am when I call it a day my winnings are down to a measly Rs 750 and the lady with the thousand watt smile has vanished probably with someone who has won a few hundred thousand more than me Wiser but poorer I bring out the crumpled map from my pocket I do need directions for the onekm walk back to my room even if itrsquos all inside the hotel En route I spot my friends singing badly out of tune and taking a gondola ride I hop on Singing improves your mood they say I give it a try We hop off at the North District which is the closest to our rooms But all that gambling has made us hungry We find a dim sum shop and grab some food On the walk back to the elevator lobby we pass dozens of people sleeping against their suitcase ldquoThey missed the last ferry back to Hong Kong All the rooms are booked so they are sleeping it off here They will take the morning ferries backrdquo says an old timer who has missed the last boat more than once A fivestar resort that allows people to sleep it off inside ldquoSure itrsquos large enough a place Why do you think the rooms are priced so reasonably Because no one stays in the suites at all hererdquo laughs another man in a black suit We paid a mere 500HK Rs 3500 for the suite the size of my flat in Mumbai In India any room this large in a hotel as luxurious as this one would have cost nothing less than Rs 20000 and probably I am being moderate Ah well I still won a little enough to pay for my next meal in Hong Kong before we catch the flight back to Mumbai And so what if Msthousandwatts has vanished I am just happy to finally plonk into bed Bliss Make it happen Getting there Most leading airlines including a few Indian carriers fly daily from Mumbai to Hong Kong You can fly to Macao from HK but take the ferry for a nicer experience What to see The Venetian Macao is a landmark in itself and you can easily spend 24 hours seeing sights inside the hotel But do head out to the city for a glimpse of colonial Macao and its Portuguese heritage as also the local Oriental culture Donrsquot miss seeing the Monte Fort the ruins of St Pauls the A Ma temple or the tower And yes get a taste of local hospitality as you hop around and try some local grubu00a0