Taipa Village on Taipa Island
After yesterday’s long night this day started late (today’s first picture has a timestamp similar to the timestamp of yesterday’s last picture) and was all over slow-motion, which was partly due to the unmerciful sun, partly due to the aftermath of the night.
The Macau Special Administration Region (MSAR) does not only comprise of Macau proper, which actually is a peninsula, but also of two islands, Taipa and Coloane. These two former islands are nowadays connected by ‘reclaimed land’ and form just one island, which in turn is connected to Macau peninsula by 3 long bridges.
AM_20070703_152709.jpg: Taipa village has a number of nicely restored Portuguese houses and streets along some streets. Here a restaurated house on Rua Correla da Silva.
AM_20070703_153400.jpg: 2 views into small side lanes, this one off Travessa da Esperança,…
AM_20070703_153914.jpg: …this one off Rua do Cunha.
AM_20070703_153438.jpg: Some square, probably Largo das Virtudes (remember: Largo=square, not lake ;), but I just liked these three small houses in different pastel colors. But again…I would not like to live in them.
AM_20070703_170205.jpg: Later, on the way back, on Avenida Direita Carlos Eugénio, nothing special, just a nice enseble, though a bit worn.
AM_20070703_154852.jpg: Our Lady of Carmel, a nice neo-classical church from 1885 on top a small hill in Taipa. I didn’t find a way in, which is unusual as all other churches are open. But it certainly still is a nice wedding photo motive. We come back to that…
AM_20070703_161111.jpg: Right in front of the church, which you still see in the back of this picture, is a small but nice landscape garden.
AM_20070703_165424.jpg: Old and new: Opposite of the church, across the square, a small building in the same style as the church. And in the back the new high-rise residential buildings of Taipa. Make up your mind yourself what you think is nicer…
AM_20070703_161228.jpg: Oh yea…and then there was this…this…this thing. It is just colossally big. It is probably not outright ugly, but it stands there just alone and occupies the horizon. You can’t take your eyes off. It’s just…I don’t know…just so completely unsuitable.
AM_20070703_161829.jpg: Back to the weddings…or more correctly: To wedding-photo taking. I gave a slightly biased introduction the day before already at Penha Chapel. Here you see it in action, unfortunately in the shadow…don’t know why: Throwing of the bride’s flower bouquet to ‘all non-married women’, which just happens to be…
AM_20070703_161951.jpg: …4 young ladies, dressed up for the photo shooting in similar dresses matching the brides’ dress’ style. Watch the bride’s shoes! It is photo shooting, not the wedding, so she can easily walk around in sport shoes.
AM_20070703_162807.jpg: Ach ja…these houses in the background are actually mini museums free of charge, the Taipa Houses-Museum. Some just had less interesting pictures and exhibits. But one is refurbished with interior fitting to the original style.
AM_20070703_163817.jpg: In front of the 4 museum houses is a cobbled lane and some chairs and tables, inviting for a break. And apparently for another famous Chinese photo shooting event: Tourist pictures. Chinese have this funny habbit of taking pictures of themselves one by one (rarely in a group, and if in a group then only in addition after the single pictures). That usually happens at some kind of sightseeing hot spot with a nice background. But here I was stunned: This group took pictures of their group members one by one just sitting on this char at a cafe table. In the background was nothing safe for a kisk both and an advertisment. It must be added that during all my Macau stay I was glad not to see thousands of souvenir booths and people offering the same kitsch on the street. So it was actually kinda difficult to have a kiosk as a picture background. If these guys would have at least turned around and have taken the museum houses as a backdrop. But they didn’t. Someone must have noticed that I took this picture here. A lady later walked over, sat on one chair at the next table, her photographer said something, and she moved to another table, even a little closer to me, and there they made picture with the photographer standing in front of both of us. I guess I am intentionally part of these pictures. I tried not too look too silly. But they didn’t say anything.
AM_20070703_174702.jpg: On the way back two pictures out of the public bus while crossing the middle of the 3 bridges connecting Macau and Taipa island. Here a look back at the modern waterfront of Taipa.
AM_20070703_174827.jpg: This is a lot of blue nothing, dotting with a single ship and the northern-most bridge (Porte de Amizade = Friendship Bridge) dividing the sea from the horizon.
Taipa is said to have a lot of restaurants. The main restaurant street, Rua do Cunha, has however again only Chinese eateries and some snack shops, nothing inviting, and nothing with an English or at least a Portuguese menu. I had, however, seen one or two viable other options in the streets. But my problem was that I for a reason unknown to me I had run out of cash. And the only one ATM I could find did not give me any money. So I returned to Macau, where the next ATM was announcing right on the main menu that cash withdrawal is unavailable, and the third ATM again did not give me money on my Maestro Card. Hm…I finally used my Visa Credit card to fetch money. An expensive option, but at least I had cash again. A day later in Tapei I still couldn’t get money with the Maestro card…what’s wrong with it? It had worked with the HSBC on Macau Airport…
Today’s Lesson: There’s something wrong with my Maestro card…running out of limit?
Categories: AsiaMacau
Originally Created: 07/04/2007 04:50:58 PM
Last Edited: 07/04/2007