Next day we ate a hearty breakfast in the club lounge then headed down to the pool. We hadn't intended to start the day with a swim, but there were supposed to be thunderstorms in the afternoon, so we thought we better swim while we had the chance. The pool was less crowded than the day before, so it was very pleasant.
Peter in the pool.
Peter in the pool.
After the swim, I had a couple of hours to explore before afternoon tea. I decided to take a bus to the barrier gate, where Macau meets Mainland China, then walk to Sun Yat Sen Park. Many buses go to the barrier gate. I took bus number one from just outside our hotel. Every bus journey in Macau costs six patacas, which is very handy as it is not necessary to look up the fare.
It's been many years since I have been in this area. I've been on previous visits to Sun Yat Sen Park and on a visit where we crossed through the barrier gate and went into Zhuhai in Mainland China. If I remember this area accurately, then it has certainly changed.
For a start the bus terminated in a massive underground bus station. I am sure it used to terminate at street level and this bus station didn't exist. It took me a while to find an escalator going upwards to get out of the bus station. There were crowds of people coming down. Apparently seventeen bus lines start from this station.
When I finally got outside, I had a quick look at the old border gate, Portas do Cerco. This gate was built by the Portuguese in 1849 to replace a crumbling wall that the Chinese had raised here centuries earlier.
Portas do Cerco.
Portas do Cerco.
It's not always been peaceful here. In 1849 Macau's governor Ferreira do Amaral was riding past Portas do Cerco on horseback when he was ambushed and hacked to death by a group of Chinese men. They were angry that he had thrown Chinese custom officials out of Macau, stopped paying China rent for Macau, built on an area that was previously a no-man's land and taken over Taipa Island. This incident led to The Battle of Passaleão between the Portuguese and the Chinese.
I thought I remembered how to walk to Sun Yat Sen Park from here, but the area was much more built up than I remembered it and there were many huge roads. I exited the bus station, headed right, crossed over a road via a bridge, walked along the edge of a major road, then crossed another bridge into the park. It wasn't a long walk, but I'm sure there used to be a much more direct route.
This area is the Parish of Nossa Senhora de Fátima. This is the largest and most populated of Macau's parishes, but for tourists it's probably the least interesting, because it's mainly modern and primarily residential.
Sun Yat Sen Park dates back to 1983. There's a statue of Dr Sun Yat Sen at the entrance way.
Sun Yat Sen Park.
Sun Yat Sen Statue.
Sun Yat Sen Statue.
This is close to an artificial lake with a zigzag bridge. Again I could just be remembering wrongly, but I'm sure the water centred parts of this park used to be more extensive.
At the artificial lake looking towards the library.
At the artificial lake looking towards the library.
Artificial lake.
There was an interesting looking building near the lake which wasn't open to the public. I'm not sure what it was.
Building near the lake.
Building near the lake.
I climbed up some steps to a circular seating area with a lily filled pond in the middle and some pretty flowers growing around the edges
Circular seating area.
Circular seating area.
Flowers in the circular seating area.
Sun Yat Sen Park is not visited by many tourists, but it is beloved by many local residents, as it provides a bit of much needed greenery and open space in built-up Macau. It offers quite a lot of public facilities too, including: a library, an open-air swimming pool, a football field, tennis courts, fitness equipment for adults and play areas for children.
Swimming pool.
Swimming pool.
Playpark.
Of course there were some lovely flowers and trees all around as well as some ornate fencing.
Roses.
Pink flowers.
Hibiscus flowers.
Arum lilies.
Flowers.
Bamboo.
Trees.
Fancy fencing.
There's another well-known statue here called "Forever Handshake”. This was created by Lau Kuai Peng in 1997 and symbolises the eternal friendship between Portugal and China.
Forever handshake.
Forever handshake.
Forever handshake.
One of the reasons to come to this park is to look across the border into China. Again this was different from how I remember it. It's much more built up with a huge station
Over the border.
I wandered around the park's many paths. There were lots of people out walking, jogging or playing sports. I was finding it very hot and humid. I'd have liked to combine this visit with some interesting nearby sights, but there really weren't any, so I returned to the bus station.
I didn't really have time to visit anywhere else, but I opted to take bus number 10 which would take me on a bit of a roundabout route back to my hotel. That way I could sightsee while enjoying the air-conditioning. Bus ten goes to the Outer Harbour. It went right around Golden Lotus Square, which is handy if you want to visit The Grand Prix Museum or Wine Museum. I managed to take a couple of pictures of the golden lotus.
Balconies taken from the bus.
Golden Lotus Square with Chinese and Macanese flags.
Golden Lotus Square.
The Golden Lotus.
The lotus is the national flower of Macau and features on its flag. The sculpture here, which is entitled "Lotus Flower in Full Bloom", was presented to Macau by Mainland China to mark the handover of Macau in 1999. This golden lotus sculpture is six metres high and weighs six and a half tonnes. It's made of gilded bronze. Golden Lotus Square is the location of flag raising ceremonies on special occasions.
It's all very similar to the golden bauhinia statue in Hong Kong.
I got off the bus a little early to take some street art photos before returning to the hotel.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Street art.
Park surrounded by street art.
We had our usual afternoon tea and then because the forecast thunderstorms hadn't happened, we went for a second swim. This was also very pleasant and actually quite sunny.
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We ate in the Club Lounge. There was roast pork, chicken and Pastéis de Bacalhau, salted cod balls, a very typical Portuguese dish. We were both tired after dinner. I think we had had rather a lot of sun, so we just had a relaxing evening in the room reading and falling asleep early.
At dinner.
At dinner.
Next day we had managed to get a late check out at two, thanks to Peter's gold card. We had a leisurely breakfast and a lovely swim with no-one else in the pool.
Selfie by the pool.
Selfie by the river.
Last Portuguese beer of the stay.
Then we caught the shuttle bus back to the HZMB Bridge and headed back to Hong Kong. The sun was even shining there for a change.
Scenery on the return to Hong Kong.
Scenery on the return to Hong Kong.
It had been a relaxing stay, but we were both pretty tired by the time we got home.
This featured blog entry was written by irenevt from the blog Macau.
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