This is life: The Macao experience

First impressions last, indeed. Good thing my first trip to Macau, which has been highly regarded to as Asia’s Las Vegas due to its numerous gaming destinations, was more focused on what this Chinese special administrative region has to offer other than gambling.
Joậo Sales, the energetic Public Relations Executive of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO); JG Summit’s corporate communications manager, Viveca Singson, corporate communications manager; Cebu Pacific’s corporate communications specialist Michelle de Guzman; MGTO executive Charina Puno and PR consultant Charles Lim succeeded in hammering out the point that tourism in Macau does not only evolve around its casinos.
Our first stop was the Four Seasons Hotel at the Cotai Strip (this is the reclaimed area that connects the Coloane and Taipa islands—thus Co-Tai). This hotel, which is one of the biggest five-star hotels in Macau, does not have a casino—a distinction its director for marketing, Julius Santos, is proud to announce.
Here a guest could enjoy the peace and tranquillity. The hotel, designed by global entertainment architectural firm Steelman Partners, offers 360 beautifully-appointed guestrooms and suits that reflect a neo-classical elegance incorporating Oriental accents.
A dinner at the poolside Splash restaurant was more like a taste-feel of the good things awaiting the group.
The next morning, we toured the heritage areas, which Macau is very rich of. Though having welcomed with open arms Portuguese mariners in the past, the Macanese have retained their heritage as evident in the many temples scattered around the islands. In spite of the smooth traffic flow wherever we went, we still had too short a time to visit all of these temples and shrines.
We only had time to climb the hill where the Shrine of A-Ma is located but had to skip visiting her temple.
Macau derived its name from A-Ma-Gau or Place of A-Ma, the seafarers’ goddess. According to local legends, A-Ma, a poor girl looking for passage to Canton, was refused by wealthy junk owners but a lowly fisherman took her on board. A storm blew up and wrecked all but he boat carrying the girl. On arrival in Macau, the girl vanished, to reappear as a goddess, on the spot where the fishermen built her temple. Since then, seafarers would pass by the temple to pray before going out to sea.
There are other religious temples in Macau also worth visiting. These include Kun Iam Tong, Lin Fung Miu, Kuan Tai Temple, Tai Soi Miu and Lin Kai Miu.
There is so much to see in and to write about Macau, really and CL NewsWeek is convinced that only be providing ample space in the paper do we give justice to a beautiful place.
Cebu Pacific flies regularly to Macau every Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark. For flight schedules, visit www.cebupacificair.com or call (02) 702-0888