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Travel to Macau and the Cotai strip, China

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Macau is a small peninsula region in China, southwest of HongKong. There are scheduled boat charters to and from Macau andHong Kong throughout the day. It is an easy day trip from oneplace to the other. If you are planning a trip to Hong Kong, youshould strongly consider spending a little time in Macau as well. The total population of Macau is close to half a million people.Most of the residents are of Chinese origin from various Chineseprovinces. The remaining population (approximately 5%) are ofPortuguese and European ancestry. Macau used to be a colony ofPortugal before it was returned to Chinese control in the late1990's. In case you were wondering, Macau is sometimes referredto as 'Macao', due to the Portuguese history of the area. Theofficial languages are Chinese and Portuguese, with Cantonesebeing the most widely used. English is mainly used for tourismand business. The many attractions in Macau make it well worth a visit.Because of the Portuguese establishment, there are oldfortresses, churches, temples and gardens to tour. There areover a dozen museums to see, including the Museum of Macau, theMaritime Museum, the Wine Museum, the Grand Prix Museum, and theHandover Gifts Museum. Every year, around November, there is theMacau Grand Prix car and motorcycle races. The Macau Tower, at338m tall, is definitely worth a visit. Throughout the yearthere are many other events and festivals that you may be ableto take part in. Walking tours and shopping opportunities alsoabound. Aside from many new casinos being built, you might wantto try your luck at some of the older casinos, or even at thehorse racing and greyhound racing tracks. There is also much development underway in


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Macau, and thisdevelopment will soon bring even more visitors. Many hotels,casinos, resorts and convention centers are currently beingbuilt, with the first ones scheduled to open in 2006 and 2007.Some of the development is occurring on the Cotai Strip, whichis reclaimed land between two islands of Macau called Coloaneand Taipa. The spelling of 'Cotai' comes from the names of thesetwo islands. These developments are being planned bycombinations of world class hotels chains and major Las Vegascasinos, so they are bound to be impressive. The goal of thedevelopers is to turn Macau into an international destinationfor resorts and casinos, and you often hear the term 'Asia's LasVegas'. Up to six billion dollars is being spent on thesedevelopments, with 10,000 hotel rooms in the initial phase, withexpansion to 60,000 rooms in the third phase. Gambling in Macauwill be a major attraction in the years to come. If you spend some time travelling around Macau, you will likelytravel across the bridges on the peninsula. The names of two ofthe bridges are Nobre de Carvalho (the Friendship Bridge) andSai Van Bridge. The Friendship Bridge is the longest one andgoes directly to the Macau International Airport. Yes, you canfly directly into Macau! The airport is situated on the Islandof Taipa. So if you would like to travel to a foreign land and experiencetwo different cultures within a small area, plan on Macau foryour next vacation. About the author: Robert Borhi is a freelance writer and owner of Macau.ca, awebsite that focuses on Macau travel and attractions. If you areplanning a visit to Macau or the Cotai strip, you can learn moreabout this wonderful destination at his websitehttp://www.Macau.ca

Written by: Robert Borhi

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