St. Paul's Cathedral at night, Spent a couple of days trying to read between the lines

So I am in Macau, and it is already starting off as an interesting trip. I woke up this morning in my expensive hotel knowing that I had to go out and look for a cheap hostel. I stayed in a nice hotel the first night because I knew I would be getting in late and didn’t particularly feel like roaming around in the dark looking for a hostel. I’d rather do that in the daylight.

I had read a few reviews and only knew of one decent hostel in the city…there aren’t many hostels in Macau at all…mostly ridiculously expensive resorts and casinos. So when I arrived at Auguster’s Lodge after climbing 3 flights of dimly lit or dark stairs and entered into the small office-like room, I was relieved to find the owner, Richard, whom I had read many good reviews about, sitting behind the desk. The hostel was tiny, with only two cramped rooms stuffed with 3 bunk beds each and a fan. I noticed an air conditioner in the window, but it looked like it hadn’t been turned on since the 1960s. I surveyed the place for about 15 seconds, which was all it took to get to know it considering the size, and decided that I could tough it out for 12 dollars a night. I was assigned a top bunk near the window, and directly beneath the archaic air conditioner (which, to my complete relief, did actually work yet was only turned on at night.) I have stayed in quite a few hostels, but this one was one of the roughest by far, especially considering the fat Chinese man who snored louder than anything I had ever heard, even with my headphones in. It took everything out of me not to either throw something at him or smack him.

Richard was extremely helpful. He lent me a map of the city, a tool that would become my guide for the next few days. I absolutely did not want to spend any more time than I had to in the hostel, so after dropping off my bags I immediately headed out to explore the city. I easily found my way to the historic district, thanks to the fact that Macau had been a colony of Portugal up until recently. All of the signs are in Cantonese AND Portuguese…thankfully I can read and understand a lot of Portuguese because it is so close to Spanish…well…at least much closer than Cantonese is to anything I would remotely understand or have the ability to decipher.

The Portuguese influence is everywhere in Macau, which meant beautiful colonial architecture and delicious food. I was starving once I got to Senado Square, so I followed my nose to find Macau’s famous Portuguese egg tarts. And for the equivalent of only $1, I had the most delicious breakfast I had tasted in a very long time. It was more of a custard, than anything else, in a flaky crust. YUM.

From there I wandered up the crowded cobblestone/paver street lined with food stands all selling basically the same thing (egg tarts, dried fish, beef jerky-ish meat, and shortbread cookies) to the ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Only the front wall was standing, but it was pretty. Then I walked to the old fort and spent some time in the gardens up there. The Macau Museum is located up there as well, and luckily entrance was free :)

I did some more walking and found the Casa Gardens and the Protestant Cemetary…both of which were creepy. I was exhausted by the time I got back here to the hostel after a long day of walking and sweating in the sweltering Macau heat!