M a c a u - through my lens
A former Portuguese colony, administered by Portugal from the mid 16th century until late 1999 when it was ceded to China, Macau is a city of blended cultures.
You may have heard of it as one of the major casino havens of the world. There's no denying that Macau is a gambler's paradise and, in fact, loads of fun when it comes to entertainment and partying (that's a story for another blog)... A little Vegas, Chinese style.
Situated just a quick hour ferry ride from the bustling city of Hong Kong, or an impressive 15-minute helicopter "Jurassic Park" style flight (for those of you who remember the opening scene), Macau is one of the main destinations for Chinese mainlanders and expats looking to decompress and spend their hard-earned renminbi/HK dollars. In short, a great little weekend getaway when I used to live in Hong Kong.
Fortunately for most of us, Macau is more than just glitz and cash. It is also home to some most excellent cuisine, eclectic architecture, and charming-as-ever narrow backstreets and alleyways. The latter being the object of this blog.
So without further ado, here is a little tour of "my" Macau:
An old, refurbished Honda parked in front of a colonial apartment building
Top view of the A-Ma temple, built in 1488 - It is one of the oldest on the island and dedicated to the Chinese sea-goddess Mazu
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A row of metal mailboxes found in old apartment complexes
A young mechanic taking a phone break - probably checking how many new Steemit followers he has, or maybe just looking for a tutorial video on how to fix his mess
Chinese temple incense coils and typical street signs (in both Chinese and Portuguese)
Wooden-framed stained glass panels
One of the many rooms located in a residence referred to as the "Mandarin's House", a traditional Guangdong residence featuring a fusion of architectural influences from western cultures - a unique product of Chinese and western cultural interchange, built in 1869. Its owner Zheng Guanying, was a merchant, thinker and reformer whose writings, like his masterpiece "Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity" have had influential impacts on Sun Yat-Sen, Emperor Guangxu and even Mao Zedong.
Details of a rusty door guarding the entrance of a mysterious old house
Temple drum and bell
Intricate woodwork divider and window carvings, typical of old Chinese houses usually owned by the wealthier families
One of the many Macanese shop/restaurant viewed from a narrow street, with stairs seen on the left directly leading to the owner's humble abode
Open air cloister in traditional Macanese house. Notice the geometry and clean symmetry of the area, giving off a strong feeling of peaceful "zenitude", encapsulating the very core idea of Feng shui-ism
("feng" = wind, "shui" = water)
Make a wish! I know what mine is...
The hot sun piercing through the foliage of a densely forested park
And last but not least, a blurry photo of my happy mug in front of Na Tcha Temple
Map Location: !steemitworldmap 22.192969 lat 113.540257 long - Macau through my lens
If you like this post, please let me know. I'm new on Steemit... I'm still learning and welcome any suggestions. Oh, and upvotes/resteems as well :)
To check out some of my previous posts, click on the links below:
 Ayesha |  Nepali woman |
|---|---|
 In the eyes of a child |  My introduction |
Sylvia
“Learning is not a race for information, it is a walk of discovery” - Jane Healy
This is one of the best put together travel posts I have come across on Steemit. I will definitely check out your other ones.
Wow, thanks @eroche! I'm blushing. If you have any extra tips, at any time, let me know.
What I really liked about this post was that you really showed another side to macau, and told a nice story. Great work.
Mission accomplished then. That's what I was going for :)
I think this is your best blog so far!
Some great photos and attention to detail with the descriptions of the photos.
I wonder if @blueorgy would be interested in this as an entry to his Steemfest 2 ticket giveaway. Lets see!
Nice. Just made it over to this post from your comment. I've been to Macau. Very interesting place.
Yeah so I see and hear. A little(a lot) of funds needed for the helicopters and casinos though eh!
Just a little over 450 euros one-way. With a 20% discount birthday promotion! No biggie ;)
To think a handful of businessmen use it as a means of transportation to commute to work...
Thank you Asher. As usual, it means a lot.
Hopefully the next blogs take less time to produce. I think I broke a new steemit record with my all-afternoon screen-staring venture
Hi @abh12345, I see you have mentioned me.
This is automatic response so that I may respond to your mention later.
Hey, there are really good.
And, I like that you've included an explanation for each photo.
There are many good photos on steemit, but I like the ones that add a little of narrative.
Good luck osm0sis with your steemit adventure.
I am Joe, @joe.nobel. I don't have photo's but I do have writing on my blog, mostly science-fiction fantasy and erotica. Check them out if you care to, no obligation to follow or upvote.
Thank you for the feedback Joe. It's all good to know.
Just checked out your blogs. Followed 100% :)
Thank you for following. I hope what I post will be worth your time.
All so charismatic!! - what a wonderful talent you have for capturing moments!
Following you
Thank you so much! Encouraging words will help me to keep sharing
Really great shots and story. I think you've got the mix of text and photos right.
I started with a series on Portugal (15 plus posts so far) and they were about 800 to a 1,000 words with just a few shots, but the intent was to guide (mostly) North American visitors wanting a long-stay in the Algarve for the winter. But posts like these take a long time to write.
Now I'm doing a Tahiti-Australia-New Zealand series covering our 90 day roadtrip, heavy on photos and less text. Easier to write, and readers like them more because of the visuals.
Haven't been to Macau but your post gave me a really good sense of the place. Keep doing what you are doing!
PS - glad to see you are using worldmap - I think it's a great app and have been helping the developers with some testing.
Thank you so much for the detailed feedback and personal experience.
I've been testing various "strategies": few good photos + little bit of writing, lots of lower quality photos + more writing... but I think any tactic to obtain more exposure when you first start on Steemit is a bit pointless and often discouraging .
I think once you get the ball rolling it may be easier to relax and take less time writing blogs. The more blogs I write, the more comfortable I get, the more I figure out the type of blogger I want to be.
In any case, I'm enjoying the process and learning a lot about coding which is an entirely new world for me. So even if I get bored of Steemit somewhere down the road, I will at least have acquired a new skill :)
Thanks again for the encouragements. And yes, worldmap is a great little app - very cool that you are helping the developers with it!
Glad to help you, a few folks helped me initially, and are still doing so. Getting involved in the photo challenges and contests is a good way to meet like-minded people and get some 'exposure'.
Check this link: https://steemit.com/photography/@felander/list-of-all-photo-challenges-paid-or-for-fun
There's other stuff out there too, if you look through your feed you may see some you want to participate in.
If you come up with any interesting strategies let me know!
Thanks for the pointers. I've entered a few contests recently. There are so many! Mainly for the exposure aspect, as you mention.
Keep you posted on any sneaky strategies
@abh12345 referred me to your post because I did one on Macau a few weeks back. You definitely are a better photographer than me! good stuff. By the way, are you an expat? I'm starting a Discord server for steemit using expats.
I sure am! Grew up in an expat family and have been addicted to living/working abroad ever since. I've just signed up to Discord yesterday so I'll be on the lookout.
Thanks for dropping by
cool :-) here's the Discord link: https://discord.gg/EdemVB
Great photos!!!
Ciao ciao Steemitri
Thanks Steemitri! When's your next contest? I'm ready this time.
I have some ideas, haha... but for the moment just the Q&A ;-)
I just love your percpective in pictures, really brings up the best in them!
Seems like a beautiful place to be in :)
Check out some of my photos in @mkslash if you want to :)
Thanks for stopping by. I'll go have a look at your photos :)
Great shots! You understand Chinese don't you? I see the way you precisely explain every shot you have taken and I must say that you know what you were shooting at. Great work of detail and top notch presentation.
Thanks @fr3eze! I wish I could say that I do but unfortunately, I only have the basics (although since having been back in Europe for over a year I fear I may have forgotten a lot of it). Happy you like my little Macau presentation and photos
Epic place! Great info and very well organized. Thanks for taking us through those far-away places and making us realize how much we still need to learn. :)
Keep on the good steeming.
Thank you for the kind words my friend