Macau The villages of Taipa and Coloane, another vision of Macao Travel to Macau 5 (6)When we talk about visiting Macau, we usually think of casinos and luxury. If we did indeed visit a casino (without playing there) and tasted luxury (for once…) it was not the main reason for our visit to Macau, which is above all rich in historical buildings due to its long Portuguese past.If this special administrative region has become the Asian Las Vegas, it has a certain charm due to its colonial past. So far, I'm not telling you much, because I already talked about it in my previous article where we discovered Macau Old Town. Summary hide Where are Taipa and Coloane? In the peaceful village of Coloane Unexpected passage through Hac Sa beach Taipa, a mix between rural and urban Our Lady of Carmel Church and Taipa Houses Museum Taipa and the shopping street “rua do Cunha” Where are Taipa and Coloane?The old town, where famous buildings such as the ruins of St. Paul's are located, is located in the northern part of Macau, which is a peninsula attached to the mainland. What interests us today is the south of Macau. If today when looking at a map you will only see one island, in reality this southern part was previously composed of 2 very distinct islands, Taipa and Coloane.Evolution of the Macao peninsula and islands from the presence of the Portuguese to today. © CC BY-SA 3.0The central part being land reclaimed from the sea and therefore artificial, but which therefore brought these two islands together to form one and this extension was naturally named COTAI, for the first syllables of COloane and TAIpa.If Cotai is mainly made up of a group of large casinos like The Venetian where we went, Taipa to the north, and Coloane to the south are essentially residential areas which have kept the air of a village from yesteryear, especially Coloane.The glitzy interior of The Venetian casino with a Venice theme.In the peaceful village of ColoaneIt was first to the south and therefore to Coloane that we began our visit of this part of Macau. To get there, we took a bus from the stop next to the A Ma temple, which we had just visited that morning.We took bus 26 which terminates in Coloane for a cost of $6. The downside of buses is that you have to give the exact amount because you won't get change since you have to put the money in a box and the driver isn't there for that. So have your coins ready in advance, the fares are displayed on the signs indicating the bus route.The bus stop sign next to the temple from where we were leaving for Coloane.Including stops, it took a little over 1/2 hour to do the 10 km between our location and the village of Coloane. We were dropped off at a kind of roundabout at the northern entrance to the village, not far from the seaside.A map showed us the main points of interest, in short Chinese temples and the old chapel. On this same map, we were shown a suggested route to go around it on foot, I first wanted to be inspired by it, but in the end we were just going to wander around a bit randomly.Locations. Here is a map of the village of Coloane.Our starting point.First, we headed south of the village to go to the Chinese temple dedicated to Tin Hau (once again...). We followed the main avenue with the idea of going through the small streets afterwards to go back up to the small square where we had arrived, just to make a loop.The small temple of Tin Hau is similar to those we have already seen before so we did not linger too long. After a few photos, we then slipped into the colorful alleys of Coloane, most of which are paved.We're going green in Coloane.The small temple dedicated to Tin Hau to the south of the village.A plaque in the temple.We first passed through Rua do Estaleiro. We arrive there in front of some buildings and facades with an atypical appearance, contrasting quite a bit with the rest of Macau. First the red house, behind which there is a small Chinese temple again and next to it, there is a large yellow facade normally covered with a beautiful bougainvillea, unfortunately trimmed and reduced to its minimum when we passed by.Despite the gloomy weather, it's still quite photogenic, at least there's no crowd so it's rather pleasant. The small street is paved, the facades on each side are colored with yellow dominating, some houses are abandoned.The red house.The big house with the bougainvillea as we saw it.The same facade when it is well flowered. © Thomas RadwanskiIn the small street of Estaleiro.The remains of a rusty gate of an abandoned house.A very yellow house.After less than 100 m, we arrived behind the Chapel of St Francis Xavier, built in 1928, in front of which is the square called "Jardim Eduardo Marques".While there is no real "jardim" (meaning garden of course), the square is nicely paved, reminiscent of a small town square in Europe. At the end of this square, there is a small monument commemorating an important victory over pirates in 1910 (who were very rampant in the area at the time, hence the old important police station next to the Tai O village in Hong Kong), the seaside being right there.On the other end is the small chapel named after the Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier, who paradoxically never set foot in Macau, but died in 1552 on the island of Sangchuan 90 km further south, while trying to reach the Chinese mainland further north. The chapel did, however, contain a relic of the Saint before being transferred to St. Joseph's Church, which we had passed by during our visit to the old town of Macau the day before.Eduardo Marques Square with the monument dedicated to the victory against the pirates, and in the background, the chapel of Saint Francis Xavier.Facade of the St Francis Xavier Chapel (for English speakers)Ding dong.As we were on the seafront, we went along the quay to go up the village a bit. We then see the island of Tai Wang Kam which is part of mainland China. There too, we can see in the background an impressive casino that looks like a fantastic castle (are they trying to compete with Macao?).We went up this avenue from Cinco de Outubro (October 5th marking the day of the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic, ending the monarchy in 1910) to a roundabout where we find the Lord Stow pastry shop which has the distinction of having popularized the famous Portuguese egg tarts in Asia.Lord Stow's bakery, which brought the Portuguese egg tart dessert back into fashion in Asia.We were then a little higher than when we arrived. We then went back down to reach the President Antonio Ramalho Eanes square where we had arrived. As we had only been there for less than an hour (40 minutes to be exact), we decided to go back into the small streets to really go around Coloane.We then passed a small market, or at least a mini-market displaying its fruits and vegetables in the alley. There was a souvenir shop there and we only came across one restaurant once we got back to the chapel square.Overall it was rather deserted. Maybe because it was a weekday. On weekends, there is clearly the potential to make it a pleasant coastal village for a stroll (with better weather it would also be more enjoyable, after all it's not the Côte d'Azur either).I was going to say that we didn't come across a single cat in its colorful alleys, but to tell the truth, yes (only one). Next to it was a budding artist who was painting there quietly in a street parallel to the market, while we were returning to the square. It was shortly before returning to our starting point that we came across the remains of the wall marked "pátio da greta", the only vestige of an old house with a patio built in 1941.Meow.In the middle of a painting session.A wall of the old patio da greta.In the end, our route allowed us to go around Coloane, which, on a map, looks like this:Unexpected passage through Hac Sa beachThis marked the end of our walk in Coloane after a short hour there. We took the bus again, not without getting lost, because at the bus stop where we had arrived, we were told that it was another bus to go to Taipa. So we walked to another bus stop upstream from the square, but it was not clear from the bus board which direction it was going, as the passages are not frequent either, we got on in the goal to avoid being left waiting, before realizing that this one was for the arrivals and not the departures…Beachfront shops.In other words, he was going to his terminus and it was not Taipa since he was coming from there… Which is why we ended up going down to Hac Sa beach, east of the village of Coloane. It is the largest beach in Macau, its name means black sand, because in fact, it has the particularity of having black sand, at least originally. Because to prevent the disappearance of the beach due to erosion, the authorities filled this beach with yellow sand…There weren't many people there either, although there were still more people than in Coloane. However, the typical seaside shops with buoys and all that were open (partially at least) and you could also see small sailing boats getting ready to enter the water.Hac Sa beach, south of Coloane.Selfie time.After this short, unexpected visit, we took another bus to arrive in the heart of Taipa.Getting from Coloane to Taipa: Ideally, we would have taken bus 25 to get where we wanted to go. From the bus stop where we were getting on, our mistake was taking the 26A in the wrong direction, otherwise it was fine too (although the journey was slightly longer). We then had to take bus 21A to finally get off at the Chun Yuet Garden stop.Taipa, a mix between rural and urbanI had found my way on Google Maps to know roughly where to get off, so we stopped just before a roundabout at Chun Yuet Garden. The initial idea was to walk to the heart of old Taipa, and in doing so, this allowed us to pass by the pretty little street of Fernao Mendes Pinto (without knowing it before, it was a coincidence…).So we walked along this artery, which we joined after only 100 m from the roundabout. If I say that this street is pretty, it is because we are then surrounded by large trees and no buildings on the horizon. After barely a hundred meters more, we passed in front of a small Buddhist temple, the Sam Po Temple in which we took a look before continuing.Getting off the bus upon arrival in Taipa.The small wooded street Fernao Mendes Pinto.Facade of Sam Po Temple.The interior of Sam Po Temple.Sam Po Temple.Further on, in addition to seeing some street art on the walls, we passed in front of an old disused pancho factory, before arriving 100 m further in front of the stairs that I had spotted and which lead higher up towards a museum, a garden and a parish church, Our Lady of Carmel Church, or, in good French, the church Notre-Dame du Carmel.Art never dies.At the foot of the stairs leading to the Notre-Dame du Carmel church.Arriving at the parish church “Our Lady of Carmel”.Our Lady of Carmel Church and Taipa Houses MuseumGenerally, we say Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which is one of the names of the Virgin Mary. Carmel being a name in the Holy Land that derives from Karmel or Al-Karem and which can be translated as garden (thanks Wikipedia). And right next to the church square is a garden simply called the Carmel garden.The church, in neoclassical style, was completed in 1885 and its façade sports the characteristic colour of Macau, yellow. But as typical as it is, the houses just below the church square are green.The square of the church of Our Lady of Carmel.Carmel Garden.Indeed, next door is the Taipa Houses Museum, literally the Taipa Houses Museum. It is a set of 5 houses built in the 20s in a typical Portuguese-Macanese style (a little different from the classic Sino-Portuguese style found in several places in Asia including Thailand).These colonial houses have been preserved and renovated to become a museum today. Inside there is information about the Portuguese roots of Macau but I can't say more since we didn't go inside.Taipa Houses Museum.One of the colonial houses forming the Taipa Museum.You should know that at the time, they were aligned on the seafront, Cotai did not exist then, this part of Taipa was the south of the island. Today, there is a pond with a view of the casinos and buildings while you can see some rice fields just in front (empty in this season).Just as an aside, it was the day after St. Patrick's Day, and even here in Macau there were celebrations, so we got to see a small demo of Irish music while a small group of onlookers wearing the traditional green color watched the event.The rice fields and the pond facing the houses.It was St. Patrick's Day the day before.But we didn't linger too long because time was passing and we hadn't yet reached the heart of Taipa with its shopping street.Taipa and the shopping street “rua do Cunha”Coming back down after this walk around the museum of houses, we found ourselves in a street with a European feel, with houses and small low buildings, a small, clean sidewalk, no cars (no, well, that's not a valid argument...).We go back down to go to the shopping street of Taipa.Next to Feira do Carmo square in Taipa.After 100 m (we accumulate 100 m on this day…), we arrive at the Feira Do Carmo square. In the middle, there is a series of columns supporting a roof, it was the old Taipa market. So here we are in the heart of old Taipa.The shopping street "rua do Cunha" is a small pedestrian alley known in Taipa for finding a good number of specialties of Portuguese origin, particularly in the form of packages to bring back as souvenirs when it comes to cakes or desserts, but there are also restaurants serving Portuguese dishes, the best known being "O Santos" present for more than 20 years.Feira do Carmo square in Taipa.In the shopping street “rua do Cunha” in Taipa.It's also the only place where we would come across a few people all day. It was strange to have a little more entertainment after this quiet day. We went around the small streets around, passing in front of a square and other restaurants.Walking up the main street of Cunha (named after a Portuguese explorer, Tristão da Cunha), we came to a building whose colorful facade is hard to miss, the Cunha Bazaar. It is a shop selling souvenirs on 2 floors. Taking a look we found everything we needed, it was perfect to end this day.Portuguese restaurant “O Santos” on Rua do Cunha in Taipa.A small square in Taipa.Long live Portugal!The Cunha Bazzar souvenir shop is on the left.Detail of a painting on the facade of the Cunha Bazaar.The advantage is that these are souvenirs created by local artisans via their own brand, Macau Creations, some of which are handmade, so they offer objects with original designs rather than the traditional, somewhat run-of-the-mill souvenirs.Before returning to our hotel, taking the bus again (#11 this time), we went through the covered market to take a look. It is the Taipa municipal market, also called Dangzi Shizheng Wet Market, located on the right when exiting Rua da Cunha. If there were still a few merchants like the fishmonger who was open, it was relatively quiet at the end of the day, and apart from a somewhat unusual U-shaped design and the fact that there are 2 floors, there is not much to report so we did not linger.In the Taipa Municipal Market.At the northern entrance to Rua do Cunha.There are also buildings in Taipa.In summary on a map, this is what our route was in Taipa:In summary, Taipa and Coloane are interesting and show a different side than the cliché and reductive Macao = Asian Las Vegas. After the gloomy weather did not help to appreciate it at best, Jitima came back with a somewhat mixed feeling, not really excited but without regretting having gone there. The goal is also that this kind of article pushes you to see just a little beyond the stereotypes that a country can convey (and God knows if it is also the case in Thailand).Did you like the article? share on Pinterest! Did you like the article? 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