General Information
Land Area: 29.5 square km (11.39 square miles)
Population: 542,200
Official language(s): Portuguese, Cantonese (粤语)
Currency: Macanese pataca (MOP)
Exchange Rate (approx): 1 USD = 8 MOP
Macau consists of several islands: Macao proper and the three small islands of Taipa, and Cotai and Coloane.
Location
Macau is located in the Guangdong province of China on the western bank of the Pearl River Delta, across the straight from Hong Kong (see map below).
Brief History
The Portuguese first obtained permission from the Ming dynasty in 1557 to establish a settlement in Macau. Before that time, the area was largely unpopulated. The Portuguese held the colony until December 20, 1999, when it was handed back to the Chinese government. Under the agreement, Macau, like Hong Kong, will operate as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) and maintain a large degree of autonomy until at least 2049.
Additional Information
Macau Weather
Macau SAR Tourist Office
China Travel Guide
Medical Practitioners in Macau (US Consulate Hong Kong; scroll to bottom of page for Macau)
Pronunciation of Places
Word Phonetics Pronunciation Description
Macao "Ma-cow" "Ma" as in slang for "mother" Island
Taipa "Tie-pa" "pa" as in slang for "father" Island
Cotai "Co-Tie" "co" as in "co-worker" Man-made island
Coloane "Call-oh-on" None. Island
Pronunciation of Things
Word Phonetics Pronunciation Description
Pataca "Pa-tass-ah" "tass" rhymes with "pass" Macao currency
Chop "Chop" Same as in the USA Gov't Stamp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Churches in Macao
Visitors here may at first have a difficult time locating an international church in the area! When I first arrived, I certainly did. Google hasn't made significant forays as of yet into Macao (locations of restaurants, hotels, or the like; even Street View is not yet complete!). Hopefully the list is helpful.
Oasis International Church
Taipa. Oasis Church is English-speaking, "Christian, non-denominational church." The website is updated from time to time, although the weekly newsletter is a better source for current information. The setting is quite nice, with a coffee house environment that is quite welcoming. A list of the beliefs of the church can be found here. Directions to the church can be found here.
Location (2nd floor): Google Maps View of the exterior
International Christian Assembly
Macao. Sunday services in English start at 11am. Sunday services in Indonesian start at 4:00pm. Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, and English small groups are held throughout the week. Contact information for the pastor and church are on the website. Directions to the service locations are also on the website. Since the church meeting location can be difficult to find (it's in a building several blocks from the Grand Lisboa), I've posted some linked pictures below:
Location (14th floor): Exterior Exterior Closeup Ground floor view of elevators Google Maps View of the exterior
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Macau
The official tourism department has some great promotional videos that show the "alternative" Macau to the gambling mecca that people in the West associate with the islands. Check them out here! Also of note, yearly, between September and October, teams countries worldwide compete in a fireworks spectacle.
Experiencing Macau: Your way
Highlights of the local culture of Macau
*Michael Rogge, an 81 year old man residing in the Netherlands, has documented video of Macau, Hong Kong, and other regions of the world when he traveled as a young man in the 1950s and 60s. He has a very comprehensive collection, and I recommend checking out his other videos if you are interested.
NOTE: All facts, dates, and other information displayed above are believed to be authentic. However, the author makes no express claims as to the validity of any content displayed on this page and as such the viewer must accept the content "as is".
LAST UPDATED: 2012-OCT-29
Land Area: 29.5 square km (11.39 square miles)
Population: 542,200
Official language(s): Portuguese, Cantonese (粤语)
Currency: Macanese pataca (MOP)
Exchange Rate (approx): 1 USD = 8 MOP
Macau consists of several islands: Macao proper and the three small islands of Taipa, and Cotai and Coloane.
Location
Macau is located in the Guangdong province of China on the western bank of the Pearl River Delta, across the straight from Hong Kong (see map below).
Brief History
The Portuguese first obtained permission from the Ming dynasty in 1557 to establish a settlement in Macau. Before that time, the area was largely unpopulated. The Portuguese held the colony until December 20, 1999, when it was handed back to the Chinese government. Under the agreement, Macau, like Hong Kong, will operate as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) and maintain a large degree of autonomy until at least 2049.
Additional Information
Macau Weather
Macau SAR Tourist Office
China Travel Guide
Medical Practitioners in Macau (US Consulate Hong Kong; scroll to bottom of page for Macau)
Pronunciation of Places
Word Phonetics Pronunciation Description
Macao "Ma-cow" "Ma" as in slang for "mother" Island
Taipa "Tie-pa" "pa" as in slang for "father" Island
Cotai "Co-Tie" "co" as in "co-worker" Man-made island
Coloane "Call-oh-on" None. Island
Pronunciation of Things
Word Phonetics Pronunciation Description
Pataca "Pa-tass-ah" "tass" rhymes with "pass" Macao currency
Chop "Chop" Same as in the USA Gov't Stamp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Churches in Macao
Visitors here may at first have a difficult time locating an international church in the area! When I first arrived, I certainly did. Google hasn't made significant forays as of yet into Macao (locations of restaurants, hotels, or the like; even Street View is not yet complete!). Hopefully the list is helpful.
Oasis International Church
Taipa. Oasis Church is English-speaking, "Christian, non-denominational church." The website is updated from time to time, although the weekly newsletter is a better source for current information. The setting is quite nice, with a coffee house environment that is quite welcoming. A list of the beliefs of the church can be found here. Directions to the church can be found here.
Location (2nd floor): Google Maps View of the exterior
International Christian Assembly
Macao. Sunday services in English start at 11am. Sunday services in Indonesian start at 4:00pm. Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, and English small groups are held throughout the week. Contact information for the pastor and church are on the website. Directions to the service locations are also on the website. Since the church meeting location can be difficult to find (it's in a building several blocks from the Grand Lisboa), I've posted some linked pictures below:
Location (14th floor): Exterior Exterior Closeup Ground floor view of elevators Google Maps View of the exterior
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Macau
The official tourism department has some great promotional videos that show the "alternative" Macau to the gambling mecca that people in the West associate with the islands. Check them out here! Also of note, yearly, between September and October, teams countries worldwide compete in a fireworks spectacle.
NOTE: All facts, dates, and other information displayed above are believed to be authentic. However, the author makes no express claims as to the validity of any content displayed on this page and as such the viewer must accept the content "as is".
LAST UPDATED: 2012-OCT-29
