If you’ret tired of sitting in airplanes, and would like to see the South China Sea from a different viewpoint, consider a hovercraft ride to Macau. This former Portugese enclave --- Portugal administered it for some 400 years --- is now a Special Administrative Region of China. However, the U.S. Dept. of State says that nothing much has changed there since the hand-over in 1999. (Nor has much changed --- as far as tourists are concerned --- in Hong Kong, either.)
Macau is an unusual cultural blend of Mediterranean and Chinese, with Spanish, Moorish, British and Dutch also contributing. Portugese and Cantonese are both recognized as official languages, but you won’t have any difficulty finding English speakers in tourist-popular areas.
Hong Kong tourist authorities urge travellers to visit Macau for its multi-culture, multi-cuisine atmosphere but, on the day I went, most passengers headed directly to the large downtown casino a few blocks from the dock. Circumstances had forced me to postpone my trip until late June, when it was far too hot for serious walking-around sightseeing. That was unfortunate, because many of the more picturesque neighborhoods lay among the lush hills rising above the harbor. (The territory encompasses approximately 13 square miles, with a population of 437,000.)
Though we were sealed in a glass-enclosed cabin and asked to remain buckled in our seats for much of the trip, the high-speed ferry was still a pleasant way to inspect the then still-under-constrution airport site and the many islands populating the Pearl River estuary.
In summer 2000, Cook’s Timetable listed multiple trips daily, with running times of 55 minutes for the 74-kilometer (45-mile) trip for the equivalent of U.S. $14 round trip. (I’m converting Year 2000 Hong Kong Dollars at the June, 2001 exchange rate, so my price quote may be off. I’d made the trip during an earlier visit to Hong Kong and seem to recall paying substantially more than that.)
The Hong Kong Tourist Authority has several web pages on Macau within its own site: Hong Kong . To get to Macau a little faster, try
Pearl River.
Alas, I have so far been unable to pry current ferry fares and schedules out of either address, but otherwise these sites, although a bit flowery in language, are beautifully illustrated and detailed.
The hovercraft terminal for Macau is perhaps two blocks from the Star Ferry, but last summer it took a circuituous walk around a huge construction site. If your stay in Hong Kong is limited, you’ll do better to concentrate your exploring on Kong Kong Island and the nightlife of Kowloon. But if you have five or six hours to spare, the side trip to Macau would be a worthwhile way to spend them.