Picture 49 - There were loads of tourists there. Jenny was very tired by this point so she asked, "Are we really going to climb up there?" Hell, yes! Picture 50 - There's a lovers sculpture at the base of the stairs. Picture 51 - The stairs aren't really that many actually. As you can see from this picture, only the front facade is left standing. Picture 52 - A girl posing for pictures with the pigeons. Picture 53 - Another girl posing for pictures with the same pigeons. Unfortunately, no one wanted to take pictures with me.
Yeah, it's probably the most famous Macanese icon. To continue... Pictures 54 to 57 - Just shots of the pigeons. Picture 58 - Here's what the lovers' sculpture looks like without tourists surrounding it. I'm not even sure what's the story behind the sculpture...
Picture 59 - That's me, sitting on the steps in front of the ruins. Picture 60 - A shot from the steps to show the narrow streets and tight building arrangement. Not too effective. Maybe I shouldn't crop too much of the folks below... Picture 61 - Used F/2.2 for this shot but didn't get enough bokeh... Picture 62 - Closer shot of the front facade. Picture 63 - Angled shot of the architecture.
ROTFL! That's because I was the one using the camera! But I did get a few shots of myself. You can see me in one of the photos above. Usually I just spoil the picture so it's better for me to take the photos, instead of being in them.
Hehe.. She's carrying the Rough Guide to Hong Kong and Macau book. Okay, here's more... Picture 64 - A plaque detailing a little history about the Ruins of St. Paul's Church. Picture 65 - There's a museum built on the original church site. Inside, they built a kind of hall, a small one. On both sides of this hall are glass enclosures containing bones of Japanese and Macanese martyrs (if I remember correctly). Picture 66 - Surprisingly, next to the church grounds is a small Chinese temple. Picture 67 - Closer look of the temple. Picture 68 - Cobbled street between the Ruins and the garden road to the Mount Fortress (coming up next!).
Picture 70 - That's me sitting on the embankment next to the cobbled road. Looks blur because Jenny's hands were shaking... Picture 71 - In the garden next to the Ruins. Going towards the Mount Fortress or as it is called in Portuguese - Fortaleza do Monte. Picture 72 - Which is a better picture? This one or no. 71? Picture 73 - You can see the Mount Fortress just behind us. Picture 74 - Further up, there's a pebble path, probably added in rather recently for the local residents to use.
So u took for jenny n jenny took for u , then who took for yu two ? How can't u always took pic of girls, no handsome boy meh ?
Magic. Guys? Errr... Not really. Then again, I never took a fancy to any guy yet... so I'm no judge of male beauty.
LOL! Thanks! Okay, here are more pics... Picture 75 - Everyone, take off your shoes and enjoy the pebbles! Picture 76 - Even I gave it a try. Picture 77 - Attempted to take a shot of the setting sun. Picture 78 - One of the cannons on the way up to the Mount Fortress. Picture 79 - The road leading to the entrance to the Mount Fortress. It's getting rather dark now, even though it's only about 5:30pm...
Picture 80 - The entrance to the Mount Fortress. Rather small... but that's good for defence. There's a museum at the top of Mount Fortress but it was closed by the time we arrived (6pm) so we took a stroll down to check out what's available for dinner. Picture 81 - Found this small stall selling deep fried morsels. Kinda same concept to the steamboat we saw earlier, only the morsels here are deep-fried. The same curry is used though. Nothing really special IMHO. Deep-fried stuff. In fact, it was a little too salty. Picture 82 - We also saw a stall selling fried buns. Not sure what's inside but it looks like red bean paste. Picture 83 - A closer look at the guy preparing the bun. Picture 84 - Then it goes on the flat frying pan. Didn't buy any to try though because there was a REALLY long queue.
We ended up in the Safari Restaurant, as recommended by Rough Guides. But it was certainly not cheap at all. Picture 85 - That's escargot soup. There was a bread cover over it actually but I broke it before I took the picture. Picture 86 - Green Curry Crab. Supposedly a must-eat Macanese dish. Hmm.. Nothing really spectacular though. Picture 87 - African Chicken. Not bad, not bad. Picture 88 - Macanese Baked Prawns. Large prawns. Pretty nice IMHO but pricey. Total damage : MOP 212.30 (RM 101.10, USD 26.60) Next morning, we decided we have had enough of the dingy, dumpy room and we would head for greener pastures in Zhuhai, China. But before we leave, we would take a quick look at the remaining tourist attractions in Macau. So, the next morning, we headed for A-Ma Temple in the Barra district. Picture 89 - Here we are at the A-Ma Temple. One thing - never trust the taxis in Macau. Macau is so small, you can get anywhere by walking or taking a bus. The taxi we took here ripped us off by taking a big detour before coming to A-Ma Temple.
Okay, back from my CNY holiday.Time for more pictures... Picture 90 - One of the buildings in A-Ma Temple. Picture 91 - The main entrance to A-Ma Temple. Picture 92 - Spiral incenses hanging from a tree. Picture 93 - The temple extends upwards via several flights of stairs. Picture 94 - A jade seller within the temple grounds.
Picture 95 - The jade seller. Is he a war veteran, I wonder... Picture 96 - A bell in A-Ma Temple. Picture 97 - A "lucky" tortoise in A-Ma Temple. Picture 98 - Chinese tourists dropping in some RMB for luck. Picture 99 - A shot to show how high A-Ma Temple extends. You can just barely see the highest building behind the tree on the upper right side.
Picture 100 - Just a profile shot of the top of the temple's awning. Picture 101 - In front of the Maritime Museum, which is located just opposite the A-Ma Temple. Picture 102 - A Macanese mud boat, well, kind of like a scooter on a plank. Used for collecting traps containing mudskippers. Picture 103 - A photograph showing how it is used. Picture 104 - A model of a duck rearing boat. Interesting actually. The ducks are free to leave the boat. They automatically go back to the boat to feed. How cute.
Picture 105 - Apparently, the Chinese pioneered the use of bulkheads in ships. They took the idea from the partitions in bamboo. Picture 106 - They also invented the retractable rudder. Didn't know that. Picture 107 - This is one of the first compasses invented by the Chinese. Picture 108 - A few Chinese compasses. Picture 109 - A replica of a plaque that was created during Admiral Zheng He's visit to India (I think). It features Persian and Indian script as well as Chinese text that affirms their respect for each other's religion and culture, etc.
