Macau - A Place Where Ypu Can Enjoy Gambling And Greenery

Macau is a city with two faces: the fortresses, churches and food of former colonial masters Portugal speak to a uniquely Mediterranean style on the China coast. And yet Macau is also the self-styled Las Vegas of the East. The last few years have seen once-sleepy little Macau booming.

Macau turns over more money in gambling than Las Vegas and each gambling table is roughly ten times more profitable than its Las Vegas equivalent.

These days Macau is wooing commerce and tourism like never before. The enclave's long tradition of gambling is being taken to new extremes.While the rush in construction of hotels and mega-casinos means there's plenty of places to try your hand with Lady Luck, many of Macau's pleasures are relaxed and laidback, architectural and atmospheric. Portuguese influence is everywhere: narrow cobbled alleys, grand baroque churches, balconied colonial mansions, open plazas and Mediterranean-style cafes filled with palm-readers, caged birds and pipe-smokers. The peninsula and the islands of Coloane and Taipa constitute a colourful palette of pastels and ordered greenery.

The best time to visit Macau is autumn (October-December), when there's less humidity, more sunshine and December's Winter Solstice to celebrate. January and February are cloudy, cold and can be drizzly. Spring (March-May) is warmer but the humidity is high, and the fog and drizzle can make getting around difficult. Sub-tropical Macau shimmers in a humid hot haze from June to September, with monsoonal thundery downpours and the chance of being caught in a tropical typhoon. Hotel rooms are hardest to find at weekends, on Hong Kong public holidays, Chinese New Year (late January/early February) and during the Macau Grand Prix in November.