I came to Macau in March, 1983 and never left. It’s been an adventure which I never regretted. I didn’t even know where Macau was – and was told it’s near Hong Kong. I’m proud to say Macau is my hometown. Here is a picture story of some of the changes in Macau over the last 38 years. Macau went from being a laid-back, sleepy fishing village to a vibrant and bustling city.
1983. Second hand buses. Fare is US 6 cents. An attendant in the middle of the bus makes change. She has a rack of coins on her stand. When the driver hits the brakes – the coins fly everywhere!
Today Macau has excellent and efficient public transit. 24 hour bus service. And a LRT (Light Rail System). Air conditioned buses. Bus app on our phone gives real time information. Fare is US 75 cents – with MacauPass 37.5 cents. For seniors – it’s free!
Casino shuttle buses offer a second bus system. The Venetian resort alone has 250+ buses – enough for a small city! Luxurious!
Tricolos. (Pedicabs) Slow sightseeing tours.
When I arrived a new phone company CTM was setup. All the streets were dug up and a new 32 line fiber optic cable laid. We wondered why do we need a 32 line fiber cable. Now we know why. Macau has one of the fastest internet connection in the world. Pure fiber!
Worker’s Stadium. Lunch for US 50 cents!
City center. Also called fountain square. The cow sign is a famous dessert shop selling steamed milk. Still exists but at a different location.
100 Pataca banknote when I arrived in 1983. Very colonial look. Pataca is Portuguese for Peso. The Mexican Silver Dollar was widely used for trading in Southeast Asia and China at the time and noted for its purity. The Macau Pataca notes were intended to displace dependence on the Mexican Silver Dollar.
2005 100 Pataca note. Less colonial looking. Features Macau landmarks.
Newest 100 Pataca note. Lots of security features – hologram, foil stripe, embossing, watermark. Now we have two issuing banks. BNU and Bank of China. Because of that and notes from different years, we have 5-6 notes of the same denomination at any given time.
Interesting statistic. Macau has the 2nd densest number of ATMs in the world. (South Korea is number 1). 1200+ ATMs in Macau!
Last week we had a new feature added. We can use our smartphone to withdraw cash from ATM machines. “Contactless” withdrawal. Back to the Future!
Weekend entertainment. Four lane bowling alley in the basement of Hotel Lisboa. You needed to signup for one game.
