Just last week I bookmarked an article on www.stuff.co.nz regarding Twenty reasons to visit Macau.   Very timely as I was just working on my trip planning for our Hong Kong holiday in April.  I’d had Macau on my “maybe” list to investigate further.

As I start reading the article, the first thing that springs to mind is … really?  Bigger than Vegas and Casino Kitsch – I’ve been to Las Vegas and while it was fun, its not somewhere I’m dying to return to.   Gambling just isn’t my thing.  Casino Kitsch – that doesn’t sound appealing.

Next up – catching a wave at the wave pool… maybe if we were travelling with children that would be a good idea – but we aren’t, so that’s off our list too.

I nearly stopped reading, but items 4 & 5 on the list finally mention something we would be interested in – the ruins of St Paul’s and Senado Square “lined with pretty pastel-coloured neo-classical buildings and paved with a striking black-and-white wave pattern.”

Now we are talking!  Something that sounds like more in our line of interest – history and culture.  But I’m worried now.  Is it worth the whole day out of Hong Kong for us?  We’d only go for the day and I know its about an hour on a ferry each way.  A number of reviews mention “rough seas” – will I need one of those Air New Zealand sick bags I wrote about yesterday?

I read a number of reviews that rated Macau very highly, primarily for the casinos.  Is there enough to see and do for the day without gambling?  Is it worth the time and money for the non-Casino travellers?

I’m undecided at this point.