By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

Seeing the fluffy clouds from the plane, which looked like soft pillows, I felt like I was in dreamland. But I knew I was not dreaming when the plane landed on the runway of the Macau International Airport at Taipa Island one cloudy Monday afternoon.

As we headed to the arrival area, I heard voices spoken in different tongues. I opened my little notebook and jotted down a few conversation lines in Cantonese and Portuguese. But then again, they were of no help. Only a handful of people understood English. I noticed that they understood my English better if I imitated the way they spoke.

We later made our way to the hotel through a transport service from a travel agency, albeit most hotels do offer free shuttle services. When we arrived at the hotel, we checked in our luggage, grabbed a map and a booklet on some basic information about Macau from the concierge and went out to taste what it offered.

We took the hotel’s free shuttle to go to the Macau Ferry Terminal. The shuttle passed by a bridge connecting Taipa Island and the Macau Peninsula. The beauty of Macau bloomed as the sun set. Photographers would surely fancy the dazzling lights from the bridge and the exterior of the casinos.

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By Estanislao Caldez
Northern Luzon Bureau

TUGUEGARAO CITY–An Asian Spirit Boeing plane carrying 18 casino players from Macau landed at the Tuguegarao airport last Thursday to start its flight from that Chinese gambling center.

The Macau visitors were invited by officials of the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport in Sta. Ana town.

Cagayan officials led by Gov. Alvaro Antonio led the group that welcomed the visitors, who were entertained with songs and dances at the airport.

“The historic flight opens the development and progress of Cagayan,” Antonio told the visitors.

With the flight from Macau to Tuguegarao, Asian Spirit plans to have other flights from 14 cities in Asia and the Pacific to ferry tourists and investors to Cagayan, he said.

By Augusto Villalon
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Macau is a place of many contradictory realities, all happening simultaneously and almost independently of each other. Confined within a total area of around 25 sq km, the Chinese fishing village and former Portuguese colony is established today as the 21st-century gaming capital of Asia, its future anchored on the massive numbers of visitors attracted by its booming casinos.

Macau is a city in perpetual motion. Las Vegas-type casinos continually pump cash throughout the day and night into already fully loaded city coffers. Money, lots of it, and everything that newly earned wealth can buy is everywhere in abundant Macau today.

“The more the better” is the feeling that new Macau generates, and Macau definitely keeps gathering up more and more of everything.

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