Macau is Also Struggling for Business

Small Macanese businesses struggling post pandemic

It looks like Hong Kong isn't the only one moaning about people escaping on the weekends to go across the border to Shenzhen -- Macau is too.

Casinos are still drawing visitors willing to part with their money, but when it comes to food, there are no more freebies, like gold-flecked abalone tarts and pork chop buns washed down with bubble tea.

No more free egg tarts in casinos

Visitors followed the advice of social media posts that told them where to get free transportation from hotel shuttles, free food from casinos, from ice cream to egg tarts, popcorn and pineapple buns, and souvenir streets for food samples like beef jerky and almond cookies, and free entertainment in hotels, like animated water fountains, and radio-controlled dolphins made of helium balloons floating around.

Nearby restaurants complained they had no customers because the casinos were giving away free food so the latter obliged and stopped the practice. But even then the restaurants don't have any business because even office workers drive across the border for lunch.

"We had a period just after the pandemic when things seemed like they were improving, but as soon as borders reopened with the mainland and people were allowed to drive north again... it has been very difficult for proper restaurants like us to survive," said Moon Tong Ut-i, manager of Riquexo, a Macanese restaurant that has opened for more than 30 years.

Another cafe that opened after the pandemic and serves Southeast Asian noodles and snacks is also struggling. 

People go across the border to eat cheaper food

"We all assumed life would return to normal after the pandemic, so I thought I would give it a try. Who would've thought everyone would leave?" said owner and businessman Justin Chang.

Looks like for both Hong Kong and Macau it's going to get worse before it gets better... 

The Non-Casino Macau Tour

Even the stairs are painted with cats in Macau!

After lunch at Miramar in Macau, my relatives took me on a stroll in Coloane Village. First stop was to get half a dozen egg tarts from Lord Stow's. As you approach the unassuming shop, you can smell the butter baking in the oven. 

Lord Stow's famous egg tarts

The staff have boxes of freshly-baked egg tarts ready to go and were doing a brisk business when we arrived. It wasn't busy, but a small steady stream of customers.

Then we walked along the waterfront, and in the distance you could see Zhuhai, like the distance between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. 

As we walked along the side streets, we spotted many colourful murals, many painted by art students. It's a great and inexpensive way to bring some vibrancy and character in the neighbourhood, and many visitors take pictures too. 

There are also many green thumbs in the area because in front of people's homes they had small gardens and made the most of the space they had with lots of potted plants and flowers that beautified the streets.

At one small shop selling souvenirs and coffee was a sign that said "Macau Cultural and Creative Ice Cream". We were curious to find out what this meant and asked the two staff there. One came over to where we were and pulled out the freezer to show us Macau buildings in different colours on a popsicle stick. So that's what they meant by cultural ice cream! Clever! They were 25MOP each so we didn't get one...

This pond will be filled with water lilies later

Then we walked down a mosaic staircase to Wetland in Avenida da Praia, which has a view of the giant casinos in the area: Galaxy, Morpheus, City of Dreams, Venetian and Paris to name a few. There's a giant shallow pond where later in the summer it will be filled with water lilies and lily pads. A few fish were swimming in the muddy water, but it was extremely shallow for them. 

At the other end of the pond were restored homes of Macanese officials. We were able to visit one of them that was furnished with antiques to give visitors an idea of what life was like in the 19th century.

For example the families were so religious that they had prayer benches in their bedrooms, and had religious effigies of Christ, or paintings of Christ around the home.

Nearby was also the former IEC Long Firecracker Factory. The complex is made up of several old and abandoned buildings, though no one is allowed inside them. They are one or two storey concrete huts and in between them are barriers built to hopefully prevent the spread of explosions in case any of the firecrackers were set off accidentally. 

Fireworks were manufactured in these buildings

Apparently at one point Taipa was home to five fireworks factories, but by the 1980s production slowed down. This village was set up in 1925 and closed down in 1984.

While it was a hot and humid walk, it was a great way to see the other side of Macau (the non-casino version)!

Palm Springs: Agua Caliente Cultural Museum

Entrance to the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum

Palm Springs has casinos in three locations called Agua Caliente, run by the indigenous people known as the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.  

Next door to the one in Palm Springs is the recently opened Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, giving visitors more insight in to this Indian band and how this land in Palm Springs is so important to them.

They occupied the land in the valley because there was a large lake there called Lake Cahuilla and they flourished there. But an earthquake caused this body of water to disappear.

Impressive 3-D video of the history of the area

Around the time of the gold rush in the late 1840s was when the Cahuilla Indians first encountered white people, who pushed the indigenous people into smaller and smaller tracts of land as the area became developed. 

Fast forward to today, the Agua Caliente band not only has casinos, but also hotels, land, businesses and banks.

A video of the faces of today show the Cahuilla have intermarried with non-Cahuilla, and they are all proud of their identity, wearing traditional garb and practicing their traditions.

In one of the earlier sections of the museum, an excavation of the land the museum sits on revealed numerous objects, some of which are on display, from shells to tools, and there are beautifully woven baskets too.

Another exhibition space showed the work of indigenous photographer Horace Poolaw (1906-1984), who was one of the first American-Indians to visually document his community in Oklahoma in black and white photographs.

Poolaw's portrait of his brother and buffalo head

"I do not want to be remembered for my pictures, but through my pictures I want my people to remember themselves," he once said.

Some feature his children in western or Indian clothing, others cultural events or striking contrasts -- one shows Horace's brother wearing his feather headdress and in front of him the head of a buffalo that he had killed. Another shows an American TV host posing with an Indian in full traditional garb.

Most impressive was a video projection of the history of the Indian band on a relief map that created animation, lots of information and clips that made the story much more rich and interesting as it moved over the three-dimensional map of the valley. Telling stories using the latest technology is impressive and memorable.

Agua Caliente Cultural Museum

140 North Indian Canyon Drive

Palm Springs

760 778 1079

Chinese Tourists Gamble and Get Vaccinated in Macau

Since last month Macau began vaccinating Chinese visitors

Chinese travellers to Macau are not just going to the gambling tables at the casinos, but also heading to a designated immunisation clinic to get mRNA vaccines in their arms.

As the Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted in China, the number of infections are exploding and some people are trying to do whatever they can to protect themselves.

While the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is used in Macau and Hong Kong, it is not approved for use in China.

Macau University of Science and Technology

But last month Macau's Covid-19 Infection Response Coordination Centre announced it was lifting restrictions on vaccinations for short-stay visitors.

Since then, the Macau University of Science and Technology Hospital -- the only vaccination site offering mRNA vaccines for tourists -- is now the place mainland visitors go to these days.

However, they are getting the mRNA vaccine that fights against the original Covid-19 strain and not the newest bivalent one that targets both Covid-19 and omicron.

In addition, the shots aren't free -- mainland tourists must shell out between HK$1,360 to HK$1,650 (US$175-US$212) per shot.

Mainland tourists cannot go to Hong Kong yet as the border still remains closed, but some Chinese visitors in Macau who got inoculated hope to get another dose in Hong Kong.

How fascinating that Macau has become a vaccination destination, and Hong Kong may soon become one too. That said the Hong Kong government had thrown out the idea of becoming a place for medical tourism... this might be the chance...

Beijing funeral homes inundated with bodies

Meanwhile on the mainland there are no accurate numbers of cases of Covid-19 infections, but what is for sure is the number of bodies arriving at morgues and funeral homes.

In Beijing, there are two designated funeral homes that are allowed to cremate those who have passed from Covid-19 and an Associated Press reporter saw about a dozen bodies delivered to one funeral home within one hour.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting about 200 bodies arriving daily, and quoting one crematoria worker as saying, "It's 24 hours a day. We can't keep up."

Usually a few dozen bodies are cremated daily. 

The government has not reported any new deaths from Covid-19 since it relaxed its pandemic restrictions on December 7. The official death count is 5,235.

However, a University of Hong Kong study predicts nearly 1 million people could die from Covid-19 without a massive fourth dose vaccination campaign, a supply of antiviral drugs and social-distancing measures.

The funeral homes and crematoriums will be literally burning the midnight oil for the next few months... the number of lives lost is a painful cost for insisting on the zero-Covid path for the longest time...

Macau's Gambling Days are Over

Pre-pandemic Macau was the top gambling hub in the world

The glory days of Macau's casinos raking in US$36 billion annually -- six times more than all of Las Vegas combined are fast evaporating thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, and President Xi Jinping wanting the former Portuguese colony to pivot away from baccarat tables and slot machines.

And in another sign that this is happening, casino suppliers are quitting Macau for Singapore and the Philippines.

Macau has been told to pivot from gambling

Light & Wonder Inc is a leading provider of casino products and it's relocating its expat staff to the Philippines, the company's top market in Asia, while another equipment maker in Japan is moving 30 percent of its employees to the Philippines and Singapore. 

The Japanese company has also taken half of its inventory out of Macau, as its revenues have plunged 90 percent because of its prolonged slump.

Macau's casinos aren't buying any new equipment until they get licenses to continue operating at the end of the year, and without new sales, Light & Wonder is only getting limited revenues from maintenance and technical support.

Meanwhile, Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association Chairman Jay Chun said he knew of at least four multinational casino suppliers relocating manpower and resources overseas. The trend could accelerate after the government had announced a cap of 12,000 gaming machines across the city for 2023 under a new casino law. In 2019 there were 17,000 machines.

Though Macau did well for most of the pandemic -- keeping casinos open and allowing a trickle of mainlanders in -- it was hit hard this June when China suspended quarantine-free travel with Macau for more than a month. Tourist numbers were only 300 a day in July, with casino revenue only at US$49 million that month, as casinos were closed for two weeks for a lockdown.

Covid-19 has exacerbated Macau's woes

Many are worried about China-style lockdowns in Macau, which is why they are staying away from the city.

"Singapore and the Philippines are growing exponentially," Chun said. "Macau has already lost its shine."

The devastating economic blow to Macau is only going to make it even easier for China to turn the pliant city into one Beijing wants it to be. Whether it will be a success or not is another issue.

Macau Locks Down to Stamp Out Omicron

Macau shuts down its casinos this week, gaming stocks fall

From today casinos in Macau will be shut for a week in a bid to clamp down on Covid-19 Omicron infections that have spiked -- to 71 infections on Saturday. It has a total of 1,526 infections. This compares to Hong Kong's 1.271 million cases.

For Macau 71 cases is a lot considering it had zero infections for the longest time, and the random case here and there.

This is the first time since February 2020 -- when the pandemic first began -- that casinos are closed temporarily. 

All residents will face a battery of PCR tests

When news broke about the impending lockdown, gaming shares fell between 6.1 percent for SJM Holdings, founded by the late casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, and 7 percent for Sands China, a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands.

Schools and entertainment venues, such as bars and cinemas had already closed because of rising infections and casinos were the last to shut down.

Only those businesses deemed essential are allowed to stay open, otherwise everyone else needs to stay at home. There is no dine-in service at restaurants either. 

The word is that Beijing is not happy with its "favourite child" up until now, and may be using the pandemic as an opportunity to take down the gambling industry several notches in an attempt to make Macau less dependent on gamblers.

However, this will be a tall order as this is the only industry modern Macau has known since the 1960s when Ho won the former Portuguese colony's monopoly gambling license.

Beijing plans to minimise gambling in Macau

In the meantime, while 91 percent of Macanese residents have received two doses of the vaccine -- many of which are probably Sinovac -- the numbers are even less clear for those who have gotten boosters.

Macau is like Hong Kong in that they are both at the mercy of China when it comes to reopening borders.

But Macau only has 600,000 people and doesn't have the volume to support the economy in the long term on its own, whereas Hong Kong still seems to find money to open restaurants and shops, though not at the rate of replacing the ones that have closed.

So we will eagerly watch what happens in Macau this week to see if the lockdown works according to the "zero Covid" strategy, and how the city will be remade even further into China's image...