Thursday, January 18, 2007

Ruins of St. Paul

So where was I when it comes to Macau?

Ah … I was eating THE egg tart and after that “enriching” the body session, I’m ready to “exercise”. The next stop, Ruins of St. Paul.


As you see from the map, well, I don’t even know where’s the egg tart place but I suspect is near the one I marked blue :p ... (which seems like everywhere) Oops. (BTW, you can easily get the very helpful map from the ferry terminal at the Visitor's Information Centre)

The red line is where Ruins of St. Paul is and the green line is where Senado Square is.


The whole walking experience was very pleasant. Not too far. Not too near. Around 10-15 minutes. I remember we passed through the main street. Shucks … sorry, I really can’t remember the details :p ... We asked strangers on the way and voila, the next thing we knew, we were at the Senado Square. (Can you believe that we were passing Senado Square at least 3-4x throughout my entire trip?) -.- What can you find there? Food oh glorious street food and shopping. (I didn't do much shopping so I personally can't comment on that. I can comment on the walking though. :p)

Then finally, I saw the sight where everyone loves to take photo with when they are in Macau. The Ruins of St. Paul. Yippeee!!! It’s time for me to be the model instead of the spectator :p … (Vomit) Don’t worry. I’m not going to put the picture when I am posing with The Ruins of St Paul. Happy? :p

So here there are the amazing façade that’s still standing after the fire that took down the church.


This one is at the back. You can actually go up there and look through the holes. Some people throw coins there. (Don’t know for what). May be they think since there are no wishing well, there’s still a wishing “hole” and they throw and throw and throw.


At the back of the facade, as you walked further you will discover this:

So, I first choose to the right and my next discovery was the Crypt and this is what I saw:


Apparently, they kept the bones of the ancient Japanese and Vietnamese martyrs at the side walls as being displayed below. It is recommended that one to remain very quiet and respectful while entering this place.


Next to the Crypt, there’s the Museum of Sacred Art. Inside you will discover paintings, statues and religious artifacts originated from 16th – 19th centuries. I took a few pictures of them, here they are:

But there’s only one that captured my attention:


Why? This picture depicts the Japanese martyrs that died for the cause of the religion. It seems holy but yet eerie. Just can’t help to wonder why human beings are so cruel for just a belief. Well, it’s not my place to comment. Let them be who they want to be as long as they are happy. Everybody has free will and one life to live. It’s seriously up to every individuals how they would like to start and end their life.

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