Japan, Vietnam, Burma, India – it’s so easy to name places in Asia that after some years living here, I still haven’t visited and really want to. Some of them are accessible directly from Macau, others from Hong Kong Airport – which by the way will become kind of a ‘second Macau airport’ after the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge is completed.
For obvious reasons, more airlines are starting to fly to and from Macau, and to take people from here to other Asian destinations. AirAsia, Jetstar, Tiger Air and Cebu Pacific are just some of the companies who have been investing here, in response to a range of factors, from tourism to the local labor market.
Air Macau, obviously, keeps on opening new routes to Mainland China, attracting people from the most important source market for the local gaming industry. And for those living in Macau, many destinations in China are still a great escape, easy to reach and affordable.
It’s true that we know all this, but how much do we really know? How many times do we actually jump on a plane and enjoy a weekend somewhere in Mainland China or Southeast Asia? The truth is that the options are getting wider and it’s good to keep up to date, so we can continue discovering this wonderful region – and this is valid for both westerners like me and people born in this part of the world.
Yes, Europe is a great place to visit, a huge open-air museum as some call it, an old continent with great traditions and an immensely rich history. But let’s not forget there’s a great deal to see and enjoy around here, just on the doorsteps of our small Macau.
In this issue we map some of the routes and good deals you can get by travelling to your destination from Macau airport. We also look at different destinations where we’ve been traveling recently, and we recommend a few great places to head to this summer.
Hopefully you’ll find some good tips to plan for your upcoming holidays, and whatever advice you decide to accept, definitely consider this piece: no matter where you go, don’t forget to take a good book with you. Try The Art of Travel, by Alain de Botton. The relevance of this topic is obvious and I promise you, you’ll be surprised page after page. Because most of the time travel is not just about where we go, but how and why we go.
