There was something magical about Macau as we explore more the narrow alleys coming from Senado Square and St. Dominic’s Church. The business center was a busy place. We passed by lanes of food stalls, souvenir shops, and fashion boutiques. Finally, we caught glimpse of the imposing facade of Ruins of St. Paul’s perched on top of a hill.

Ruins of St. Paul’s or Ruinas de San Paulo was located few distances away from Senado Square. Originally, the site was a large complex that lies St. Paul’s College and St. Paul’s Church. The church was first constructed in 1580 but caught fires in 1595 and 1601. It was reconstructed and completed in 1637. Unfortunately, a strong typhoon hit Macau in 1835 and for the third time, the church caught fire again.

feeling happy with Day Leen, Kimmie, and Jelo, my new travel buddies

Today, the facade and the stairs are the remnants of what used to be the greatest church in Macau. Seeing it now, it looked so strong and dignified as it was fortified with steel and concrete.

We had a hard time taking a good angle of the facade because of the huge crowd. We waited for several minutes and later we had our descent shots. Happy and satisfied with our picture taking, we headed to the back to climb the top of the facade. But to our dismay, the steel stairway was closed for renovation.

closed for renovation

Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt or Museu de Arte Sacra e Cripta is at the end corner of the ruins. I noticed few tourists were visiting this museum. But for us who love to explore more, we opted to go down and headed first to the Crypt which was on the left. It was built on the old site of the chancel of the original church but was destroyed by fire in 1835.

Inside there were tabernacles and a cross on top of the granite stone facing the altar. Relics of Vietnamese and Japanese martyrs can be seen on the glass sidewalls.

The Museum of Sacred Art is a room adjacent to the Crypt. There were interesting artifacts and archaeological finds inside dated back from the 16th to 19th centuries. There were also several religious portraits hanged on walls and statues of saints. What caught most of my attention was the crucifixes made of ivory.

The museum can be navigated for ten to fifteen minutes only. But I could say, it was worth a visit.

Opening Hours – 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, no admission after 5:30 pm. Closed on Wednesday, except Public Holidays

Na Tcha Temple is at the side of Ruins of St. Paul’s and at the back of the facade. The temple which was built in 1888 by local residents became part of the Historic Center of Macau as inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The temple was small and painted gray. There were incense sticks near the entrance porch and a yellow incense coil hanging on the roof. Beside the temple is a ceramic animal figure which was said to be protecting the temple.

the crumbling wall beside Na Tcha Temple

Just beside the Na Tcha Temple is The Section of the Old City Walls which are the remnants of a wall that used to be a defense against the attacks by the Chinese pirates and other invaders. The wall was not properly maintained and is now slowly crumbled into ruins.

Inside the Old City Walls is the Na Tcha Exhibition Room. This tiny room contains few traditional temple display items found during the area’s archeological exploration. The prime attraction inside was the sedan chair of Na Tcha. Outside the room is a board hanging on the wall where the Legend of Na Tcha could be read.

Opening Hours – 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and with no entrance fee.

Looking for food

We went down at the foot of Ruins of St. Paul’s and bought street foods like fishball (buy two get one) for HK$15 and one of Macau’s cuisine signatures, Portuguese egg tart for HK$9. It was my first time to taste this famous egg tart and I found it so delicious!  We bought cold Lemon tea to freshen up our day.

Along the way to our next stop, we passed by Pastelaria Koi Kei, Macau’s well-known food souvenir store that sells egg rolls, almond cakes, peanut candy, meat jerky, and a lot more. We tasted a free sample of pork jerky. It was sweet and tasteful. We did not buy food yet for pasalubong but instead, we went to a souvenir shop and excitedly bought key chains, ref magnets, and display items.

Pastelaria Koi Kei is famous for food souvenirs

Next destination – A-ma Temple

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