{"id":23604,"date":"2018-07-17T10:19:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T03:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/?p=23604"},"modified":"2024-08-16T14:09:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T07:09:19","slug":"one-pacata-two-pataca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/news\/industry-news\/one-pacata-two-pataca\/","title":{"rendered":"One Pacata, Two Pataca&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"23604\" class=\"elementor elementor-23604\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2f5b975 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default tm-col-stretched-none tm-bg-color-over-image\" data-id=\"2f5b975\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-86109ea tm-bg-color-over-image\" data-id=\"86109ea\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2e0efc4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2e0efc4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.13.3 - 22-05-2023 *\/\r\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<h3><b>One Pacata, Two Pataca<\/b><b>&#8230;&nbsp;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">17 Jul 2018 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I sometimes wonder how many people know what Macau <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(a former Portuguese colonial outpost on the southern seacoast of <a href=\"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/resources\/destination-guide\/china\/\">China<\/a>) or could point to it on a map (if you can locate <a href=\"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/resources\/destination-guide\/hong-kong\/\">Hong Kong<\/a>, you&#8217;ve basically found Macau.) If you can do that much, you&#8217;d need either a big map or a small finger to make a mistake. Special bonus question &#8211; what is a Pataca?&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Steeped in history and offering a unique mixture of European charm with the brisk Chinese mercantile mentality, Macau comprises three small islands located some 40 miles east of Hong Kong. Each island is connected by a series of bridges that span the Pearl River, which is the main trading route into southern China. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23605 size-full\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This square is the largest in Macau. Macau is a former Portuguese colony. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yet Macau never reached economic critical mass like Hong Kong has. The reasons for that are many and varied<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The indigenous Chinese population is from the same Cantonese stock. They speak the same language, share the same culture and display that same tenacious work ethic, as do their Hong Kong brethren.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why then is Hong Kong the bustling metropolis while Macau <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">more like <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sleepy, colonial enclave?&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many would cite <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">fact that Hong Kong was colonized by the more commercially aggressive and financially astute Anglo-British; while Macau was colonized by the more laid back, Latin-Portuguese<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Others might point out that Hong Kong has more land, a far better port and English as it&#8217;s lingua franca.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">True<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">but I <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">had <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to find out for myself. To escape the hustle <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bustle of Hong Kong and spend a sleepy weekend in a little touch of Europe is one of the advantages of living here. So I gathered my family up, made my <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">way <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to the Macau ferry terminal and settled in to the Boeing Jetfoil for the 55 minute trip to Macau.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I should add that the mere mention of Macau to anyone living in Asia means gambling. There are Las Vegas style casinos, shows, extravaganzas, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">all <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the temptations associated with dens of iniquity. Being one <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">make an occasional wager myself, I wandered around until I found myself in the Lisboa, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">grand dame of Macau casinos<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I found an empty place at the $10 blackjack table and looked forward to a little excitement.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A couple of hands later, much to my amazement, the dealer looked past <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">me <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and accepted not only my bet, but a bet on my hand from a kibitzer behind me. He even let this yokel call my cards! I couldn&#8217;t believe it. Dammit &#8211; it&#8217;s my chair, my spot; go find your own table &#8211; I thought to myself. Well, not exactly. Seems he <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">was <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">willing to bet more than my modest $10 per hand so I was out of luck before I could even be out of luck.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">My wounded ego and I made our way out of the casino and found one of the many fine Portuguese sidewalk cafes that dot the landscape. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">delicious bacalau and some Portuguese fried rice, washed down with a nice bottle of vinho branco, followed by a generous snifter <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Port put me in a better mood. A quiet stroll through the narrow alleyways that pass for thoroughfares finally brought me back to my hotel. I rested, had a good nights sleep, woke up the next day and realized that I was ready to face another work week in Hong Kong.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">By the way, the Pataca is the official currency of Macau.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rob Chipman is the CEO of Asian Tigers Hong Kong. He will not be seen at a blackjack table in Macau anytime soon. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One Pacata, Two Pataca&#8230;&nbsp; 17 Jul 2018 I sometimes wonder how many people know what Macau is (a former Portuguese&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"large":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"logixs_wp_thumbnail_height":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"logixs_wp_thumbnail_height_400":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s-400x399.jpg",400,399,true],"logixs_wp_square":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s-550x399.jpg",550,399,true],"logixs_wp_landscape":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"logixs_wp_portrait":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s-550x399.jpg",550,399,true],"logixs_wp_huge_square":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"logixs_wp_square_150":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"logixs_wp_small_height":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s-150x180.jpg",150,180,true],"qi_addons_for_elementor_image_size_square":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"qi_addons_for_elementor_image_size_landscape":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"qi_addons_for_elementor_image_size_portrait":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false],"qi_addons_for_elementor_image_size_huge-square":["https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Letter-from-Asia-Macau_s.jpg",600,399,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"atadmin","author_link":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/author\/atadmin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/category\/news\/industry-news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Industry News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"One Pacata, Two Pataca&#8230;&nbsp; 17 Jul 2018 I sometimes wonder how many people know what Macau is (a former Portuguese...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiantigersgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}