Macau is circa one hour ride (by ferry) away from Hong Kong. The cost differs according the time you take the ferry. My ride there by the morning ferry cost me 134HKD (Hong Kong dollars - c. 1 kuai equals 1HKD) and ride back by evening ferry could cost 175MOP (Macau Pataca - c. 1 HKD equals 1 MOP). You should buy your ticket upon your arrival or you could end up stranded on this peninsula as tickets are easily sold out*. This might not be as problematic as it seems - hotel space is abundant and gambling is going on 24/7.
Macau is in fact very small peninsula just next to Guangdong province of mainland China. It also includes small island where new casinos are being built on the reclaimed land (from sea). Unless you plan to gamble your life savings here, one day for a visit is sufficient enough. You can easily walk all around the place and criss-cross the streets of old town as well as stride along boulevards were big casinos are. The fact that in Macau you can find both; historical buildings included on UNESCO World Heritage List and ultramodern temples of mammon is the main reason which I think this place does not have a it's own identity. Of the above mentioned two parts of Macau history is loosing lately.
Unlike Vegas' Strip were you can see the gambling culture in its purest form, Macau does not have dominant street where the casinos are concentrated. You rather find them spread all over southern half of the peninsula (Gran Lisboa, MGM Grand, Wynn etc.) and over the islands of Taipa and Coloane - or rather reclaimed land between them (Venetian). Also unlike Vegas, which sold its soul entirely and went for 'kitsch' of fake Parisian, Venetian, Ceasar's and so on, Macau does not present you with Eiffel Tower, Pirates' Bay, Roman palace or pyramid. Only outrageously crazy thing is Gran Lisboa's tulip like tower which dominates city landscape (small Chinese fortress or some Egyptian looking complex does not count). One thing is not enough to push the city towards the 'beauty-of-the-beast' thing seen in Vegas. Maybe after completion of ongoing projects** (which momentarily stand idle due to financial crisis) Macau will receive face lift which put it out of the shadow of its bigger brother.
Of course I did not have opportunity to see Macau by the night (only from ferry terminal and the whole promenade was dominated by big neon sign of Sands) and it could have entirely changed my perception, which I really doubt, as Vegas was hideously beautiful also during the day.
Further, I was perplexed by combination of skyscrapers with history. It really does not go well (at least for me) to see tall-rises spread all over the horizon disrupting view of the historical town center. What is even worse is Gran Lisboa golden tulip which can be seen from any viewpoint in the city (literally). This is currently the tallest point in the city besides Macau tower, rising even above the level of hills within city limits. Although city accepted UNESCO charter on preservation of cultural heritage, it was too-little-too-late to save the views :)
Old town is on the other hand something very Portugese and out of place and time here in Asia :) Although little over-churched it fully deserves to be thronged by Asian tourists.
Anyway, I have returned to Hong Kong, where all buildings, with exception of Legislative building, are at least 30 storeys high and still do not reach over Victoria peak.
Note: * Turbojet company is the one with the most frequent schedule. It connects Hong Kong island with Macau. You should check out other companies as well. Although they are not cheaper, they might offer better times. They link Macau with other parts of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (e.g. Kowloon).
** believe me there are plenty of ongoing projects. Most of them seems to be put into rest and conserved while waiting for financing. It looks odd to see buildings with cranes on top of them but no movement or construction work going on.
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