Elite Traveler January-February 2016

89 elite traveler JAN/FEB 2016

never see them – unless you’re looking for them. Not only is it important that you’re perceived to have the wherewithal to take part on a grand scale, but you need to have so much of it that you can be seen to lose tens of thousands of dollars without blinking. Adrenaline pumping from the dual thrills of racing and rattling the roulette wheel, my third stop is to check out one of Macau’s other extreme sports: bungee jumping. It’s hardly a national sport but throwing yourself off the Macau Tower has become akin to one. I’m glad I do this before lunch because even the elevator ride to the top of the tower is stomach-churning.

My passenger, a local guide, is almost begging me to slow down. We’ve borrowed a car for a tour of the city and he wants to return it in one piece. But if you don’t indulge in the fantasy of cruising around Macau’s Monaco-style racetrack you’ve missed out. Although not qualified to drive Formula 3, I do hold a Formula Ford license and have thundered around Silverstone enough times to know a bit about motor racing. The only reason that Macau isn’t on the F1 calendar is because today’s cars don’t have the turning radius to get around the circuit. But for aficionados of the much more exciting (in my view) world of Formula

3, where the cars are sportier and more compact, this track is the racing equivalent of the Elysian Fields. With its cobbled surfaces, needle- threading narrowness, adverse cambers and convoluted bends, it’s about as good as it gets. The air is thick with helicopters and the Pearl River is choked with jetfoils bringing in the great, the good and the very rich to be a part of one of the greatest shows on earth. Driving aside, gambling is another industry that will never go away so I check it out myself. Surprisingly this fiscal muscle-flexing takes place in casinos hidden away in the lower-ground floors of the big hotels. This is why you

Left: The challenging hairpin bend on Macau's street circuit Opposite: Inside the sumptuous Studio City Casino Resort

Photos: Gallery Stock, Getty