The Ruins of St Pauls

Probably the most famous view of Macau is from the bottom of the steps leading up to the ruins of St Pauls. From a distance it looks like a ceremonial gate, but in fact it is what remains of Macau's largest church and monastery after a devastating fire in the 1840s.

You get your first glimpse of it after emerging from some hustling streets, and the approach to this old monument has some very new figures to pass along the way. Some, like those celebrating the Chinese New Year, are temporary.

Others, like this rather oddly posed young lady, are more permanent.

The ruin itself is the old facade of the church. Behind it some modern buildings house what has been exhumed from the remains, including the bones of some Evangelists martyred in Japan. Typical - I had been in the country less than 24 hours, and I had already dragged Claire to look at some dusty old remains of Saints.