Say you are walking down the street. There are usually 2 flows of people going in each direction. If someone has to stop, they usually step off to the side to let others pass. Generally speaking people know when they are blocking traffic, I am speaking strictly in the pedestrian sense. Now you get to Macau or even Hong Kong, and once you are there you realize walking as you know it has become a struggle. Now I have to preface the fact that applies to everyone. The truth is you will face these difficulties in supermarkets, shopping areas, going sight-seeing, and basically anywhere there could potentially be people.
In Macau people stand in your way completely oblivious of other people. They will push you, cut you off, and even block any escape routes. I am not sure how this reality came to be, but I am realizing that I have to fight back. If I even want to get anywhere in a sensible amount of time, I have to make my presence known. You will have to master weaving in and out of crowds because there are never clear pathways. God forbid if I were running late. In those situations I prefer to run in the street. Did I mention how slow people walk here? Slow as molasses is like speed walking to almost every local. There are always exceptions, but my advice to you is if you are in a hurry and there are tourists or a family in your path, just take another route.
Now I want to clarify the "fight back" I mentioned earlier. I don't want to come off like I have been beating up Chinese people because it's not true. There have been circumstances when it was quite necessary to push people out of the way. "Mm goi jeje" is the phrase for people to get out of the way. If it is a noisy, crowded area people will not hear or choose to ignore you. So this is when the gentle, yet forceful push comes in handy. It's better to do this because people will drive you mad. People here literally stand in a busy area thinking they have the power to block others from passing. They have no idea what they are doing, because if they did, they would move to the side. I also recommend big bags on both sides to get people out the way. Nothing says "move!" like a big-ass bag pushing you to the side. So if you feel bad about the gentle yet forceful push, you have the bag to blame instead. "It wasn't me, sir/mamam, it was the bag."
The key creating your own personal space is not to get carried away. I am still trying to find a balance so I have become a little aggressive. Oh well, it's not personal so make some space!
*The visuals are examples when you need to use these methods.
