✿ pit stop: Macau

Day 3: January 20, 2010

I woke up with very heavy legs on our third day in Hongkong. I blame the marathons we had the past few days- running from one place to another, looking from one wrong direction to another, getting lost and finding the longer route . I decided to linger in bed but realized that every seconds count. I woke Marjorie up and told her that today is my day. One reason why I went to Hongkong was to cross another country to the city of Macau!

Before leaving, we asked our caretaker for directions to the ferry terminal that will take us to Macau. We showed our detailed map and he told us that the place is very near from our hostel.

At around 10 pm, we found ourselves walking again in search for our destination. On our way, we grabbed another cold Starbucks coffee and in less than 10 minutes, we saw a terminal for ferries and looked for one bound to Macau.

But all the Chinese locals we asked pointed us to another direction. All of them said that we have to look for the China Ferry Terminal which will be more or less another 10-15 minutes walk. The supposed 15 minutes walk turned into more than 30 minutes because we were lost.

we followed all directions but... failed

After the sufferings, we finally reached the terminal and we were glad because we were just in time for another cruise. We bought a round trip ticket in First Ferry that costed us 300 HKD each. After a very smooth sail, we were in Macau past 12 noon. After lining up in the immigration area, some kababayans approached us and offered their services to be our tour guide.

Hesitant to trust strangers, I tried to stay away from them and focused on changing my money from Hongkong dollars to the Macau's currency (pataca). I soon found out that I can use our Hongkong dollars in Macau.

Joy continued to negotiate with our kababayans and checked their passports and ID's. Since we were travelers without a plan, we agreed for a whole day tour for the two of us for 200 HKD. From the ferry terminal, she immediately bought us tickets to the Macau Tower, the highest tower in the city that will give us a 360 view of Macau.

But first, she took us to The Venetian. On our way there, she gave us a little of Macau's history. Macau was under the Portugal rule until it became the special administrative region of China. Not so interested with history, I grabbed my camera to take some shots.

thanks to my sister's camera for the shots

Soon enough, we were in The Venetian and we were mesmerized.

But the outside was just an appetizer, inside was more timeless.

don't be fooled by the sky

The Venetian from the word itself looked like Venice and what made it more exciting was its facilities, amenities and attractions which included a casino space, convention and other entertainment space. Truly, everything was Venice inspired from lights, to ceilings, to walls, to floors.

casino

Since we were very hungry, we decided to take our first Chinese meal before taking pictures. We tried the Peking Duck, Macau style!

Dining was such an experience because of the ambiance. After the lunch was picture taking time!

failed to try the gondola ride

We met several kababayans in our trip and they made me proud. World class talaga ang mga Pinoy!

kamusta ka kabayan?

We went inside the casino before leaving the building but no picture taking was allowed inside. We tried the free coffee and tea. Haha.

We headed to watch the City of Dreams' Bubble Show after the picture taking. The show took place in a space that looked like a small dome. The 10 minutes visual tale was very impressive.

We moved forward immediately to the Grand Emperor Hotel. We went there by a bus. I noticed that most bus rides were free. In the hotel, the main attraction was the Golden Pathway where on its floors were 78 pure gold bars.

Joy is stepping on gold bars!

We rode a taxi to get to Macau Tower. We found out that the traffic moves left in Macau and our driver was a female.

In less than 5 or 10 minutes, we were in the tower. One ticket to go up the building costed us 100 HKD each.

The outside observation deck was in the 61st floor. At it's zenith waits the Sky Jump. Its ad that said, "Why live on the edge when you can jump off" was very attractive. Obviously, I was, again wearing the wrong attire that was why we just took pictures on the edge.

We spent some time on the observation deck viewing the city of Macau. Ang ganda. I can't believe that once in my life, I will be able to see Macau through the glass walls.

Down the tower, we walked a little to feel the fresh air of Macau. 3 days of walking and walking was worth it.

Our tour guide said it was time to go and pass by Senado Square and pay a visit to the ruins of St. Paul.

Senado Square is one of Macau's historical landmarks designed during the Portuguese occupation. Buildings around it are the Leal Senado, the post office and the St. Dominic Church. It reminded me of our own historical landmarks in our country like the Fort Santiago.


they were busy preparing for the Chinese New Year

The square leads to the facade of St. Paul's Church ruins. We passed by a lot of food shops that offered free taste. Tikim lang ng tikim hanggang mabusog. May free water pa! Winner!

We were all full when we reached the ruins.

After the historical visit, we were taken to glitzy hotels whose names I can't remember because I was so consumed with all the golden and sparkling collections.