A Day In Macau
I’ve been very excited to put this into writing since this is one of my most unforgettable experiences. Months of preparation has been exerted and finally the time has come, my first ever out-of-the-country trip! I was with my workmates and all of us were first timers. A bit of nervousness but loads of excitement were on us. Add it up by me being the planner hence becoming the guide for this trip. Good thing, I didn’t fail my companions; you can ask them for that. :)
We booked a one-way ticket to Macau and a return flight from Hong Kong to Manila. We had this so we can maximize our 4-day vacation, technically only 3 since we will be already out in the morning on the 4th.
Flight from Manila to Macau usually takes less than 2 hours so we didn’t bother to buy in-flight meals anymore but my friend bought herself a cup of coffee and chocolate chip cookies since she hadn’t taken her breakfast yet.
“Honestly speaking, these cookies were good!”
We arrived in “Macau International Airport” on time despite of the gloomy weather. I expected this already since I’ve been constantly checking the weather condition of Macau and Hong Kong for the past few days and it’s rainy all-week long. Well, their summer has just started and it’s hot and rainy here on this type of season; ‘not the best time to go here I guess.
Their airport was not something I expected. It’s not bad but nothing fancy either. I would say I like our NAIA Terminal 3 more but I bet they are more organized here.
We easily saw the terminal for free shuttle buses going to different Casino-Hotels. It’s located outside, on the right side of the airport. Doing Casino-Hotel Hopping here in Macau is very easy. There’s no need for you to take out your wallet since a lot of free shuttle buses are already available for your convenience. We’re actually very grateful for this especially on this kind of weather and with our tight budget, of course.
We hopped on the free shuttle bus of “The Venetian Macau” since it’s one of the nearest Casino-Hotels from the airport. Our bus trip only lasted for around 10 minutes.
“While waiting for other passengers”
The Venetian Macau was so huge and majestic. I should have worn my suit and tie. Our casual clothes seem to not suit the place but good thing everyone else was on their casuals as well. Haha!
“Mirror Selfie!”
We didn’t bother to go inside the casino anymore since we have our bags with us and it’s very strenuous for it to be checked. So, we just looked for “The Grand Canal Shoppes”.
If you’re in Macau, you should not miss this place. I believe, this is one of the most famous attractions, not just this Casino-Hotel, but this country can offer. It’s like you’re actually in Venice, Italy. The architectural design of the place together with the Gondola rides felt very like Venice.
This place is a one huge mall so if you love shopping, you’ll definitely like it here. Well, make sure that you have a lot of cash as well since most of the stores here are from high-end brands. But you can surely see good finds that are worth to spend for.
And also, I need to mention that there were a lot of Filipinos working here. It surprised us that most of the people that we asked for directions were Filipinos! Not knowing their nationality, of course we asked them in English and they will respond in Tagalog. That’s cool!!!
Thanks to a fellow Filipino who instructed us on how to get to the Food Court. Since it’s lunch time, the place was jam-packed but we managed to get a decent spot. There were actually a lot to choose from, mainly local cuisines to American and Italian.
“I went for local worth 45MOP (drink included) which I think the cheapest I can find.”
After being in The Venetian Macau for almost 3 hours, we were next bound to the “City Of Dreams” which was actually just across the street. Unfortunately, it was raining hard when we got out and needed to wait for the rain to stop. Since we still had a lot in our itinerary and couldn’t wait any longer, we decided to just run on the rain. Haha! Well, it’s actually just like crossing EDSA, that’s how near it was. And also, the rain was not that hard anymore when we cross. ;)
We finally landed on the City Of Dreams and they welcomed us with this magnificent entrance. I would say this was the best part of this place for me.
We didn’t take much time in here and just took some photos of anything we found amusing.
You can still use these free shuttle buses even though a Casino-Hotel is not your destination, just like we did here. We were going to “Senado Square” so we took the free shuttle bus going to “Hotel Sintra” because it’s the nearest. Do research beforehand of the vicinity so you would know which shuttle bus to take or you can just simply ask for directions.
The rain has started to settle down when we got off. We finally had a taste of the city proper, the real Macau.
It took us around 10 minutes of walk from Hotel Sintra going to Senado Square (Largo Do Senado). Most of the streets were paved with bricks, and establishments were somehow a mix of the old and the new. You can really see the Portuguese influence on this place.
I thought of this place similar to a Plaza in the Philippines where in various events were held and a lot of commercial and government establishments around. A beautiful church was nearby which somehow resembles the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila. I actually thought this was named after San Agustin as well, but this is dedicated to St. Dominic.
We passed through a narrow alley leading to “The Ruins of St. Paul”. Before you reach the attraction, several stores offering various souvenirs and delicacies are around. You can grab their free samples of Beef Jerkies and Almond Cookies which I certainly tried. I believe I had the free samples of these on each store. Haha! Instant free snack!
“The Ruins peeking”
After trying unlimited free tastes and checking some souvenir items, we finally arrived to our destination. There were a lot of people on the stairs leading to the ruins so taking pictures was a challenge. Add up the still gloomy weather and wet surroundings, but these were just small things that should not bother us.
“Just some photo ops ;)”
Luckily, we were able to enter the ruins and explore its underground. We managed to enter which was just seconds before they closed the gate. Hooray for that!
We went uphill next going to Mount Fortress which was very challenging and tiring. Think of carrying your heavy backpacks on a wet slippery pavement going up the hill through stairs and inclined planes, that was us. Good thing it was gloomy and not hot or else, we were next on dying. Haha!
“Click HERE to know more about this simple and comfortable OOTD.
The climb was worth it when we got at the top. It was peaceful and you can see a 360-degree view of Macau, from its residential areas to its tall buildings and grand casinos.
“The view with the Grand Lisboa is very picturesque. “
The Macau Museum was also situated there. We didn’t check it anymore since there were no people entering, or maybe it was closed already. And also, I believe, there’s a fee.
“WTH is this?!”
Night time was already approaching so we decided to now end our Macau Trip. But we will not leave Macau without trying their Portuguese Egg Tarts. I planned to try it on “Margaret's Cafe e Nate” since it’s very popular here. But after a long walk, unfortunately it was closed already. I actually forgot that I think I read somewhere that it closes early. So we decided to go back to Senado Square and just buy a box of egg tarts there. My friend decided to just stay in the cafe since she was very exhausted already so I have my other friend to accompany me back. We ate the yummy egg tarts on one of the tables of Margaret's; ‘still felt like we dined there. Haha! I actually don’t know the brand of the egg tarts we bought. It was just the nearest we can find. I’m actually looking for “Koi Kei Bakery” which also offers one of the best egg tarts but nothing to be seen. Though the ones we bought were actually good. I love how flaky the crust was and the egg filling was a little bit sweeter compared to Lord Stow’s I tried in Manila.
After the quick snack, we actually don’t know where we can find a free shuttle bus going to the “Outer Harbour/Macau Ferry Terminal”. Since we were already in the Macau Peninsula, it was the nearest Ferry Terminal so it would be more convenient to go there. The other terminal would be on the other island where The Venetian Macau and City Of Dreams were. We decided to go back to Hotel Sintra to check. Since we were all exhausted and the rain started to burst again, we just hopped on the free shuttle bus going back to City Of Dreams and just went with the other Ferry Terminal. From City Of Dreams, we rode the bus going to the “Taipa Terminal”.
We actually planned this Macau Trip to not spend any cents on transportation and just use the free shuttle buses available; and we succeeded! No single cent spent for land transportation! Yahoo!!!
At last, we arrived at the Ferry Terminal; all tired and feeling sick. Haha! We bought our ticket going to Hong Kong through Cotai Water Jet which cost 190HKD per person. Good thing, there was no line at the ticket counter and we had no waiting time. We were able to be on our seats in a flash. Finally, we can now relax and just wait to be in Hong Kong! There would be more fun, exciting and of course tiring experiences to come!!! Goodbye Macau! ‘Excited for you Hong Kong!
“Till we meet again, Macau.”
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