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Macau
We travelled to Macau by Hydrofoil from HK which took about an hour and a half. To get tickets (HK$148) you need to go to the China Ferry Terminal on Canton Rd in Kowloon where they take cash or card, preferably the day before - they go every half hour but a few were already full. Large bags can be checked for an extra HK$75 or you can save the money and take them on.
Sailing over was quite choppy and the hydrofoil almost took flight on a couple of occasions but we eventually arrived in one piece to a wet Macau Saturday afternoon.
Macau’s ferry terminal is located on Taipa which is an island. We were looking to stay in Macau City which is on the mainland and linked by bridge. To get there from the ferry terminal you can take a complimentary bus from most of the big casino’s. We were going to stay at Casino Lisboa but couldn’t find their bus so got a taxi instead which cost 30 MOPS. We had no MOPS but HK$ are accepted, if not preferred, everywhere so we paid the driver in HK$. The exchange rate is practically the same
aswell, about 15 to the pound, which makes life easier.
Casino Lisboa is S E Asia’s most famous casino and featured in the Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. It’s hotel is 5*. Although we had no reservation they had rooms and we were told a standard room was £110 per night and a deluxe was £130. We hummed and aahed and went for the deluxe at which point the receptionist said she’d charge us for the standard but upgrade us to the deluxe with free mini bar and movies (don’t know if his will work everytime but worth a try). We were naturally delighted to only be paying a measly £110.
We were shown to our room which was out of this world - the nicest place either of us have ever stayed in. The bathroom had a Jacuzzi, steam bath facility, a shower with side jets, steam free mirror, every toiletry you could imagine etc. The mini bar only had one can of beer so I rang housekeeping on the cheeky offchance they’d bring some more and, lo and behold, someone was at the door within 5 minutes with 2 more cans!
Hungry, we ordered room
service - roasted goose & roasted suckling pig with vermicelli and a dim sum selection. Although a 5 star hotel this all came to less than £10 and was delicious!
After an hour or so’s nap in preparation for a serious nights gambling (hoping to cover the cost of the hotel!) there was a knock on the door, probably room service taking their table back. It was room service but instead they were bringing us some complimentary chocolates!
We headed into the casino in our smartest backpacker threads - or should that be least scruffy? (I knew I should’ve packed my tux). For about 15 minutes we trawled round a maze of different casino’s, none of which had a single game we recognized, until we realized these were all Chinese games and the Roullette & Poker was across an elevated walkway on the other side of the road. We found roulette where the minimum bet was about my level - HK$10 (about 66p) - and even better, Texas Hold Em No Limit Poker where you only needed HK$400 (about £26) to sit down. In other casino’s i’ve been in it’s always been much more than this and I’ve bottled it
accordingly and, therefore, never played “live” poker in a casino. We had a few drinks in a sports bar and a couple of (losing) dog bets and goes on roulette after which Rachael went back to the room and ordered a huge fried rice and prawns dish and I returned to get down to some serious gambling. Between the dogs and roulette we were about £15 down at this point and I went straight back on roulette. Anyone who’s been to a casino with me will know my favourite number that I bet on on every single spin is 17. Imagine my delight as it came up 3 times in the first 5 spins and left me about £70 up which more than covered my poker stake.
I then sat down at a poker table absolutely s******g myself. It was just like in the films with all sorts of dodgy characters sat around the table - a couple of triad looking types, a Chinese bloke sat immediately to my right who seemed to rant and rave after every other hand, a young lad with Roy Orbison shades on, a scruffy looking local bloke who didn’t shut up throughout, a young
American lad with a maths genius look about him and a young Danish lad (Scandinavians are always good at poker).
None of them were drinking and a look of joy was evident in many of their eyes when I sat down with a pint of lager and uttered a Karl Pilkington-esque “alright”.
For the first hour or so I hardly played a single hand as my cards were that bad and the other players seemed very, very good. I felt way out of my depth and was half hoping to just be put out of my misery and go to bed! Over the next 3 or 4 hours though (I’m not sure exactly how long) I got into it and ended up leaving the table another £260 up on top of my roulette winnings! Hotel and next few days spending money covered.
Apparently, I got in at about 5am and then got up at 10 for breakfast in the room which consisted of noodles, dim sum and a huge Spanish churro type thing. Not the most appetizing breakfast at the best of times and definitely not with a raging hangover!
Check out was at 12 and our flight to Kota
Kinabalu in Borneo was at 8.30pm. Rachael (a la Ross from Friends) insisted we stay in the room until at least 11.59 after which we embarked on a tour of all the well known casino’s with a view to choosing another one to stay in at the end of our trip.
We started of at the Venetian which was the newest and most expensive in Macau and a sister “resort” to the one in Las Vegas. The gaming floor was enormous, all on one level. The Venice theme was set around a shopping mall rather than the hotel or casino itself which, to me, was just a glorified Trafford Centre albeit with a gondola filled canal running through the middle of it. I found the place plastic and soulless and imagine the rooms are similar so we won’t be staying there on our return (it’s nothing to do with the fact the rooms are £200+ per night, honest!). The food was nice though.
Next we went to the Greek Mythology Casino which was tacky and a bit of a dump. Won’t be staying there.
Next, the MGM Grand. I was expecting some kind of film/Hollywood theme in here but there
was nothing. Like the Venetian, the place was very bland and soulless.
The last one we went in was the Wynn. The Wynn in Vegas is supposed to be one of the best there and we could see why if this one is similar. The place has been kept very simple but just oozes understated quality and class. We still prefer the Lisboa but, if we can’t get a room there next time and the Wynn has a deal on (the standard price is £150 a night!) we might stay here.
With a couple of hours left to kill we went back into the Lisboa’s Casino (no luck this time) then headed off to the airport for our flight to Borneo.
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