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Published: February 16th 2011
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Heavy fog over Macau
CLEARLY not the best day to go sightseeing. Get it? So I'm just going to come out and say it. After living in Hong Kong for almost 4 years, I have never been to Macau before. Yep! It's pretty ironic since it's only about an hour from here, right? Well, I finally had the chance to see Macau for myself today, and I have to say - the city was very spectacular and unique. And hey, what do you know - that means I've already been to 4 countries this year, and it's not even halfway of 2011!
I started very early today, waking up at 7:00 to catch the 8:00
TurboJet service to Macau. Unfortunately I got a bit late & wasn't able to catch that one, but the bright side is that the ferries to Macau are very frequent; they leave from Hong Kong every 15 minutes. I ended up taking the 8:30 ferry when I arrived at the
Shun Tak Centre. I was really excited to ride on the TurboJet for the first time, since this is also the first time I've traveled internationally by boat. Sadly, the ride wasn't a breeze as I expected.
The TurboJet service from Hong Kong to Macau takes approximately an
hour, and it's that hour that I disdained every minute of it. Never have I been so sick on a boat ride before, and I felt like throwing up on the way. I managed to hold my stomach throughout the whole journey, but nevertheless the journey was very shit-tastic and flat-out nauseous. The attendants ironically weren't attentive at all when they showed the menu to a few passengers, and quickly moved on as if some of the passengers didn't even exist. To add more to the drama, the weather today is really foggy, so our arrival got delayed for about 20 minutes. Lovely.
So after the horrible ride on that dreaded boat, we finally landed in Macau, which somehow regained my consciousness once I stepped on solid land. My mission (itinerary) today was pretty simple - to visit all the top tourists spots, and buy some souvenirs & stuff along the way. Once I got out of the ferry terminal, I decided to go to
The Venetian Macao first, and the best way to get there is by hopping on their free shuttle buses from the ferry terminal.
The Venetian Macao was pretty amazing. The whole place is
full of opulence & art, and it's no doubt that the best part of the whole area is the mini-Venice in the mall. I somehow felt like I was in Venice as I was walking around, except that it wasn't Venice. The mall also had alot of branded shops that lined up the streets, with some shops tempting me to take out my wallet. Even the McDonald's at the mall have outrageously-priced meals, compared to a regular McDonald's joint. (HKD $30 for a burger meal, anybody?)
After walking around some parts of the complex, I took the free shuttle bus again to Macau Ferry take the public bus to
Senado Square. There are 3 bus options that go to/pass by Senado Square - 3A, 10, and 10A, although Bus no. 3 was very frequent. It seems that Macau hasn't moved on yet from its Lunar New Year tradition, as Lunar New Year decorations such as lanterns and flowers can still be seen around Senado Square. It was a pretty cool way to see Senado Square in my opinion, since you get that feel that Macau really is intermixed with Western and Eastern cultures.
After a fine dining experience
Mini-Venice
Pretty nice, but I'd rather visit the real thing. at McDonald's at Senado Square (the irony), I made my way towards other popular sites around the area. I've passed through some of Macau's iconic buildings, such as
St. Dominic's Church and
Leal Senado Building, which were all overwhelming & something that you'll never expect seeing in Asia. But, nothing represents Macau more than the famous
Ruins of St. Paul's, which used to be the largest cathedral in Asia until it was destroyed by a fire, leaving only the front facade of the cathedral. It was definitely an amazing sight, and makes you wonder how the front facade still stands proudly in the middle of the city. I walked around the ruins, and when I climbed the stairs behind the facade of St. Paul's, I noticed alot of coins on the middle window ledge of the facade - like a wishing well. I wondered if it also works like a wishing well (not that I strongly believe in wishes), but something stopped me when a man threw a coin, and "prayed". Seeing what that man did somehow amazed me for no reason, so I decided to do it as well; I threw a coin... and "prayed".
The final attraction
I visited today was
Mount Fortress, a huge fort which overlooks the rest of Macau. It was a very old fort, with old cannons pointing towards the outside of the fort. The
Macau Museum is also located on the site, though I didn't check that out since I'm not the museum type of guy anyway. After walking around the whole complex, it was time for me to go, but of course I'm not leaving Macau without trying its most popular dessert - EGG TARTS! (
Portuguese egg tarts to be exact, though I'm not sure if it tastes the same as the ones I buy in KFC.) Some of the egg tart shops I've passed through all have the same prices; $7 for one egg tart, and a box of 6 for $42. One egg tart seller (a cute guy BTW) was a good sport when he made me try one for free, as I was very curious. Because of his kind generosity that made me save $7, I decided to buy a box of 6 from him. What a good chap!
And so, it was time to say goodbye to Macau, and hello once again to that deathtrap called
TurboJet. I thought this ride would be better now since I was fully awake, but I was wrong; it was even worse! I felt the same way as I felt on the way to Macau, except that this time, there were people vomiting very loud (for real!) which made me gag as well. And, to add more to the ~*pleasantness*~, there was even a retard on the back who kept on making loud vomit sounds & laughing. But hey, at least the trip wasn't delayed or I could've lost it.
Just a few words of advice: If you ever want to go to Macau from Hong Kong, the best choice is no doubt by TurboJet. But if you ask me,
I'd rather opt for an airplane, train, or even a bus just to get to Macau, unless you have a strong stomach or you're confident enough to throw up while people are quietly hearing you vomit. I swear, I am never, EVER going to ride on that deathtrap again, EVER - even if it means taking a more expensive way. I would definitely visit Macau again sometime since I haven't seen the rest of it, but hopefully not by
Häagen-Dazs kiosk
A nice chic place to eat ice cream, no? TurboJet next time. And... that's about it - I'm done with TurboJet. Goodbye.
Sincerely yours,
(BRB, vomiting on the toilet)
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Ricky Lee
Lee Wai Kit
Macau !!
Cool so it is your first time there! ^ ^ I also went to macau before and went to the places you visited except for the Venetian. I agrree with you about Turbojet. Its not nice to ride it, but it is the best way.. Anyway, great pictures and hope to see more posts from you soon! ^ ^