Macau

Macau, the Las Vegas of Asia. There are many sights to see in Macau but most people come here to gamble, to sightsee or simply out of curiosity.

Fun Fact: Macau’s currency MOP and the Hong Kong dollar are almost 1:1 so Hong Kong dollars can be used in Macau however the MOP is generally not accepted in Hong Kong so if you’re using HK dollar to pay in Macau, better check that the change you get is also HK dollar.

We arrived at the ferry terminal at 9 am only to find out all the trips to Macau were booked. And the first trip we could get was at 11.30 am.

Tip: Book your tickets for Macau early so that you can maximize your stay in Macau if you’re planning to only take a day trip. Go to http://www.turbojet.com.hk/eng/home/index.asp or http://www.nwff.com.hk/ to book your ticket. And to fully maximize your day trip, PLAN PLAN PLAN!

We then had 2 and a half hours to spend at the terminal. Sadly, most of the shops don’t open until 10 or 10.30 so most of my friends stayed at KFC while having breakfast while I went to the magazine shop and tried to find at least one English magazine, as most were in Chinese.

Finally! It was time to leave. The trip was uneventful as some fell asleep in order to prevent seasickness while I just talked to my friend.

Upon arriving in Macau, we decided to check in at the Venetian Macau Casino Resorts. The Venetian bus was distinct from other buses as it was big and blue plus a lot of tourists were lining up to get in the bus. I couldn’t wait to see how the Venetian looked like as I have heard a lot good stories about it. And when we go there, it was WOW!

The man made sky looked amazing! Especially when it changes the time of the day by changing its’ colors like sunset becomes orange-y.

When we were about to check in we found out that we couldn’t check in until 3 pm. We then went to the food court to have lunch. By this time, we were starving. I didn’t have breakfast to save money. Lunch seemed expensive compared to Hong Kong but because of the huge servings it was worth it. 4 of my friends and I shared two dishes and we were happy and satisfied. *Burp* YUM!

Tip: One dish is too much for one person unless you’re really hungry at the Venetian food court. The food is also generally good so no problem in choosing where to eat. The restaurants outside the food court are generally expensive so best eat at the food court if you’re in a tight budget.

Once 3 pm hit, we promptly checked in and it was time to go to our room. We were given a map of the Venetian and evens they offered.

Before doing anything else, we went to our room and I can only say one thing, ….! Too stunned for words.

All the rooms in the Venetian are suites so our room could fit at least 6 people. There were two queen sized beds that made us feel like kings and queens, a sofa and two television sets. And the bathroom was just gorgeous, it was huge!!!

After being flabbergasted at the room, we went exploring!

Things to do at the Venetian:

Go swimming at the pool

Play at QUBE (for kids or for parents who want to go to casinos without a nanny)

Go to the casino (for gamblers or those who want to try gambling)

Magic shows (see picture below)

Cirque du Soleil (really good acrobatic act, costs at least 600 MOP)

Shopping (most of the shops are really expensive but the shop that sells Macau delicacies has the same prices as those in the city)

Relax in your suite :D

Lastly, a Venetian experience would be incomplete without a gondola ride!!! (costs much cheaper than the Venetian in Las Vegas)

In order to fully explore the Venetian, we decided to look around the places where only guests were allowed. There was a play place for children that made me want to be a kid again.

They had slides and all types of toys to keep any kid entertained. Then there was the pool.

They had a heated and a non-heated pool to accommodate the guests. The pools were designed to make you feel like you were royalty. And there were Jacuzzis to cater to those who wish to have more privacy. The Jacuzzis were usually filled up fast.

The Venetian was bigger than any hotel that I have ever been to, it was like a big shopping mall. The Manchester United store had its own soccer training area where you could choose to live your dream of playing in the Manchester United team as they try to make you feel like you’re playing for the team.

Then of course, what’s a mall without McDonald’s. We had to eat at McDonald’s and the fries never fails, it is as crunch and as delicious as the McDonald’s back home.

When night time hit, we went to the casino. However as stingy as we all are, the maximum we spent as 20 pataca. The minimum bet for the tables were 50, 100 and 200. We didn’t go to the high limits area so I’m sure it’s much higher there. Because, we did not know how to gamble, we continued to explore the Venetian and we ended up outside. Sky!!! It felt so refreshing to see what time of day it was and to see the real sky. The Venetian sky is beautiful to look at but it can get rather suffocating to stay indoors the whole day.

It was freezing. But no one can stop a group of teenagers from taking pictures when they have set their minds to it and so time for a photography shoot! :D

As we were too tired to keep on exploring the Venetian, we went back to our room and it was time for bed. I had to sleep in the sofa as I was the shortest.

I slept pretty good, I was too tired to really care.

Ysabel and I woke up to eat breakfast as were the only early birds in our group. I expected more from their breakfast buffet but it was the typical hotel breakfast. The food was nothing spectacular but the bread was delicious.

Then it was time to check out. Ysabel and I would take the later ride home and meet them back in Hong Kong as we had two free Cotai jet tickets. But before leaving, what’s a trip to Macau, without seeing the city?

We took a free bus that would take us back to the terminal and from there we took another free bus that would drop us to a hotel in Macau that would be near the shopping district.

Tip: Macau has lots of free buses that you can take advantage of. These buses take you to hotels and from there you can go to the nearby tourist spots. But if you want a guided tour, there are a lot of tours to choose from at the terminal. Again, BARGAIN!

As we were walking, Chamie told us of all the food we had to try and here are Macau’s specialty foods:

Ma pa (barbequed meat)

Portuguese Egg Tart

Almond Cookies

Seaweed Wafers

Egg Rolls

Shredded Pork Floss (also comes on top of buns)

Milk Tea

A fun way of tasting these delicacies is by going to tourist spots and you’ll surely find these for sale. They even give free tastes. Those made fresh are always the best and best to eat them while they’re hot.

After taking lots of pictures at every possible area and eating lots of food we arrived at the Ruins of St. Paul’s Church. It was difficult to get a clear shot due to the hordes of tourists there but we did eventually get to take one.

Anyone is allowed to climb up to have an aerial view from the church however if you’re afraid of heights better not go there since the floor is see through and it shakes. >.<>

From there, we didn’t have anymore time so we headed back to the terminal. Ysabel and I went back to the Venetian, packed up our stuff, got the free souvenir given to guests which was a pin of a Venetian mask and went to the bus that would take us to the Cotai Jet terminal. If you may not have noticed, the way to get around in Macau is by bus, FREE buses.

The ride was a bit scary as the waves were stronger and so we were like riding a roller coaster. There weren’t many people in the jet so we had the whole front row to ourselves. In order to calm ourselves, we pretended that we were riding a roller coaster and so the ride turned out to be quite fun.

And we’re back in Hong Kong!

Thanks to Darren for some of the pictures :)