..my odyssey: macau

Who wouldn't want to go to Asia's little Vegas? Who doesn't want to visit the famous Venetian Hotel? Who doesn't want to experience the life in MACAU?

When I went to Hongkong last OCtober 2009, I grabbed the opportunity to visit MACAU. From Mongkok, we took a ferry and arrived safely. As we arrived in the terminal, I asked a Filipino looking gentleman as to where we can hail a cab but to our surprise, he asked us where were heading to because there are just buses we can ride to for free. Hala! With no second thoughts, we said VENETIAN hotel and he pointed out where the bus is. We hurrily rode the bus and felt like a class A tourist. hahaa. I was really amazed with the structures and how clean the city is. The tall buildings, nice concrete roads and foreigners everywhere.

Finally, we arrived at Venetian Hotel and mann! we were starving. So we looked around to see the boutiques inside and checked where we can eat. 3rd floor area- that's where we finally get to see different choices of food. The hotel's food centre. There are a lot of choices! I felt like eating Japanese food at that time so I ordered one and to my dismay, the food sucks! It's too sweet.

After eating, we then went around the hotel to check around. It's really uber nice inside the hotel. The ceiling, the design..one can really feel that he/she is strolling around the streets of venice. Aside from taking pictures and filling our ignorance with photos, I get to try playing in the hotel's casino. Beginner's luck is true I might say coz I won! yaaayy! But of course, you won't expect me to win millions because I didn't bet for high stakes. I can still recall Jon being reprimanded by one of the securities for taking pictures. hahaha
So what do you expect? Pictures everywhere! heheh :)

With Jon with me..who wouldn't miss a thing (he even took a picture of the restrooms).

After conquering the Venetian hotel, we then went to check other hotels nearby. We managed to walk under the heat of the sun just to take pictures and see what MACAU is. We went inside this hotel/mall but I totally forgot the name and it was nice too but was not as totally good as the Venetian hotel. Tired of hotel hopping, we decided to visit the Ruins of St.Paul. Now, the problem is..we don't know where to go. I asked one local how to get into the place and if it's just a walking distance. To my surprise, he said it's in another island. Macau is also divided into islands just like Hongkong.

So we headed back to the Venetian, took the free bus and luckily, the bus stopped at Hotel Elizabeth which is a walking distance to the Ruins of St.Paul. And geez.. I could still remember that I waiting for the WALK sign to LIGHT when some of the locals where just crossing the street -jaywalking. hahah and the best part..traffic enforcers where just across the street. That's a good one.

While heading to the Ruins of St. Paul, We passed by some nice structure which resembles the Spanish era. Then my thoughts came in. Macau was once a Portuguese territory thus explains the structures. We also passed by a road with a lot of vendors and where you can buy souvenir items. So I grabbed the chance to buy some.

After a long time of walking and sight seeing.. finally! We arrived at our destination.. The Ruins of St.Paul. I thought I had enough of walking already when you have to climb stairs to reach the top. I wonder how many calories where burned for that day. But then.. memories are all worth it.

Here are some of my keepsakes...

After a long and tiring day of walking and sight-seeing..we then headed back to the terminal to return back to HongKong. It was a nice experience. I wanna go back and try the bungy jumping next time. :)

I have conquered Hongkong and wandered around the Vegas of Asia-Macau last October 2009. That was a very memorable trip because it took me 4 years to travel again outside the country with 2005 as the first. I went there with my good friend and former colleague- Jon S. Though the original plan was to go there with my boyfriend (we've bought tickets already) he has to cancel his flight with us since he got a very good offer from Kia for a trip to HongKong package with pocket money and posh hotel accommodation. I can still remember every detail of the trip because first, I have pictures that bring beautiful memories and of course, I am the official travel planner who made the itinerary and I made sure I keep the details.

Grounds of NgongPing 360

NgongPing 360

Our flight to Hongkong was scheduled at 4am but was a connecting flight to Manila. we enjoyed our little time exploring the huge NAIA airport. We arrived in Hongkong around 9am and enjoyed our little vacation and head straight to Ngongping 360-the Giant Buddha (please see separate article about directions going to Ngong Ping). Because we wanted to really save money and blend in with the locals, we rode the public transportation. It was really easy especially if you have been researching on the transportation of Hongkong for a month. :) We got to ride the cable car (which was Jon's first time) which offers a spectacular view of the Lantau island.

After NgongPing 360, our next itinerary was HongKong Disney land but going there, we rode the MRT- Disney line which was so cool! The windows of the train were shaped like Mickey Mouse. We were really amazed with what we've seen. It was like heaven for kids. Actually Jon was looking at the locals especially the cute boys and we really can't help but notice that 80% of the girls are wearing boots. so we bought our tickets and went inside and tried the rides and took as much as pictures as we want. (please see separate article about Disneyland)

MRT to Disneyland Resort

Inside the Disney Line MRT

Posing at the platform

WELCOME TO DISNEYLAND

Time for us to rest. So since we were in Lantau Island, we have to ride the MRT that will take us to Mongkok. It was already around 7PM when we arrived. I was so pissed off, because Jon's iphone doesn't have battery anymore and the address of the hostel that were staying in Chungking mansion was saved there. I felt dizzy already and super tired. So we went inside the building and looked for an internet cafe so he can charge his iphone. Thank God we were able to locate the hostel -New world Hostel. I was not feeling well as of that time. I was sick and Jon thinking I was just acting keeps on bugging me that he wanted to go to gay bars and Hell! I haven't researched on where the gay bars are. It was a nice hostel with a clean and decent room.

Even if we were so tired and I am sick, we woke up early like 3am to stroll around the streets of HongKong. We were actually aiming to go to the Avenue of stars and yes, we were able to reach that place by simply walking. It was not really far from the place where we stayed. Though there are no lights, we took advantage of the moment and took pictures as usual. It was so cold and I didn't bring with me my jacket and Jon was wearing sleeveless top. After gagging around and strolling around the Avenue of stars, we went back to the hostel to rest again.

Wandering at night

Just strolling around

Avenue of Stars

We rested for an hour and woke up again because were heading to Macau. Yes, we wanted to go to Macau so badly to see the Venetian hotel so we rode a ferry going there. When we arrived at Macau, we asked where we can ride a cab going to Venetian and a Kababayan told us just to ride the free bus going there. Well, if it's free, were IN. lol.. We followed the guide going to the bus and rode. Venetian hotel was situated in the other part of Macau. It was in a different island connected by a bridge. The structures are magnificent. Hotels here and there. We were stunned by the beauty of Venetian hotel when we arrived. It's really like I'm in Paris. The ceiling, the floor tiles, the walls, the shop, the casino..Perfect!

Macau is just a small country but very progressive. Just outside the Venetian hotel was this big hotel so we went there and checked what's inside the building. There were lots of people. Lots of locals and foreigners alike..all admiring what they see. Tried from the hotel hopping, we rode the free shuttle bus again and went to the the main island to see the ruins of the Basilica of St Paul. But before reaching the place, we had to pass by this street market with a lot of food for sale and aheem.. free taste. We stopped by this store where I bought souvenirs. And since we have to catch the last ferry going back to HongKong, we hurriedly went back to the port.

Venetian Hotel

Ruins of St. Paul

When we arrived in HongKong, it was already dark. So we headed to the nearest 7eleven and bought food-microwave food, our official food in HongKong. hehehe.. :) Then it's time to SHOP SHOP SHOP!! We went to Mongkok to witness and experience the Ladies Night market and it was heaven for me! The streets were packed with foreigners and locals and vendors. What amazed me was that their stuffs for sale are so cheap! You just have to haggle. Thank God I have Jon who has very good haggling skills. We were supposed to go Victoria's peak but since we are so tired, we decided to rest.

Nathan Road

Lost?

3rd day- Ocean park day!!! Going there, we rode this two storey bus and since we haven't tried riding at the upper part, we hurriedly went upstairs and seated there. Yes, we were not contented with Disneyland's rides, we went to Ocean Park to see how beautiful the pandas look like and try the amazing rides. For me, Ocean park has better rides than Disneyland for adults. I had a blast! One thing I learned was pandas are so lazy! We just witness them sleeping and that's it. They look so harmless and cuddly that I wanted to hug them. We stayed there until 3pm and went shopping again where we came to this shoe store with very cheap shoes but good quality and fab style. So I grabbed 2 pairs, tried it and paid it. No regrets!