Macau in 8 hours
Macau, the Las Vegas of the east, is bustling with action all year round. In fact, twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, the ferries servicing Hong Kong and Macau trudges on. Therefore, while planning a trip to Hong Kong, why not throw in a trip to Macau since it is just a short and mere 1 hour away. Get a feel of the west in an Asian country, and try the fusion cuisines and experience the unique cultures, from both S.A.R. (Special Administrative Region) areas.
Saturday 10a.m.
Free Shuttles
When exiting the ferry terminal while arriving in from Hong Kong, do drop by the Visitor’s Information Centre at the entrance. Equip yourself with a few maps of the area and also, pack a booklet of the various events happening in Macau itself. After which, head towards your left, whereby you would see a few queues of people lined up to board the free shuttles towards the various hotels in Macau. In our opinion, board the bus towards Grand Lisbon, as it is the nearest to the various sights and sounds in this wonderful city.
11a.m.
Pork Burgers
Greasy, juicy and huge are the terms to describe the pork chop used in this famous burger or bun. The bun is a buttered toasted baguette. We tried the one stall which was featured in the Korean drama “Boys over Flowers” located near St. Paul’s Ruins. There is also a set meal deal where you will get a burger and a cup of iced tea to round up a meal on a hot day. Soon after, walk down the same street and devour a bowl of “Guilin gao”, a cooling medicinal jelly which helps to bring down the heatiness in your body. If you have more time, do head down to Café Tai Lei for the original famous pork chop burgers!
12p.m.
Colonial Ruins
After trying the delectable Portuguese cuisines, we head towards the well-known icon of Macau, the St. Paul’s Ruins. You will be required to either climb a number of steps to get to the top or walk along an upward slope. However, once at the top, you will feel refreshed as a huge gust of cool wind would relieve you of some of the tiredness. Located just beside this landmark are a temple on the right and a fortress on the left. However, we decided to head down to grab a bite of the yummy sweets before making another climb up. Crazy as we might be, you might want to make some little tweaks to your own itinerary.
1p.m.
Yummy Sweets
Portuguese egg tarts! Your trip is never complete without a taste of the special egg tarts found in Macau. Although a little burnt on the top, the insides are still sweet and smooth while the pastry and crust remains warm and crispy. One egg tart costs 6M.O.P and we bought 4 boxes home, where a box is able to pack 6 egg tarts. All these and more local products are found at Pastelaria Koi Kei, including ginger sweets, egg rolls and meat floss with seaweed.
1.30p.m.
Strong Forts
And up we went again towards the fortress. Let us say that it is both tiring but satisfying. However, do remember to bring along a bottle of water as it may get warm and thirsty at the top where all you would see are cannons and fortress walls. Located inside this fortress is a museum where you would find out about the history of this little country. For us, we gave it a miss as we did not want to pay for the admission fees!
2.30p.m.
Delicious Fins
Head on down to a road called Rua de Felicidades where it was the former red light district of Macau. Now, in present day today, it houses a whole street of stalls selling scrumptious shark’s fin in a gooey yet tasty seafood soup. Definitely able to tantalize your palates and for a cheap price too, only at SGD$3 per bowl. A must-try cheap eat we must say. The stall that we tried is numbered 18. Small and crowded, so be prepared to wait or maybe, order a takeaway bowl just to taste the exotic.
3.30p.m.
Shopping in a Square
Senado Square’s happenings are not to be missed. Various shops line the square selling things from toys to drinks to novelty casino memorabilia. Also, if you are lucky, you might see people gathered around the square and happily dancing to the folk music of the Portuguese.
5p.m.
Casinos Galore
Casinos casinos. Wherever you turn, you will see a casino nearby. So since you are already in this unique casino city, why not just walk in, place a bet, and see if you win anything? If not, just soak in the high-rollers’ atmosphere. Go for it, and who knows, you might be the next one shouting “game”!
5.30p.m.
Top of the city
See the whole of Macau at just one place, the Macau tower. It is now the 10th tallest observation deck in the world. And you are able to experience extreme sports here, from sky-walking to bungee jumping! Not for the vertigo challenged, but we went for it. Bungee jumping for us… And we must tell you, it’s Fun, with a capital F!
6p.m.
Back at Turbo Speed
Headed back to Hong Kong and we will call it a rewarding day spent. Seated in a ferry operated by TurboJet, you will find yourself back in the hotel in no time. This concludes our trip to Macau.
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