MACAU Day Trip

Let me show you our intended schedule for our Macau trip:

Friday August 9: Macau
530am	wake up
6am	travel to China Ferry Terminal via Kowloon Park
7am	travel to Macau (澳门)
8am	arrive in Macau, immigration details
9am	travel to Fisherman’s Wharf via Sands Shuttle （澳门金沙酒店)
11am	travel to Venetian Hotel via Sands Shuttle （威尼斯人 度假村)
130pm	cab ride to Macau Giant Panda Pavilion (石排湾郊野公园)
2pm	observe pandas and other animals
4pm	travel to Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral  (大三巴牌坊)via Bus 26A 28mins, 20 stops, Almeida Ribeiro亞美打利庇盧大馬路）
7pm	go back to Macau Ferry Terminal (外港码路)via Bus 3(20mins, 9 stops from Almeida Ribeiro/ Rua Mercadores 亞美打利庇盧大馬路)
8pm	travel back to HK

Let me tell you what actually happened.

Fil and I woke up 630am, quite tired from lack of sleep. We hurried to China Ferry Terminal, and opted to pass thru the shortest route – via Haiphong Road. We arrived in the terminal after a ten-minute leisurely walk.

My Vanity extend from Manila to Macau. I asked Fil to put my false eyelashes on me, so I would look nicer in the pictures 🙂

our short walk to the ferry terminal.

Our personal water containers. Highly recommended, because we simply clipped it on our small bags.

the road to the ferry terminal

signs were clearly posted in the area. The entrance is actually inside a mall.

When we reached the ticket selling area, there was a touter right in front, selling tickets at the same cost. I seemed to recall reading in Pinoy Exchange forums that these are quite legit, so without thinking much, we bought our 8am tickets from him. He also sold us our return tickets timed at 10:30pm. According to him, if we decide to leave early, we could simply arrive at the Macau terminal early. 10:30 was the last trip of TurboJet for the day.

short line to immigration. Remember to fill up the form prior to lining up.

the person stamped our seat number to our ticket when we reached the boarding area.

long line to the ferry!

front row seats again!

The ferry was filled with local Chinese. I could hear spitting in the background. I just hope whoever they were, they spitted in the proper place.

Heavier bags could be dumped in front, where staff would take care of it and give you a number for claiming.

Releasing of the ropes that anchored the ship to the dock.

Our boat ride to Macau was very turbulent. The Boat was going up and down, as if we were in a constant earthquake or amusement ride. Praise God for ginger candy! Even local Chinese people were commenting about the unusual waves. For me, that trip was totally bad. I was even dreading the evening ride back.

Upon arrival, we opted to walk to Fisherman’s Wharf instead. It was a good decision, for the fresh air and the use of our legs made the headache and dizziness go away. Filbert took some really nice shots there.  Only a few people were around, and no shops were opened during that time.

entrance to fisherman’s wharf

map to fisherman’s wharf

recreation of roman coliseum

though fisherman’s wharf is open to the public 24/7, no one was around in the morning.

this was how Fil often did our selfie shots

each building has a personality and offers a different restaurant and cultural experience. I was glad they were all closed, or else we would have been tempted to dine in one of them!

When planning for this trip, I already imagined myself walking in wide open spaces, blowing my soapy bubbles, and that’s what I did during our trip!

We then crossed the streets to Sands, and asked around for the entrance to their casino. After a short bathroom break, we lined up for their free shuttle to Venetian Macau.

Sands was right across the street.

the street only had two lanes on each side, so crossing a main road was quite easy.

Because August was summer break for most countries including China, there were a lot of tourists in town. The Venetian was filled with mainlanders who seem to find queuing a difficult task. So for most parts, Fil and I followed their trend and overtook people a lot. When in Rome…. J

We ate in their fast food area, and roamed around the mall a bit. We then tried our luck in their Casino by playing Bacaratt and the Slot machine. Our limit was only 50HKD per person, and we lost all of it to the house. Looking around and seeing other people bet huge amounts of money, people who stayed inside for hours, made us realize how easy it was to fall into temptation. I actually praise God that He didn’t let us win.

where Fil ordered his food

where I ordered my food

Hainanese chicken rice!

Venetian Mall, with indoor gondola and singing Filipinos (not in the picture)

selfie with the well-lit skyline

people were lining up for this, so I made Fil pose for a picture as well

We went out of the lobby and took a cab to visit Macau’s Giant Panda Pavillion. It was quite near so we actually made it to the 3pm viewing.

Kai Kai the Panda

For me, watching the Pandas was the highlight of my Macau trip. They were so cute! For more details and pictures about our Panda trip, read this.

We then took bus 26A to visit the Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Slowly, we weaved thru the shops and enjoyed the food tasting in Ko Kei Bakery. In that area alone, they have four branches a few meters apart from each other!

Our feet were aching by then, but we still continued on.

Instead of looking for the bus stop, we opted to walk from the Senada Square to Hotel Lisboa for a free shuttle ride back to Macau Terminal. On our way, we passed by a local restaurant that sold milk desserts so of course tried it out.

short walk to Lisboa

There was a long line of tourist also waiting for the shuttle.

Fil’s very useful hook 🙂

Upon arriving in Macau Terminal around 830pm, we were told that we would have to line up at the “standby line” should we wish to ride an early boat back to Tsim Sha Tsui. Apparently, a lot of people were going back on the same day, so it was already 10pm when we finally boarded their boat. Moral of our experience is this: if you know what time you will probably end, better get the exact time of it. If not, it might be best to buy your ticket only when you need it.

The long line where people can stand by and wait for a chance to go to Hong Kong earlier than your own schedule

I was pleasantly happy that it was not turbulent, and that we could hardly feel the boat moving at all.

We arrived in Tsim Sha Tsui 11pm and breezed through the immigration process. After resting a bit, we decided to have late snacks at Tsui Wah Restaurant, near Golden Crown Court. For more about the resto, click here.

More about it next time!