Lively Macau!

We were in transit in Macau twice before we finally stayed overnight. First was on our way to Hong Kong and the next was when we were going to Zhuhai, China. It is spring time in all three places but the weather was best in Macau. It was cool and had some fog even during the daytime. Perfect for walking.

There were a lot of things to see in Macau, contrary to what I was told by my friends. And unlike how I had pictured it, Macau is pretty much a city as Hong Kong. The place is as alive in the morning as it is at night in comparison to Las Vegas where it is sleepy during the daytime. Also, unlike Las Vegas where gambling is everywhere with slot machines found even in the remotest place, Macau's gambling spots are confined to the Casinos.

We checked in at the Metropark Hotel at Rua de Pequin. But, since the check in time was at 3 pm, we left our luggage with them and went around the place first. Our first meal was at 3 pm (again!) at the Artica Trattoria, a european (Italian I believe) restaurant in the vicinity of MGM Hotel. They had really nice pizza and pasta. Most of the staff were Filipinos who made us feel comfy. We got some tips on how to go around from them and they've been pretty helpful.

Next we went to the Leal Senado which was so full of tourists and proceeded to the St. Paul Ruins. Just beside the ruins were the Mount Fortress and the Macau Museum. Museum was closed at that time because they were renovating but we were told that they'd be open by April 15. too bad as we'd be back in the Philippines by then.

We did some window shopping near Leal Senado after that because we intended to look for the cheapest wares and purchase them the following day. But going back there did not happen as the following day we went to the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Park, then to lunch at Dom Galo. After lunch, we had a tour of the casinos which included the MGM, the venetian and Starworld.

The taxis were hard to find at certain places and times. As I recall, there were at least 3 times when we had to wait an average of 40 minutes to get one. The worst was that we had to walk so far to find a cab too. And it was rather hard to follow the map I had as it did not indicate which parts had tunnels and were impossible to walk on.

The trip ended there. 8 days in all three places (Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai) were not enough to see the sites. Perhaps another trip in the future would be longer? Impossible!

Highlights of A Macau Tour

We will be staying at Macau for only 2 days and 1 night. Actually, that would only be about 36 hours. Within that time, I hope we'd be able to finish our DIY Tour. Here's the itinerary I've prepared:

Day 1
Taipa
11:00 Tin Hau Temple
11:30 Walking tour towards Civic & Municipal Affairs Bureau/Rua Correia da Silva /Travessa da Felicidade/Rua dos Mercadores, /Largo das Virtudes and Largo Maia de Magalhães to
12:00 Lunch at Rua da Cunha,
1:00 pm Back to Macau/ check in at Hotel
3:00 pm

4 pm walk to Senate Square,/St. Paul's Ruins /Museum of Sacred Art/Monte Fort /Museum of Macau /Old Protestant Cemetery /Casa Garden /Camões Garden
7 pm dinner at
8 pm tour of casinos and hotels

Day 2
Coloane
9 am Walking tour at Coloane Village (Largo Presidente António Ramalho Eanes/Tin Hau Temple/Chinese medicine shops/wharf of the Ponte Cais de Coloane /Tam Kung Temple /small Tin Hau Temple/Rua dos Negociantes/Lord Stow’s Bakery then back to coloane town)
11:30 check out of hotel

2 pm - bum around and find some souveneirs

Well, I hope we've covered enough for a highlight of Macau.