Macau experience

Macau /China ferry terminal in Hong Kong

With the Grand Emperor Hotel guard

At the Venetian Hotel

having some coffee at the Venetian Hotel

Dodgie Laurel's car

At the Grand Prix Museum (Schumacher's corner)

Michael Schumacher's car during his Macau days

Ayrton Senna's car

At the fort

At St.Paul's Ruins

Ruins of St.Paul

Senado Square

Pushing the pillars

Roman Amphitheatre(Fisherman's Wharf)

Rickshaws

inside the ferry

My Macau experience was exhilerating.I left my home in Hong Kong at around 6am of December 19 ,I took the bus to Mong Kok then ride the MTR going to Tsim Sha Tsui and walk my way ala Amazing Race to the China/Macau Ferry terminal along Canton Road. When I arrived at the terminal the earliest ticket available then was the 8am Macau ticket so I’ll be reaching my destination at around 9am ,the weather was a bit cold around 14 degrees that morning ,so I’ve expected a bit more chill in Macau. I boarded the New Ferry vessel instead of the faster Turbojet Hydrofoil which is much faster because I’m not that familiar with the terminal of the latter. While inside the ferry I‘ve noticed that most of the passengers were from the mainland. I spent my time there clicking some photos and listening to U2’s “Beautiful Day” and Marietta’s “Destination Unknown” and other favourite anthems on my IPod.
As the vessel nears to dock my excitement escalated, then before I leave the Macau Terminal the first that I searched for was the tourist maps and some food guides. Then at the exit of the terminal I first thing I saw where the rickshaws which were being driven by some old Macanese folks but it will cost you around 300HKD per ride.
The first spot that I opted to visit was the Fisher man’s Wharf, the place was huge it was like themed park. There are some mock volcano, Chinese fortress, Roman Coliseum (my personal favourite), African inspired structures, Portuguese Village and other western theme areas.
Then off to Senado Square, where some of the most significant tourist spots can be found. What I really liked about this place are the mosaic cobblestone floors and the European inspired architectures. After some photo ops near the fountain and some snapshots at some of the old buildings ,I proceeded to the most popular Macanese landmark “the Ruins of St.Paul’ ,before you reach the said spot you will encounter some food shops giving you samples of their products like the dried pork chops, dried meat products (meat jerky),some sweets. At St.Paul, myriad of people of different ethnicities gather to take some souvenir shots of them and the ruins as the back draft. My next stop was the Forto d’Armas, it’s an armoury of the Portuguese during the colonial times.Here I took some photos of some of the artillery and some parts of this fortress and bought some souvenirs as well. Going down from the ruins I took some time off to have some lunch and have some of the famous Portuguese egg tart from Kokei bake goodies.
After visiting Senado Square my next target was the Grand Prix museum, but before proceeding to the museum I dropped by the Lisboa a hotel and casino owned by the Asian casino magnate Stanly Ho, then I walk to the Grand Emperor hotel to avail of the free bus pass and have a photo op with the Portuguese guard unfortunately when I went up going to get my vehicle pass I felt something in my knee a jolting pain that causes some anxiety and hinders my mobility. Inside the Grand Prix Museum I saw some of the vehicles and memorabilia’s of some of motorsports legends such as Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Philippines pride Dodgie Laurel. The guards here are all Filipinos so communicating is not that difficult.
My last two stops were the MGM Grand and The Venetian, first I went to MGM took photos of the Lion then went to the terminal to avail of the free ride to the Venetian where I have some photos with the Grand Canal and the gondolas and visit some shops as well.

Macau is relatively small compared to Hong Kong unless you‘re a casino and a nightlife enthusiast you will surely enjoy the so called “Vegas of the Orient”. But on my part I went to Macau because I want to see the historical sites and have some curiosity about the Venetian. Compared to Hong Kong the transport system here is not that good but thanks to the taxis (which is not that expensive) and the free shuttle buses of the casinos and hotels.