A Day Trip to Macau

Macau is just an hour ferry trip from Hong Kong so why not go there when you are already in Hong Kong, right? When you’re going to Macau via ferry, just go to the China Ferry Terminal at 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The terminal is just four blocks away from our guesthouse in Tsim Sha Tsui. Remember that the ferry departs from China Ferry Terminal not the Start Ferry Terminal near The Avenue of the Stars. We initially went there, got so disappointed that the correct terminal was still a few blocks away. We did not want to ride a cab so we walked for about 20-30 minutes to the China Ferry Terminal.

The ticket costs HK$350 rountrip. When you arrive in Macau, there are a lot of free shuttle buses going to different hotels. We only had 5 hours in Macau so we went to Venetian Hotel first because it is the most famous hotel there.

Venetian Hotel is a work of art. It truly brings you to Venice, Italy. Don’t forget to check out their ceilings, it is like visiting St. Peter’s Basilica because it was inspired by the church’s design. The ceilings were composed of paintings of the famous artist Michelangelo. You will be warmly welcomed by the staff and the ambiance and the smell inside the hotel? Wow! Even their washrooms were pretty cool. You will feel like you are inside a fairy tale castle. Hell, I can even sleep in their comfort rooms! Kidding aside, if you’re travelling with a kid, you won’t be able to enter the casino. During that time, we were with Lala’s niece so I split up with them so I can enter the casino. Taking pictures inside the casino is strictly prohibited but I managed to take a selfie inside. (Sneaky me) People inside the casino were very serious at that time based on my observation. There were security officers who were in disguise roaming around. I’m also familiar with the operations of the hotel/casino because I used to work for Caesars Entertainment, a big hotel/casino empire and a competitor of The Venetian.

The hotel is like a mall as well, almost all of the stalls that are in the hotel are the famous signature brands like Louis Vitton, Jimmy Choo, Davidoff, Uniq Lo, H&M and more. We had lunch at Mc Donald’s and tried the black and white burger which is offered only in China, Hong Kong and Japan. It was good like a typical Quarter Pounder. Some staff is also playing Italian music that adds and spices up the ambience and experience.

The Venetian also has a souvenir shop where we bought some fine goodies. Also, there is a theater, a coliseum for sporting events where the great Manny Pacquiao fought twice and won over Brandon Rios and Chris Algieri, and some cinemas plus a pretty cool chandelier at the middle of the hotel which is like a waiting area because the hotel has several lobbies, exits and waypoints that connects them to another hotel which is The Sands. We also managed to check out the famous indoor river, inspired by the Italian ambience. We never had a chance to ride the boat since the line queue is pretty long and we still have some places to visit in Macau. So as per James “Rhodey” Rhodes aka War Machine, “next time, maybe next time.

After enjoying our stay at The Venetian, we decided to go to the city proper of Macau. At first, you’d thought that Macau is only known for its hotels and casinos but it has a city view too. We took The Venetian Shuttle to Macau Ferry Terminal.One thing we noticed is, almost all of their signs have Portuguese translation.

Can you tell what they're making?

We’re on our way to the Senado Square and we were about to take the free shuttle of the Grand Lisboa Hotel since it was the nearest hotel to the Senado Square when suddenly, a Filipina staff of the Grand Lisboa bus told us to take another shuttle since our niece is with us. They only allow people who are 18 years old and above to ride their shuttle since it is a casino and we understood the situation immediately. She advised us to take the shuttle of the Star World Hotel instead since it is allowing kids and just cross the street from the hotel and the Grand Lisboa will be there.

The Macau Tower

We did what she told us and walked a few blocks from Grand Lisboa to reach the Senado Square. The place looks like your typical Antipolo church or the Sto Nino church in Cebu. There were these old school buildings which were refurbished with signature brand stalls, tiangge, fast food chains and a Filipino Catholic church. We went to Senado Square for one reason, to reach the ruins of St. Paul’s. On our way to the ruins, we went inside our church, say grace and checked what’s inside. The security officer of the church was also a Filipino who knows how to speak Mandarin and Portuguese fluently. 

After visiting the church, while on our way to the ruins, there are a lot of food stores in place, as in, everywhere. There are a lot of free taste food like Jerky, Almond Polvoron, Nuts and many more. We always get the beef jerky because it tastes good. We thought that, we should’ve brought rice with us. Kidding aside, we reached the ruins and took pictures. The Ruins of St. Paul’swas a Portuguese Catholic church that was destroyed by fire during a typhoon in 1835.

On our way back to Hong Kong, we took a bus and make sure the number of the bus is M22. That leads to the Macau International Airport. Beside it is the port of the Cotai Jet. Go through the immigration and ride the ferry.

It was a good and fun experience in Macau. We wish we spent more time in there. We really enjoyed doing it and we’ve been to two countries in one day.