Hong Kong Holiday 2009 Review Part 2 - Macau

This Hong Kong trip we decided to make a stopover to Macau for 1 day 1 night. We took the ferry from the Kowloon Ferry Terminal there. To get there from our Kimberley Hotel on Kimberley Rd/Nathan Rd we actually walked across Kowloon park which in itself was a great experience. It felt very much like the Central Park of HK. It was serene and there were people doing Tai Chi and practising some folk dancing. And then to our surprise they even had a little bird sanctuary with flamingos! It was great for Caelyn to see them. Then within 10 minutes walk we had reached the other side of the park and arrived at the Ferry terminal.

Ferries to Macau leave about every half an hour. You can buy tickets whenever you're ready to go. It's roughly SGD50 for a return ticket. Not too sure if we got ripped off as the lady was calculating so fast. But I think it's about there if I remember correctly from what my parents told me. Don't worry about rushing for a seat on the ferry too because the seats are allocated. If you go around lunch time, grab a bite to eat at the Kowloon ferry terminal first because there's nothing to eat at the Macau terminal.
Having had a really bad ferry ride experience when we went to Bintan we prayed so hard that this time it wouldn't be the same. But luck wasn't on our side. It was a terribly rocky ride - in part I guess due to the drizzling rain. Tip: if you start to feel sea sick just put your head down horizontally, it helps immensely! The return journey unfortunately was even worse for us. And I put my head down almost immediately and I didn't feel sick at all. My unlucky husband however who had the duty to take care of Caelyn felt worse than I did and he usually doesn't get any motion sickness one. Poor Caelyn too....but we were very lucky she somehow managed to fall asleep on both ways. It was almost like she made herself go to sleep to avoid feeling ill.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn and it was a great hotel. Like most of the hotels in Macau, there is a free Shuttle Bus that takes you to and fro the Ferrry Terminal. The room was wonderful, it was spacious with a huge and ultra comfy bed. Location wise it was ok too, there is several restaurants within the same street. It is situated on a small street though, so there's no view out the window. If we had more time, we would've tried to stroll to the nearby Grand Lisboa Hotel and Wynn resort. I think it would've only been like 20 minutes walk. FYI Grand Lisboa Hotel supposedly has the Longest Buffet Line in Asia...yum yum :) Maybe next time....

From the hotel we took a cab to Senado Square. It's a very pretty picturesque square with the tiled floor and Portuguese style buildings. The rain made it a little inconvenient tho. If you're going there for lunch or dinner, here's a tip, the restaurants are mainly at the front of the square near the fountain. We spent ages walking around the backs trying to find a restaurant but couldn't find any. From Senado Square it is a very short stroll to the ruins of St Paul's Cathedral. We didn't go up to the ruins for a closer look...didn't think it was necessary at the time, but now I wonder what can you see from up there on the other side of the Cathedral?

We felt that when in Macau it's a must to visit The Venetian hotel. So we took a cab from Senado Square. Taxi fares here are not expensive and distances aren't that great. From Senado Square to The Venetian hotel I think it was roughly SGD10. If you really really wanted to save money, I read that you could go to The Sands hotel and casino and take the free shuttle bus from there to The Venetian. As people who've visited the original Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, we felt that the Macau one is small and lacked that 'wow' factor. Or maybe it's cos we've seen it all before? The Venetian is on another island so going there took a bit of time. The whole area where The Venetian is at and Hard Rock Hotel is called City of Dreams. I think they're trying hard to make it like the Las Vegas Strip. But it's not the same at all, for one there's practically nobody walking around from hotel to hotel like they do in Las Vegas. And two, the glitter and glamour is a bit lacking. And that generally is the feeling you get with Macau. It's a Las Vegas wannabe but it's still not quite there yet. At least in Las Vegas there's more to do than gambling.
We were gonna go to Macau Tower, but because the weather was bad, we decided to skip it. It wouldn't be worth paying to go up the tower and not see anything because it was covered in fog as it was that day.

Will we come back again? I suppose we may consider coming back again on a budget airline - bypassing the ferry - if the ticket was cheap and we had a spare few days.
Photo Album: http://reeney.multiply.com/photos/album/119/Hong_Kong_Holiday_2009_Part_2_-_Macau

Hong Kong Holiday 2009 Review Part 1 - Hong Kong

This isn't the first time Edmund or I have been to Hong Kong. But it had been many years since the last time we went. It was a great trip overall, but very tiring especially on our feet as we literally walked everywhere - plus no stroller meant we often carried an extra 14kg of weight everywhere (more on this later). This trip was a little too rushed, and we still didn't get to see everything and had not enough to do some leisurely shopping...and more eating :)

We were a little disappointed at Cathay Pacific. Bad food and not so great service - the stewardess wasn't nice. But the kids meal was good (pasta bake on the way there and spaghetti on the way back), while ours was pretty tasteless and generally unappetising. The kids also got a good Mickey Mouse Clubhouse goodie bag consisting of a backpack and activities inside including stickers. They also got a curly straw to take home from the kids meal.

We stayed at the Kimberley Hotel on Kimberley Road, near Tsim Sha Tsui Kowloon. Location wise the hotel is in a great area, lots of shops and is easily accessible via Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. There are plenty of restaurants nearby, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese you name it, as well as fast food. A few clothing shops too, but everyone was selling winterwear of course so there wasn't much for us to buy. 

The hotel itself is a little worn and the rooms a little dated (update: 14/10 I've read the hotel has since

been refurbished). The first time we stayed there we got a really really small room, with a really really small bed. It was smaller than a Queen size bed from the looks of it and the three of us had to share the one teeny bed. Bathroom was ok, well cleaned, including clean bathtub. The second time we stayed there was when we came back from Macau. It was great that the hotel allowed us to leave our luggage with them as we only took an overnight bag with us. So the second time we came back we got a different room. The first room overlooked a dingy back alley, the second room looked over Kimberley Road (sort of) and was much bigger with a bigger bed. This room was even big enough to accommodate a sofa and coffee table in addition to the writing desk and tv stand. Bathroom was smaller tho, with only a standing shower no bathtub. There is a Watson's and 7eleven nearby the hotel, if you want to buy bottled water, buy from 7eleven, it's cheaper - eventhough it's still a Watson's brand water. I don't have any qualms recommending this hotel, but having said that, next time we go to HK we'll stay in a different hotel most likely on HK Island.

During our trip we also managed to swing by Tung Chun where there's an outlet mall. Great bargains there. Oh and they even had a Food Republic food court! But not as good as the one in Sg. Don't forget to check out the supermarket at the basement if you go. At Tung Chun we also went to the Ngong Ping Cablecar. It's a pretty good experience with fantastic views of Lantau Island and it's surrounds. It took a good 20 mins one way. But once you reach Ngong Ping Village there really isn't much to see there unless you want to try and hike it up the big Buddha statue.

We also managed to check out Temple St Night Market and Ladies Market. There's a couple of seemingly good seafood 'streetside restaurants' there. Not sure how fresh the seafood is nor how hygienic it is, but it looked pretty good and there was a big crowd eating there so it can't be all bad. 

From pics I've seen on the web of the food, it looks pretty good. Too bad we never got a chance to try it this time. I would definitely have liked to try the dish Typhoon Shelter Crab. Ladies Market was much better tho, I thought it would be just the same as Temple St market, but there's so much more shops - electronics, beauty supplies, clothes, shoes, etc, rather than just the typical fake brand bag sellers.

Stroller Tip: For parents with young children, don't hesitate to bring your stroller. A lot of ppl told us not to bring so we listened and didn't bring. But actually I think as long as your stroller is compact it shouldn't be a problem. If you don't mind going the long way, you should be able to find elevators to the MTR, but if not, then you can fold up your compact and light stroller and just lug it with you up and down the stairs which are still manageable. Or fold it and ride the escalator. On the MTR itself, take the first carriage where there's more space for a stroller. At the outlet mall at Tung Chun we were really disappointed when we couldn't rent a stroller because they said it's only for kids aged 2 and below.

Worst Experience in HK: Riding the Victoria Peak tram on the way down - standing up while carrying Caelyn and while ppl pretended they didn't see you with a child so they wouldn't have to give up their seat (gee sounds familiar). If you've ever been on Victoria Peak tram, you would know it's a steep 45 degree angle in/decline. So imagine trying to balance myself, making sure I didn't smash into the front window where the conductor was sitting, supporting myself with one hand on a pole while the other arm was carrying a 14kg child. I can't comprehend why they would let ppl stand up on the way down anyway, it's utterly dangerous. On top of that I can't understand why the conductor didn't make someone give up their seat so that the child could be safer. Obviously they didn't think it was necessary! Needless to say after we got off my knees and arms were wobbling like crazy. I was lucky our friends were standing beside me and could help me support Caelyn's weight and pull me up as well (hubby was further up). Ok so you could say it was also our fault entirely for going on such a crowded tram. But it was very late and by the time we realised we couldn't come down it was too late. Oh this is also the one place where having a stroller would be a bit difficult - but not impossible. The Peak itself is great tho!

My Cleo Hamper

I won this Cleo hamper before we left for our trip. It's worth over $118. Yay Me!