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
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
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