Maria Marauder: Hong Kong Revisited Part 2 (Macau, Actually)

Marvelling to see the clean, unbustling streets of Salisbury and Canton Roads from our 12th floor window, this Hong Kong morning was so worth waking up early for.

A look at the Heritage 1881 facade

The Hong Kong Cultural Centre at the foreground with the magnificent harbour view beyond it.

But the Princess chose to bask in the sun's glory in bed until 8:00.

Our first destination for the day was to go to Macau. At 9:00, we started to walk a few blocks to go to the China Ferry Terminal (333 Canton Road). I'm so thankful that my Hubby is a human GPS. On trips, he just seems to know where to go.

Looking back four years ago, Issa was all head band and pony tails and oversized clothes...

...now she's this? Who would have thought she would be into body con dresses?

Anyways, here we are just amazed at the streets of Hong Kong--clean and orderly.

No one was supposed to cross the street when the light said stop walking. Oh, but we saw a few who did, but we didn't want to dare follow them jaywalking.

On the way to the ferry terminal, we passed by our ultimate shopping destination: H&M. We were giddy when we saw the 'Mid Season Sale' banner. Good thing the store opened at 10:30. If it had been open at that time, we would surely have forgone our Macau trip. (Oh, how the Hubby would have killed us!)

Breathe in, breathe out.

China Ferry Terminal looked like an airport. There were even moving walkways.

We were able to get the 10:00 a.m. ticket. There were two ferries to choose from: the TurboJet and the CotaiJet. There was not much difference between the two, except that CotaiJet was newer. TurboJet leaves every 15 minutes, while CotaiJet leaves every 3o. We chose the latter since it would be taking off in just a few minutes from when we arrived at the terminal. (Ticket was at HK$163~Php896/person) Take note that you have to give some time for immigration, but it is very efficient, so no need to worry.

The waiting area was clean and fully air conditioned.

All aboard at exactly 9:45 a.m.

Aaah Macau. The Land of the Casinos and rich Stanley Ho's. Like Hong Kong, Macau is a special territory of China with its own political, police, and monetary systems. It was a Portuguese colony until its turnover to the Chinese government in 1999.

From the Taipa Ferry Terminal, there are free shuttle buses which will take you to the hotel of your choice. We opted to go to the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel.

A view from the Bridge of Friendship

Casinos abound the city. All you need is money and Lady Luck.

The luxurious lobby of the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel.

Shops, shops everywhere.

Not all that glitters is gold, but this gilded wall would fool any one into believing otherwise.

We stopped this 16th century-costumed man for a photo op which he willingly obliged. He smelled like a grandmother's talc--must be his velvet coat.

To go with the Venetian theme, one could also take a gondola ride, for a fee of course. We skipped this one since the manmade canal was really lame and small.

The ceiling was painted with a mural that looked like a bright, morning sky. They probably wanted to trick people into feeling that they are in a perpetual light. Kinda scary because if you were an inveterate gambler, you would definitely lose track of time here.

We tried the famous Lord Stowe's egg tart. (Per piece HK$8~Php44)

After eating lunch at their food court, we decided to look around the casino floor for a little bit. Nope, we didn't hear the call of the slot machines, nor the card tables. We said goodbye and good luck to the wishful gamblers.

We took a taxi to the Senado Square. There were buses that go there, but we didn't have the exact fare of pataca (MOP10) which was needed to ride the bus.

The Senado Square is the city centre where cultural and business activities are held. The piazza, paved with Portuguese-style cobblestones, is surrounded by historic churches and buildings, and small cafes and restaurants. There was the usual weekend tourist crowd, so we could barely find an open spot to take pictures.

We stopped by the Santo Domingo Church to pray. As you know, it's still Issa's birthday and she has to say a word of thanksgiving.

A block away from Santo Domingo, following the horde of people walking, we reached the ruins of St. Paul Cathedral. One can just see its magnificent facade, a testament to one of the biggest Catholic chuches in Asia built in the 1580's.

We stopped walking as soon as we reached the foot of the stairs. We saw Starbucks, and we got more attracted to the idea of sipping a cold frapuccino, than trekking the flights of stairs to the door of the cathedral. I know, I know, lazy bums, we were!

Heaven is a Starbucks cold drink after a long pilgrimage.

We headed back to the Taipa Ferry Terminal, and we were able to take the 3:30 p.m. TurboJet catarman. The fare from Macau to Hong Kong was slightly less expensive than going to Macau. (HK$154~Php847/person)

Reaching Canton Street, we didn't spare much time walking back to H&M. And we got twilight zoned there until 7:00 p.m. The Hubby got impatient and went ahead to YMCA to rest. I didn't know he also has limits!

Next stop was the Avenue of the Stars. It is where Hong Kong celebrities are honored, much like the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Behind us was the 4.5-m replica of the Hong Kong Film Awards statuette. As you can see, throngs of tourists were also vying for a photo op space. Sayang, we missed Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.

We heard that the Symphony of Lights happens every 8:00 p.m. We were so excited to witness this "spectacular" lights and sounds multimedia show participated by the buildings along the Harbour front.

However, it was a letdown of sorts for us. Not all the buildings participated, probably only less than half of the forty buildings said to light up nightly. I don't know, maybe we were expecting too much, or maybe were just tired and hungry. The boom and the wows that I was anticipating to jolt me never came.