The Unbeatables...
12 - 14 April 2007 - Macau/HK trip
We had bought our ferry tickets before heading back to the hotel, and the next morning, arose bright and early to grab breakfast at the lobby lounge, and then on to the ferry to HK at 9.30am.
The journey took about an hour, but the seat was so comfortable I simply slept through it all. Upon reaching HK, we hopped onto a cab to Ocean Park, which we figured is an economically sounder choice than Disneyland. Unfortunately, Ad had a migraine attack just as we approached the entrance, and we thus ended up not taking any of the rides at all. Wasted a lot of time on the escalators, but managed to catch a short little show about dog training.
Hopped onto a public bus again to the nearest MTR station, and took a train to Mongkok station. Ad had a second migraine attack, but managed to weather through it bravely. Emerged at Mongkok, and asked a stranger for recommendations for dim sum. The food was pretty good, though I’m sure we could have found an even better place if we had time to do more research prior to the trip.
Went to the Ladies’ Market for shopping, and bought plenty of stuff for everybody back home. Didn’t really get anything or myself though. The market was loooooong, and it was almost dark by the time we reached the end. Chanced upon a Krispy Kremes outlet, and just HAD TO stop for a donut. Thereafter it was a long walk down Nathan Road to Tsim Tsa Tsui, to catch the ferry back to Macau. Very tiring, but generally a good day in HK. :)
Back in Macau, we got on the shuttle for Wynn casino, and won another few hundred HK bucks at blackjack. Ate at a restaurant in the casino, where the noodles were pretty good and affordable. By the time we emerged from Wynn, the shuttles had stopped operating, and we had to walk to the main road to grab a cab back to the hotel. Zzzzz….
On Day 3, we slept in and missed breakfast. Woke up, checked out, left our luggage at the concierge, and went to explore Taipa Village. Ate at a supposedly very good Portuguese restaurant, but the food was only reasonably good. Strolled around a bit, then hailed a cab to the ruins of St. Paul’s Church. Explored a bit, took some photos, bought some local goodies for the folks, then strolled through the heart of Macau. It was a small place, and we covered it in no time. Had a nice sundae on the 2nd storey balcony of a Haagen Daaz outlet, and just sat there watching the world go by below us. Lovely.
We then walked down to the Grand Lisboa for some final punting, and promptly lost all the earlier winnings plus some additional monies. Oh well, gotta do our part for the economy right?
Then it was back to Fisherman’s Wharf for dinner and a nice American outlet styled like Billy Bombers. We had a FEAST, and the food was really quite good too. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the hotel and grab our bags for departure. Ad got hit with another migraine attack just as we reached the hotel, and we thus rested for a while at the lobby lounge with an iced milo, before heading out to the airport by cab. Home sweet home!
Had a taste of what it would be like to be in The Amazing Race, when our original destination of Bangkok was abruptly changed to Macau just one day before departure. This last-minute change can be credited to the darned fool in Bangkok who decided to set off a minuscule bomb in a phone booth, sending Ad’s parents into a frenzied panic.
So anyway, it turned out all good. Managed to change our Tiger Airways flight, and also cancel our Novotel Bangkok booking (forfeited 1 night’s charges), and secured a last minute booking at Grandview Hotel in Macau for a fraction of the usual price.
The flight took about 3.5 hours, but it was a lot more pleasant than my previous flight to Macau when I had to sit next to my boss. Upon arrival, we managed to figure out the public bus to take, and got to our hotel in mere minutes. Got bumped up to an Executive room, dumped our stuff in the room, and promptly headed off to catch the free hotel shuttle to the Macau Ferry Terminal.
A word about the shuttle - It’s amazing that almost every hotel has a shuttle bus service to the ferry terminal, which runs every 15 minutes or thereabouts. This meant that we could get around to practically everywhere for free, with the ferry terminal as the central “interchange”. Most cool.
So anyway, we explore Fisherman’s Wharf, had a pork cutlet sandwich, and strolled around the very expensive shops. Came across a nice shop selling all things casino, and bought a card dealer for Irwin & Gigi.
It was off to Sands after that, and made a few hundred HK bucks at blackjack. Then went to New Yaohan, where we bought some cool stuff for The Nclave. Essentially some mahjong cushions and a huge lightbulb! Back to the hotel, and ordered room service for dinner. Good stuff, but a tad oily.
So anyway, it turned out all good. Managed to change our Tiger Airways flight, and also cancel our Novotel Bangkok booking (forfeited 1 night’s charges), and secured a last minute booking at Grandview Hotel in Macau for a fraction of the usual price.
The flight took about 3.5 hours, but it was a lot more pleasant than my previous flight to Macau when I had to sit next to my boss. Upon arrival, we managed to figure out the public bus to take, and got to our hotel in mere minutes. Got bumped up to an Executive room, dumped our stuff in the room, and promptly headed off to catch the free hotel shuttle to the Macau Ferry Terminal.
A word about the shuttle - It’s amazing that almost every hotel has a shuttle bus service to the ferry terminal, which runs every 15 minutes or thereabouts. This meant that we could get around to practically everywhere for free, with the ferry terminal as the central “interchange”. Most cool.
So anyway, we explore Fisherman’s Wharf, had a pork cutlet sandwich, and strolled around the very expensive shops. Came across a nice shop selling all things casino, and bought a card dealer for Irwin & Gigi.
It was off to Sands after that, and made a few hundred HK bucks at blackjack. Then went to New Yaohan, where we bought some cool stuff for The Nclave. Essentially some mahjong cushions and a huge lightbulb! Back to the hotel, and ordered room service for dinner. Good stuff, but a tad oily.
We had bought our ferry tickets before heading back to the hotel, and the next morning, arose bright and early to grab breakfast at the lobby lounge, and then on to the ferry to HK at 9.30am.
The journey took about an hour, but the seat was so comfortable I simply slept through it all. Upon reaching HK, we hopped onto a cab to Ocean Park, which we figured is an economically sounder choice than Disneyland. Unfortunately, Ad had a migraine attack just as we approached the entrance, and we thus ended up not taking any of the rides at all. Wasted a lot of time on the escalators, but managed to catch a short little show about dog training.
Hopped onto a public bus again to the nearest MTR station, and took a train to Mongkok station. Ad had a second migraine attack, but managed to weather through it bravely. Emerged at Mongkok, and asked a stranger for recommendations for dim sum. The food was pretty good, though I’m sure we could have found an even better place if we had time to do more research prior to the trip.
Went to the Ladies’ Market for shopping, and bought plenty of stuff for everybody back home. Didn’t really get anything or myself though. The market was loooooong, and it was almost dark by the time we reached the end. Chanced upon a Krispy Kremes outlet, and just HAD TO stop for a donut. Thereafter it was a long walk down Nathan Road to Tsim Tsa Tsui, to catch the ferry back to Macau. Very tiring, but generally a good day in HK. :)
Back in Macau, we got on the shuttle for Wynn casino, and won another few hundred HK bucks at blackjack. Ate at a restaurant in the casino, where the noodles were pretty good and affordable. By the time we emerged from Wynn, the shuttles had stopped operating, and we had to walk to the main road to grab a cab back to the hotel. Zzzzz….
On Day 3, we slept in and missed breakfast. Woke up, checked out, left our luggage at the concierge, and went to explore Taipa Village. Ate at a supposedly very good Portuguese restaurant, but the food was only reasonably good. Strolled around a bit, then hailed a cab to the ruins of St. Paul’s Church. Explored a bit, took some photos, bought some local goodies for the folks, then strolled through the heart of Macau. It was a small place, and we covered it in no time. Had a nice sundae on the 2nd storey balcony of a Haagen Daaz outlet, and just sat there watching the world go by below us. Lovely.
We then walked down to the Grand Lisboa for some final punting, and promptly lost all the earlier winnings plus some additional monies. Oh well, gotta do our part for the economy right?
Then it was back to Fisherman’s Wharf for dinner and a nice American outlet styled like Billy Bombers. We had a FEAST, and the food was really quite good too. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the hotel and grab our bags for departure. Ad got hit with another migraine attack just as we reached the hotel, and we thus rested for a while at the lobby lounge with an iced milo, before heading out to the airport by cab. Home sweet home!
Thank God for making the trip happen despite all the hiccups and last minute bookings, and for keeping us safe and sound throughout! For more pictures, click here.
posted by feelingsleepy | 8:26 pm
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