edmund wee

We chose to visit Macau on the 30th April so as to avoid the Labour Day Holiday crowd.

In the morning, we walked from our hotel to China Ferry Terminal. It is roughly 30 minutes as we walked to the speed of the working crowd travelling to work on a cool Friday morning. China Ferry Terminal is situated inside Harbour City which is a shopping mall, very similar to Harbour Front in Singapore. I was using the toilet and I saw a logo on the toilet roll holder and realised that Harbour City actually belongs to a property developer company in Singapore. No wonder, they are very similar!

A 2-way ferry ticket to Macau cost roughly HKD300 which converts to SGD$60, with flexible departure and return time. Ferries operates at 30min interval so it is really convenient. We took the 9.30am ferry to Macau. It’s exactly one hour on board and I slept all the way to there to prevent sea sickness.

Entry to Macau was easy, queue up, fill up the immigration form and there you go. Singaporeans need not apply for VISA to Macau and the best thing about Macau is that they also accept Hong Kong currency.

Macau is quite different from Hong Kong. The architecture and streets are mainly influenced by the Portuguese. And they call it a “City of Sin” and it is like the Las Vegas of Asia. I had to agree because during the taxi trip to visit The Ruins of St. Paul, I saw quite a few casinos among the grand hotels- really is a “Disneyland for Gamblers.”

We spent fruitful time at The Ruins of St.Paul buying local snacks, T-shirts and taking photos against the magnificent Ruins of St.Paul.

Lunch was at a Macau cafe. I found the menu similar to a Hong-Kong cafe’s menu and I didn’t tried the famous Macau Pork Chop Burger.

After lunch, we proceed to visit Macau Tower. Initially, the plan was for us to go up to the top of the Macau Tower to catch the bird-eye view of Macau City, but after some ticket price calculations, we decided not to go up. It cost HKD 100 roughly SGD$20 per person! We found it expensive and did not proceed. Later we learnt that there is a sky-jump at the top of Macau Tower, definitely not for the faint-hearted.

We found a free shuttle bus outside the entrance of Macau Tower, that would take us to the City of Dreams and The Venetian Macau. Both are entertainment hub with casinos, hotel, shopping, performance and food. A must-visit tourist’s attraction!

I also made the first bet of my life at The Venetian Macau, placing a joint-bet with a friend at a game of Russian Roulette. I lost HKD 100, roughly SGD$20. I was very disappointed as to how unlucky we could be. Our bet was on an even number so if the ball drops on any even numbers, we still wins. This means that there was a 50% chance of winning and we lost!

Later, we proceed to try some jack-pot machines, and total damages of the day – HKD160, roughly HKD$35. I did not even win once. So morale of the story, don’t gamble.

Down and dejected from our lost, we proceed to eat our dinner at a food court in The City of Dreams. After which we catch an animation performance at The Bubble – Dragon’s Treasure.(source from youtube)

After the performance, we explored the City of Dreams and took some photos. Around 8.30pm, we took the free shuttle bus from The City of Dream back to Macau Ferry Terminal. From there, we board the 9.30pm ferry back to Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, along the way back to our Hotel, we shopped at an Esprit Factory Outlet but left the store empty- handed as the prices were not any cheaper than in Singapore.

Comparing Hong Kong and Macau, I think Hong Kong have a better transportation network than Macau with its extensive MTR network. Really convenient for free and easy travelling. In Macau there is no MTR, we had to depend on taxis and the free shuttle bus provided by the casinos.

So try make full use of the shuttle bus even if you don’t intend to gamble, there are shopping, performances and food outside the casino. Definitely worth a visit!