Liene's Adventures

Known as the gambling capital of Asia, Macau was a peculiar destination to visit. Portugal ruled Macau for over 400 years until it was handed over to China in 1999. Nowadays, Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China under “one country, two systems” status. It blends Chinese and Portuguese culture and history; and Cantonese and Portuguese are the official languages. But most of all, nicknamed the “Las Vegas of Asia”, Macau is famous for its extravagant Las Vegas style hotels and casinos, where money amounts gambled frequently surpass Las Vegas itself.

While Macau on its own was rarely the main destination for travelers, it was, however, frequently included as an easy side-trip from Hong Kong. And it was the case for us too. During our week-long stay in Hong Kong, we had plenty of time to dedicate a day or two to explore the near-by Macau.

Situated just 60km (37mi) west of Hong Kong, it was easily reachable by regularly operated ferries. To get the most out of our day, my kids and I started early. Hong Kong – Macau ferry terminal was just 1 metro stop away from our hotel, and by 8AM we were wandering around a big shopping mall attempting to find a ferry ticket sales office. It was one confusing thing I did not like in Hong Kong – metro stations were almost always connected to huge shopping malls, creating and endless maze of underground tunnels, walkways, 5+ stories of escalators and lifts, overpass pedestrian crossings, and conflicting signs that just took us in circles… And the ferry terminal was no different.

Eventually, we did locate the ticket sales, and with not a single person in line, got the next available ferry which was leaving in just 20 minutes. Before getting on, we had to go through Hong Kong customs and get our passports checked as, technically, we were leaving the country.  

Macau was split into 2 main parts – the Cotai casino strip area and the historic center. As I wanted to start with the historic center, we had to use Turbo Jet ferry which took us to Outer Harbour Ferry terminal near downtown Macau. The ride across the Pearl River Delta took almost exactly 1 hour, and once we exited the boat, we had to pass through Macau customs where we got our passports checked again. Unfortunately, neither Hong Kong nor Macau had entry / exit stamps, so we did not get any new stamps in our passports. Everything was only digital nowadays. We successfully passed the check and were let into Macau!

From here, we could either make the 3km (2mi) walk downtown on foot or grab a public bus for MOP6. Yes, Macau had their own currency pataca, however, knowing that many of their visitors were day-trippers from Hong Kong, HK dollars were accepted everywhere at 1:1 ratio. We had plenty of HK dollars, so that was what we used. We each dropped HK$6 (US$ 0.75) into the cash box and took the bus ride into downtown. An interesting fact – buses in Macau cost a flat rate of MOP6 (or HK$6) per ride, regardless of if you rode just 1 stop of 10 stops.

During the bus ride, we formed our first impressions of Macau. It seemed very European with Vegas flashiness and a little bit of an Asian flare shining through. It was an odd mix.

The Historic Centre of Macau was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. It featured a unique collection of 22 historic buildings and 8 public squares that blended Portuguese and Chinese architecture, representing over 400 years of cultural and trade exchange between East and West.

While I had some main attractions noted that we had to visit, many times we just wandered around quiet side streets feeling very confused about where we were… My mind said Asia, but my eyes saw historic European streets…

Portuguese Mosaic Tile artwork was also very prevalent, frequently seen on sides of buildings and sidewalks.

By now we had made our way into the more touristy part of the downtown – the Senado Square and Ruins of St Paul’s. There were so many people here! It was such a stark contrast from the quiet, nostalgic side streets. This was where all of the noise and hustle concentrated. There were cafes here, and souvenir shops, ice cream parlors and street vendors. And people, so many people!

The ruins of St Paul’s were the most famous Macau landmark and referred to the facade of what was originally the Church of Mater Dei built in 1602-1640, and destroyed by fire in 1835. We made our way up the steps and took a look back over the city...

With nothing much else to do here (and to get away from the crowds), we continued on and took a walk up to the top of the nearby Mount Fortress. From here, there were views across Macau in all 4 directions, including the ruins of St Paul's. 

The Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino was a very prominent gold colored building that stood out in the landscape.

And around the fort there was a park with nice shade and tropical greenery. I loved tropical flowers and banyan trees as they reminded me of our years LIVING IN HAWAII.

I decided to skip going back to the busy main street that I did not enjoy all that much, and instead turned the opposite direction. Just a block away from the main square, the streets were quiet and enjoyable again.

As we passed yet another bakery with delicious-looking egg tarts in their display window, my kids finally talked me into buying some. A Macau egg tart was a famous sweet pastry with a flaky, buttery puff-pastry crust and a creamy, custard center featuring a distinct caramelized, brown-spotted top. It was inspired by the traditional Portuguese ‘pastel de nata’. And while I had never really liked egg tarts all that much, freshly baked, warm and crispy they were quite tasty.

As it was approaching mid-day, it was time for us to slowly start making our way to the other side of Macau and towards Cotai. Public buses were our mode of transportation again, and after a 40-minute 6MOP ride, we were dropped off right on Cotai Strip.

A major entertainment and casino hub, it featured massive mega-resorts, luxury hotels, global theme replicas, and high-end shopping. While we had no interest in luxury shopping, and I was also not allowed into the casinos with my 2 minor children, we were here just to admire the hotels! Themed hotels like the Venetian, the Londoner, the Parisian, the Studio City and others were a big draw for tourists just to wander, look around and souvenir-shop.

We started with Studio City, which was a Hollywood-themed hotel. There were various movie and cartoon characters here and even their café was styled after an old-school American diner. And what kid would not like to have their burger while sitting at a car-themed table? Of course we ended up having our lunch here. 

Afterwards, we crossed over to the Parisian with its fancy interior and replica Eiffel Tower in front.

Just like in Las Vegas, my favorite hotel here in Macau was the Venetian. Although we were inside, the design of the space made visitors feel like they were walking along Venice canals with blue skies and historic building facades.

It was crazy to realize that these were buildings inside one mega building. And even the canals were real where one could actually take a gondola ride downstream. Wow!

From the Venetian we took a pedestrian walkway across the strip to the Londoner. As you might have guessed, this was a London-themed hotel / casino. There was Big Ben, and red double-decker buses.

One could “ride” the London subway or take a picture next to a Royal guardsman. It was fun!

While I still wanted to walk over to Wynn Palace Hotel which featured choreographed music, light and fire water shows, my boys were done. They did not want to go anywhere else anymore. And sometimes that was just the reality you got when traveling with kids. And while I could have forced them to go, it would not have been fun for anyone. And by now, I had covered over 20,000 steps which approached 30,000 mark for my kids. No wonder they were done.

So, the decision as made to grab the free shuttle bus from the Londoner Hotel to the near-by Taipa Ferry Terminal and head back to Hong Kong. This time we rode Cotai Water Jet which was quite similar to Turbo Jet we took in the morning.

We passed both Macau and Hong Kong immigration / customs with no issues and as the darkness set in, got back to our hotel in Hong Kong right around 8PM. 

With all the necessary infrastructure (like ferries, metro and public buses) in place, day-tripping from Hong Kong to Macau and back was very simple. And Macau was such a different world – with its Portuguese flare and Las Vegas vibes, it was like no other place you would ever find in Asia. It was definitely worth a trip which I am glad we did not miss!