Calvin’s Hub

In Part 2, I talked about our trip to HK Disneyland which you can view here.

We spent our 2nd day (Tuesday) sightseeing in Macau which is about 1 hour from HongKong.

Macau is known for its strip of casinos and is also called the Las Vegas of the East. It is also the home of the highest commercial bungee jump which is off the Macau Tower.

Getting there

We headed out early in the morning to catch a ferry ride before 9 AM. The ferry terminal is located at the Shun Tak Center in Sheung Wan. To get there from Dragon Hostel via MTR, take Mong Kok -> Central -> Sheung Wan. Head towards the D exit to get to Shun Tak Center.

We bought a couple of economy tickets on the Turbo Jet which has a counter at the 3rd floor of Shun Tak Center. Economy ticket is at $134 per person. The ride was uneventful and comfortable and I was able to get some more sleep.

Before heading to Macau, make sure you have lots of coins and small bills with you. You can pay with HKD but sometimes they will give change in their currency (MOP or Macau Pataca) which is not accepted back in Hong Kong. A MOP has the same value as the HKD.

Arriving in Macau

We arrived in Macau at about 9:30 AM. At the immigration area, there were lots of tourists that arrived at the same time so we waited for quite awhile to be served.

Fall in the line that says “Visitors” and not “Passport”. Usually there’s only one line for visitors so you have to be quick to fall in line.

Afterwards, we didn’t exactly know what to do next and it’s hard to communicate with the locals since their English is so limited. We just grabbed a free map of Macau from one of the greeters at the terminal.

Outside the terminal there will be lots of people from different casinos asking you to ride their transport shuttle for free.

Fisherman’s Wharf at daytime

We decided to visit Fisherman’s Wharf first which is a walking distance from the terminal. Head west past the casino shuttle buses until you see some sort of a Chinese courtyard.

Fisherman’s Wharf has its own convention center, amphitheater, shopping mall and casino. The structures are cool to take pictures at but the place is quite dead during daytime so we decided to go to our next destination.

Senado Square

We took a Bus 3A (MOP 3.20 each) and were dropped near Senado Square. You should tell your driver to drop you off if you don’t know where it’s at.

Always check the bus routes at the bus stop so you will know what bus to ride. There are different buses stopping so you will not be limited to one bus route. Just make sure they will stop near your destination.

Bus rides around the city only takes from 5 – 10 minutes and costs MOP3.20 each. You should prepare your coins coz they don’t give change.

Senado Square is a place where there are lots of boutiques lining up the street. It’s also where locals and other Filipinos in Macau usually converge and spend their day off.

When we arrived at Senado Square there were already lots of people milling about, mostly tourists. There were also people doing some maintenance work in preparation for an event so the fountain was turned off and there were lots of ladders by the sidewalk. Not good for the camera.

Since we did not plan to go shopping at the Square, we just went to St. Paul Ruins after taking some photos.

Ruins of St. Paul

To get to the ruins, just follow the throng of tourists or you could probably just ask around if you don’t want to get lost in the side streets. You should reach it in about 3 minutes.

The Ruins of St. Paul is just a facade of baroque design since the church was destroyed by a typhoon then caught fire for the third time during the 1800′s.

There were lots of people here so it’s very difficult to get a good shot of the ruins. Feel free to climb the steps if you want. There’s also a nearby toilet at the side for a quick bathroom break.

It was almost 12 o’clock but we were not yet that hungry so we decided to head to our next destination, A-Ma Temple.

A-Ma Temple

We went back to Senado Square, crossed the street and went right to reach the bus stop. We took the Bus 18 (MOP 3.20 each) and got off at the side of A-Ma Temple after about 7 minutes.

I was expecting to see something like the one shown in The Amazing Race Asia 3 but I didn’t see it. Maybe it’s located on the other side of the temple.

Anyway, the place was filled with Chinese tourists and it’s hard to get a good shot of the place. They will be pushing and shoving and they will always try to get in your shot. The temple was not that spectacular for us so we didn’t bother exploring the whole place.

We were already hungry at this point and wanted to get out of the temple and have lunch at the Macau Tower. Unfortunately, we missed the only bus (21) going to Macau Tower from A-Ma temple so we had to wait for an hour for the next one. We were tempted to take a cab but instead just ate some of the cookies we brought.

The bus going to Macau Tower costs MOP5 each since it’s already on its way to the other side of Macau in Coloane. However, it’s only a short 5-minute ride to the tower.

Macau Tower

Arriving at the Macau Tower (2:15 PM), we quickly went inside the convention & entertainment center in search of a place to have lunch. They have this small restaurant at the basement selling pre-cooked food but since it’s already late, the food left didn’t look appealing.

We asked a Filipino waitress and she suggested we try the Riverwalk Eatery which is an Italian restaurant that has a great view of the Sai Wan Bridge. We were served by a Filipina waitress who recommended the Chicken Tandori pizza. Yummy!

After our late but satisfying lunch, we just took some photos of the tower and the surrounding area.

As much as I want to bungee jump, it doesn’t seem practical at that time. It will set me back HKD1,488 and I’d rather buy something with the money back in Hong Kong.

You can also try the Skywalk X where you will be tethered to a rope as you walk around the observation deck 233 meters above ground with no handrails. HKD588.

It was already almost 4 PM so we decided it’s time to check out the casinos at the Cotai Strip in Macau especially The Venetian.

Getting to The Venetian from Macau Tower: From the bus stop just outside the convention center, take Bus 21 (MOP5 each) again and ask the driver to drop you off in Cotai and just walk from there.

Cotai Strip

There are lots of casinos (some still under construction) in Cotai Strip but we were only able to see Four Seasons and The Venetian.

We just walked outside the strip and took lots of photos while there was still light. After walking and taking photos for about 30 minutes, we checked out the inside of The Venetian.

The Venetian

The Venetian Macau is a renaissance themed hotel and casino. The place looks really amazing inside with all the murals and paintings on the ceiling. Check out our photos.

Sorry no photos allowed at the casino area. We didn’t try the slot machines coz it was not your typical machines. Besides, it was too smoky inside.

It was already almost 6 but it was still bright outside so the casino lights outside were not yet turned on. We just decided to head back to the ferry terminal to buy our tickets in advance then visit Fisherman’s Wharf again.

Getting back to the ferry terminal from Cotai is easy. Just take the free shuttle bus on the nearest hotel/casino. There’s always one leaving for the ferry terminal every few minutes.

Fisherman’s Wharf by night

Before we head to the Fisherman’s Wharf, we bought our tickets in advance to avoid falling in line during rush hour. Economy ticket going back to Hong Kong is MOP176 each (more expensive at night).

Fisherman’s Wharf is really beautiful at night when all the lights are on. Check it out:

We were pretty tired on our way back to Hong Kong. It was already 8:30PM when we arrived at the Hong Kong Ferry Terminal. We dropped off our bags at the hostel and went to grab a late dinner at
Pepper Lunch in nearby Langham Place.

The following day is dedicated to shopping until our flight back to Manila at night.

Suggested Macau Itinerary

I have to say that our trip to Macau was such an adventure but if I have to optimize our time for a future visit, here’s what I would do different assuming we got out of ferry terminal at 10:00 AM:

Senado Square – take bus right outside the terminal (going left)

St. Paul Ruins – just walk from Senado Square

Macau Tower – take bus 18 from Senado Square and skip A-ma temple and head straight to Macau Tower. Have lunch here, go up the tower, try the activities or whatever.

Cotai Strip – head back to Macau ferry terminal from Macau Tower. Take the Venetian shuttle bus for free to get to Cotai Strip. Explore the whole strip and take photos of nearby hotel and casinos. When done, take the free shuttle back to the ferry terminal.

Fisherman’s Wharf - buy tickets in advance before wasting time at the Fisherman’s Wharf. There’s also a small restaurant at the ferry terminal for a quick dinner.

There are other places to visit but those that are photo-worthy for me are the hotels and casinos.

You might also be interested in:

• Hong Kong Trip for Two Part 1: The Plan
• Hong Kong Trip for Two Part 2: Disneyland
• Hong Kong and Macau for Php999 only all-in via SEAIR
• Off to Hong Kong

Filed under: Travel