Macau: Not just the Las Vegas of Asia

Streets of Macau at Night

I went to Macau last November 21 with my Dad, Kuya Jay and Claudia. It was the first time for us to be together to travel to an international destination. We went there to celebrate Dad’s birthday. Upon arrival at the hotel, we had dinner at some Chinese restaurant which is around 2 blocks away from Casa Real (the hotel where we stayed at).

Macau Fisherman's Wharf

Macau Fishermans Wharf

We went to Macau Fisherman’s Wharf wherein we reached there by walking. It’s about 0.5km away from the hotel. Most of the stores are already closed but there are some restaurants and bars that were still open.

The Venetian
The Venetian

The next day, we went to the Macau Ferry Terminal where our tour guide picked us up. We headed to Taipa Island to pick up other Filipino tourists at the airport and toured around. We passed by The Venetian which is one of the well-known hotels and casinos in Macau. Our first stop is a shop where we bought some almond cookies and nougat.

Then, we had a buffet lunch at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf at Miami Foodcourt which is located beside Babylon and Miami Fashion. The good thing is that we were able to go here since we didn’t get the chance to reach there at our evening stroll there since it was getting really late already.

View from the 61st floor of Macau Tower
View from Macau Tower

Living on the edge
Skywalk

We went to the Macau Tower. There’s an entrance fee for both adults and children to be able to reach the 61st and 58th floors. It’s around 85 MOP for adults and 55 MOP for children. The entrance fee is not inclusive of other activities at Macau Tower like Bungy Jumping, and Skywalk. In addition, the Macau Food Festival was being held just in front of Macau Tower where we weren’t able to go because the tour guide discouraged us and kept on saying that it’s expensive there. I guess she doesn’t have a commission there.

A-ma Temple
A-ma Temple

We headed to A-ma Temple. The temple is dedicated to the Goddess of the fisherman (A-ma). Its original construction was from the period just before the arrival of the Portuguese. Then, we headed to another store that sells clothes for bargain. Well, yes some are on sale but most are not. Then, we headed towards another souvenir shop which is Filipino-owned and operated. I bought there a couple of magnets for pasalubong. 😀

Macau Souvenir Shop
Macau Souvenir Shop

Ruins of Saint Paul
Ruins of St. Paul

Then, we walked towards the Ruins of St. Paul which is walking distance from the souvenir shop. It was originally the Cathedral of Saint Paul where the only remaining part is its facade. The cathedral was built by the Jesuits. During the time after it was built(c. 1602), it was the largest Catholic Church in Asia.

McDonald's Senado Square
McDonald’s at Senado Square

Then, we left the Ruins of St. Paul and headed for shopping. 😀 I was not really able to buy so much there except for a couple of shirts and a pork chop burger. 😀 Dad treated us over at Starbucks where we took a rest after a long walk.

Grand Lisboa
Grand Lisboa at day time

Grand Lisboa at Night
Grand Lisboa at Night

After a bit of resting, we walked again towards Grand Lisboa. It has a unique architecture because of its shape. It’s nice to look at it both day time and at night. During day time, you got to love the reflection of the sun because of its color. I guess the best time to take a photo of it at day time is between 4 to 5pm. At night, you’ll see the dome changing its colors from time to time and the chasing lights on top outlining its shape.

Sands Casino
Sands Casino

Afterwards, we had dinner in another Chinese restaurant and headed back to the hotel to rest. We then went to Sands Casino (just me and my brother) since Dad and Claudia does not have the energy to walk towards there. We went there to try out the slot machine but it did not push through because of the minimum charge of 100 HKD which we find impractical since it’s just the two of us who will be playing.

The Venetian
The Venetian

The food court at The Venetian
The food court at The Venetian

The next day, we took the free shuttle ride to The Venetian from the Macau Ferry Terminal. It’s a humongous hotel and casino with stores, a food court, Duty Free and even a Starbucks Coffee inside. The food court at The Venetian is impressive because of the variety of food selections and also because of its interior design.

Gondola at The Venetian
Gondola at The Venetian

A gondola ride could have completed ones experience at The Venetian but hearing the driver of the gondola sing is already enough.

The lion at MGM Grand
MGM Grand

We went to the MGM Grand Hotel via a free shuttle bus ride at the Macau Ferry Terminal where we had photo ops. 😀 The casino inside MGM Grand is not as many like that of Sands Casino and The Venetian.

The golden tree and the chandelier
The show at Wynn Hotel

We walked towards the Wynn Hotel and Casino at Macau which is just a walking distance from MGM Grand. We were able to catch a show there. We were impressed with the show. I took a video of it and I’ll upload it via YouTube soon. 🙂

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