Monday, February 16, 2009

Macau: Part Three of Day 2 (Feb. 6, 2009)

So after our Macau Tower experience, the tour guide dropped us off at the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel. The 'free' city tour of Macau was over. So no, we didn't get to see the St Paul Ruins, the Senado and other tourist spots this former Portuguese colony is renowned for. But I'm sure we will get the chance to return to Macau somehow, someday, sometime in the future.

So while my mother went agog at the slot machines in the casino, we (my sister and my hubby) decided to explore this huge hotel/resort casino which as the name implies was constructed to appear as the Italian city of Venice. So you have the famous bridge of sighs, the gondolas, the Venetian architecture and vast Renaissance paintings on their ceilings and the hotel is peppered with designer boutiques and luxurious shops like Chanel, Ralph Lauren and Gucci.









After we practically had to drag my mother away from the casino, we took the shuttle bus to The Sands Hotel and made our way by foot to the Fisherman's Wharf for dinner. An outdoor mall with a theme park vibe with restaurants and shops. You can also view some of the other hotels/casinos lurking their majestic presence in the background. By that time, it was already early evening so the air was a bit nippy. It added to the romantic setting of the place so it made for nice cozy "hugging" pictures. I do have to say that the place was pretty empty. For some strange reason, it didn't seem to click with the local crowd or the tourists either. Probably because most of the people who come to Macau go to the casinos to gamble away.













It was already past 9pm when we were done with dinner and sightseeing. The return fare wasn't part of the 'free' Macau city tour so we had to purchase our tickets from the ferry terminal. We walked all the way to the HongKong Macau Pier to catch the ferry back to Kowloon Island. It was a long walk from the Fisherman's Wharf. It was cold and windy. My feet were aching. I was tired since we were up since 6am. Cramming a HongKong City tour and a Macau city tour in one day is really hectic. But once we were seated in the 10pm First Ferry back to Hongkong, I was thankful for that long day and cherished the family bonding moment with glee. Trying to ignore the rough waves smashing against the ferry as it was already high tide! =)

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