Going
to Macau and Hong Kong for a weekend? Yes it’s possible!
After
booking the flight 4 months ahead, we already thought of ways how we can have a
quick tour of these two Special Administrative Regions of China. We booked a Friday night flight and a Sunday
night return flight so we can maximize our time.
February
3, 2012, our flight was scheduled at 7:30 PM, so we went to the airport for an
early check-in. When we were at the
boarding gate, we saw our plane arrived early, but to our surprise, an announcement
was made that due to maintenance requirements our flight will be delayed by 2
hours. I was not shocked at the delay at
all because I have never flown on Cebu Pacific on time yet. But still, I was dismayed because of the
limited time we have. Fortunately, we
were able to board the aircraft earlier than the 2 hour delay announced.
Upon
arriving at Macau
International Airport,
we were transferred to a bus that will take us to the arrivals section which is
just a few meters away from where we were parked. Upon reaching the arrivals, it was chaotic
because people were running to get to the immigration to avoid long lines, we
were surprised and all we had to do is run with them! Haha… It was winter season then so it was a cold
night. There were long lines at the
immigration so it took us some time to leave the airport. Before we get a cab, we went to the money
changer first to have our first glimpse of the Pataca, the currency of Macau.
 |
| Macau International Airport Immigration |
We
arrived at Fu Hua Guang Dong Hotel past 11:00 in the evening; the taxi charged
us an extra 15 Patacas saying that it was an airport charge. We chose this hotel because of its location
despite all the negative comments regarding its cleanliness. Well, they were all right! Hairs on the carpet, dirt on the appliances
and tables. We didn’t bother to use
their tea making kits. When I dropped my keys, we even saw used stockings under
the wooden seat when we moved it.
 |
| Fu Hua Guang Dong Hotel Triple Room |
Since
it was too late we just stayed inside the hotel and planned our tomorrow’s trip
using our Map. Since our scheduled places to visit upon arrival was scrapped
due to the delay (Tip: Never plan a tour schedule on your arrival
day when flying Cebu pacific, it always ruin mine), we thought of not
visiting Hong Kong anymore. But we also realized that since we were
already there, why miss the chance since HK is just an hour sail away from Macau. So before
we slept, we decided to go to HK first thing in the morning.
We
were awaked and getting ready by 7:00AM, we were surprised that it was still
dark outside, the sun started to shine by 8:00AM. While walking around the streets for the
first time, we decided to eat at McDonalds along Horta Costa. It was hard since the staff hardly speaks nor
understand English so we had to point to our orders. For breakfast, we tried twisted macaroni soup
with grilled chicken which is not offered in any McDonalds outlet here in the Philippines.
 |
| Twisted Macaroni Soup with Grilled Chicken |
After
breakfast, we went to the bus stop to wait for the bus going to the Macau Ferry
Terminal. Here, you must look for the route
going to your destination and wait for the specified bus number. You must prepare an exact amount since coins
are dropped upon entry. It is cheaper if
you buy tap cards, but in our case we didn’t have a chance because after
searching it in convenience stores and asking the locals, nobody seemed to
understand us, the hotel front desk was of no help also. Its better to prepare some important Chinese
words first, but in my case, it was limited to bargaining and asking for
restrooms, hehe! So you need to save
some coins in order to get around.
We
bought tickets to HK via turbojet. We
took the next available sailing time to be there as early as we could.
 |
| My Turbojet Ticket to Hong Kong |
Upon
reaching HK, I was amazed by the skyline, tall buildings all around. Since we have a limited time, we chose to
walk our way not too far from the Ferry Terminal. We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant and were
amazed by the amount of servings. I
bought chocolates and other stuff as souvenirs.
We only spent 5 hours in HK and decided to return to Macau since there
is not much to do in HK since we don’t even have enough time to go to Disneyland and other theme parks.
 |
| Soaked Rice with Mixed Vegetables |
When
we got back to Macau, we left our things in our hotel and tour Macau at night. We
went to Senado Square
and bought some jerky and walked our way to the Ruins of Saint Paul. We bought shabu-shabu
from the streets as we walk our way
back to the bus stop. Taking the bus is
also a nice way of touring Macau since it goes
around the city letting you marvel the architecture of the city.
 |
| Senado Square |
 |
| The Ruins of Saint Paul |
Tired
but not too hungry, we decided to buy breads near the hotel for dinner. We also bought something to bring back home
from the nearby supermarket. Since we
will check-out the next day, we already packed some of our stuffs.
On
our last day, we ate breakfast at a nearby café, again conversation was
difficult and there were no English translations on the menu, good thing there
are pictures so the pointing system worked.
 |
| My yummy breakfast! |
 |
| The Restaurant Interior |
 |
| Walking along Avenida de Horta e Costa |
We
had a nice breakfast and a few more hours ahead. We walked the streets of Macau
and got some nice bargains. We spent the
entire morning enjoying our walk around the city streets until we found out
that we had to check-out by 12 noon. We
rushed back to our hotel and fixed our stuffs.
We left our luggage at the hotel for free as we continue our tour. There’s a nearby Japanese restaurant where we
had our lunch. This time, order-taking
was a breeze because we have mastered the art of pointing!
 |
| Beef Ramen for Lunch |
This
time we went to the amazing places around the city. Macau is a
nice place to walk around except if you want to spend more time at the
casinos. After so much fun walking
around, we decided to get our stuff from the hotel before we go to The Venetian
Macau Hotel. Of course your visit to Macau will not be complete without a glimpse of this
wonderful building.
To
save time and money, we went straight to the airport and left our luggage for a
price of 10 Patacas per luggage per hour and took the free shuttle to the
Venetian Hotel. Upon reaching the hotel,
we were amazed by the design, it was a superb architecture depicting Venice in Italy.
Much as we want to take the gondola ride, we simply cannot because we no longer
have such budget since it was our last day.
Aside from that, the price will make you think twice. So we just watched them as each sailor
perform a song number.
 |
| The ceiling outside the hotel entrance |
 |
| At the hotel's main lobby |
 |
| Marvelous ceiling from the inside |
 |
| A curved escalator |
 |
| The Gondola Ride |
 |
| The ceiling looks like a real sky |
After
spending two hours at the hotel, we decided to go back to the airport for an
early check-in. We were surprised that
it is also hard to communicate with the airport personnel, and you can see
other tourist having a hard time communicating with the airport staffs wherein
we are only asking basic questions like “Where is the check-in counter?” and “What
time will the check-in counter open?”.
As a result, most tourist flocked the entrances of the check-in counter
and watch out which TV screens will display their respective airlines. When we were allowed to enter the counters,
we were lucky to be on the first line.
Check-in and immigration check was easy and we were on the pre-departure
hall in no time.
While
waiting, I decided to buy more stuff at the airport and exchange my money into
Pesos since we are arriving past midnight in Manila and it’ll be hard to find money
changers.
We
departed Macau behind our scheduled flight as usual and arrived Manila a few minutes
before 1:00AM. Since it was already past
midnight, I was surprised that the Manila
immigration stamped our Passports February 5 instead of February 6, I wonder
what time do they change their dates? Well
I arrived home around 3:00AM already and went straight to bed.
My
trip might have been a short one but it was enough for my budget. I’m not coming back sooner, but will
definitely be back there in the future.
