Macau-Hong Kong Weekend (February 3-5, 2012)

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.