Life's Journey of Lakwatserang Makikay

Our overseas trip in Hongkong wouldn't be complete if we did not visit Macau. Macau is one hour ferry ride to Hongkong. Ferry tickets to Macau can be purchased in China Travel Services (same with our HK Disneyland tickets). We boarded via Tsim Sha Tsui ferry dock and went there around before 7:00 AM to maximize our visit. Our challenge in our Macau trip is to do sight seeing in one whole day since our time is limited.

Disembarkation to Macau

Upon Arriving to Macau

Free shuttle services courtesy of Hotels and Casinos in Macau

Upon arriving at Macau and have our passports signed by immigration, we went to Macau Tourism office to avail free maps and tourist information.  After deciding on where to go, we availed free transportation found outside the Macau ferry dock. Since Macau's economy is highly known for its tourism and casinos, most  hotels and casinos offers free shuttle services to their tourists and visitors. Also, be wary of tourist guides offering their services since you can save on transportation and it is easy to do a DIY tour on Macau.

Our first stop is the famous Venetian Macau. Its opulent interiors and the design which reminds you of the grandeur of European architecture and Venice, Italy. Aside from hotel and casinos, it houses well-known boutiques and high-end stores which also adds up to the elegance of the hotel. After our quick tour to Venetian, we rode the shuttle to Galaxy hotel. Another opulent hotel with casino and beautiful lobby. Inside the Galaxy hotel lobby, there are lucky crystals that provides good luck which you can touch for free. We also stroll through their casino and been able to score a free milk tea and water. After we finished strolling Galaxy, we went to St. Paul Ruins and Centro Macau. Government halls, Roman Catholic Church and different restaurants and souvenir shops lined up Centro Macau. Prior to going to St. Paul ruins facade, you will encounter different tourists, samples of delicacies and vendors lining up the street. St. Paul ruins is the iconic image of Macau and it never runs out of tourists taking pictures, locals using this facade for pre-nuptial pictorials and another hordes of tourists ready to take another set of pictures and memories. Portugese influence still has a strong presence in Macau. Old inscriptions in their library and city halls are written in Portugese. After our visit to St. Paul ruins we went on souvenir and delicacy shopping. The exchange rate in Macau are similar to Hongkong dollars and you can pay your purchases using your Hongkong dollars without going to money exchange centers.

Start of our stroll in Macau

The Venetian

Opulent boutiques inside the Hotel

Lucky crystal in Galaxy

Free shuttle in Galaxy Hotel

Grand Lisboa

Centro Macau

Marker for St. Paul's Ruins

Throngs of tourists in Macau's famous landmark

Overlooking downtown Macau

The landmark is also famous for pre-nuptial shots

Tourist Activity Center

Santa Casa Da Miserocordia

Justice Hall

A-Ma Temple

After our tripping and goofing around in Centro Macau we also visited Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino to catch another free trip to different places of interests in Macau. We also dropped by at newly opened City of Dreams Hotel and Casino and Hard Rock Hotel. After our stroll to different hotels, our last stop was in Doca Dos Pescadores or famously known as the Fisherman's Wharf. It is located nearby the port of Macau and there are Sands Hotel and Casino nearby. There are also few hotels located here and the long strip can be compared to Manila Bay's seawall which lined up restaurants and boutiques. We spent our few hours here taking pictures with miniature models of Roman architecture such as The Coliseum and ancient structures.

On our way to City of Dreams

City of Dreams Hotel and Casino

Fisherman's Wharf overlooking Macau Port

Miniature Roman Coliseum

Another pre-nup taken at Fisherman's Wharf

City of Dreams Hotel and Casino

Endless Casinos across Macau

Lights across Macau

Casino Lisboa

Overall, our one whole day Macau trip feels like you were Amazing Race contestant but we did get to enjoy all sights and places of interest in Macau. My best suggestion is at least stay in Macau for an overnight. Just like Hongkong, Macau has places of interest in culture and history. Do not forget to try their specialties such as beef jerky and their arrowroot cookies. You can sample various kinds of their specialties just right across St. Paul's ruins.

This is the third entry dedicated to our Hongkong Trip last March 2012. After our Disney Tour, we try on a different adventure in Hongkong. We visited the Ngong Ping Monastery and check out free tours on Hongkong parks and malls. Since we don't have high end phones and gadgets with us (except for our handy digi cams), we rely on the free tourist maps which suggests areas of interests and with our unlimited passes on MTR we tried to visit free tourist sites.

Ngong Ping

Ngong Ping is one of the known Hongkong tourist spot which hosts Po Lin Monastery and Tian Tan Buddha which sits atop of the mountain. It is always packed with visitors and pilgrims of Buddhism. Transportation going to Ngong Ping requires cable car or bus.  We started our trip to Ngong Ping by riding MTR to Tung Chung. Prior to our trip we were advised that the cable car services to Ngong Ping is not working and was suspended due to technical improvement so we availed the bus trip. The one hour bus ride is enjoyable too since there are so many picturesque views along the way.

Upon arriving at Ngong Ping we went to Tian Tan Buddha by climbing its steep concrete ladders going to the Buddha. It is said that it is one of the world's largest sitting Buddha and it can be seen as far as in Macau on a sunny clear day. The experience was exhilarating and it was worth visiting since you'll witness a lot of pilgrims who is devoted to Buddhism.

After our visit to Tian Tan Buddha we went to Po Lin Monastery. Since it was already lunch time, we decided to take our lunch break on a nearby restaurant and we found out that they don't serve meat and it was forbidden to bring any foods with meat in it. We discover this because my friend brought a left over Mcdonalds breakfast on our way to Ngong Ping. After our lunch and pictorials we went to different souvenir shops to buy refrigerator magnets and other adorable trinkets. I also bought a goodluck charm made from jade stone.

Here are some of our pictures in Ngong Ping:

Tung Chung - Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Services

Tian Tan Buddha

One of adorable dogs we found in Po Lin Monastery

Ngong Ping Map

Going to Tian Tan

The  Arch

Hongkong Park - Central, Hongkong

After our half day tour at Ngong Ping, we decided to visit the other side of Hongkong in Central. This is where the famous tramway to the Peak and double-decker buses ply their routes to different parts of Hongkong. Since the line in the tramway is impossible to conquer in few minutes (it was weekend and jampacked with tourists), we decided to visit the free tourist attractions in Hongkong. We went to Hongkong Park where we visited the Museum of Teaware where all interesting tea wares used during earlier times in China was exhibited and the art of making tea was showcased. We also went to the Edward Yourde's aviary and Hongkong Zoo where we saw one-hundred year old tortoise, chimpanzees and lemur. The park is easily accessible by walking through Pacific Plaza which includes high-end boutiques and jewelry store.

Here are some of snapshots of Hongkong Park:

Turtles in Hongkong Park pond

The sloth in HK Park

The 100 years old tortoise

Skyscrapers and flats in Central

Hongkong Park

Bank of China Tower

Beautiful Flowers