Macau Dec 08

I had 2 weeks of free time in December last year as I was in the midst of a career switch. Daisy took a couple of days off too and we headed for a short trip to Macau and Hong Kong. Always wanted to see what Macau had to offer; and I dare say, it does offer a fair bit in terms of tourism appeal. We stayed in the Venetian and that in itself is a unique experience.

We had a big room. It comes with a decent view.

And trust me, you'll love the bathroom!

You may also have heard of the nicely done false sky and canals.

Makes you think it's bright and sunny and perfect for shopping no matter what the weather is like outside. In the 4 days that we were there, we covered less than 20% of the shops at the Venetian. In fact, the only shop that we really dropped by at is the 16,000 sqft Manchester United Megastore. After Old Trafford and the Carrington training facility, this is ManUtd central for the Asia Pacific region.

Until the Cotai Strip is completed (if it ever will be), I'ld definitely wanna stay at the Venetian again. That or one of the many nice boutique hotels.

This is the first trip that we went on without any planning in terms of itenary. So we're essentially blur tourist. And like any other tourists, we did the usual touristy stuffs. Like heading straight for the Ruins of St Paul's.

It's crowded even on a weekday. Somehow I doubt it'll be so popular if was never burnt down and the original cathedral still stood on that hill. Next to the Ruins, on an higher hill stood Monte Forte; or more specifically, Fortress of Our Lady of the Mount of St. Paul. Like the cathedral, it is built and run by Catholic Jesuit monks. Here you'll find big guns the Jesuits used to protect Macau.

Trust me, if the Jesuits still had a say in running the fort, they would have blown the monstrosity that is the Grand Lisboa out of the sky.

I can't believe that I've not heard of the building before arriving at Macau. It doesn't look like a hotel cum casino at all. In fact it looked to me like a gigantic shrine to the devil where Stanley Ho and gang conduct satanic virgin sacrifices every night.

Maybe it's just me but I found the building disturbing. This is one of 3 things in Macau that disturbed me. I'll elaborate later.

Anyways, Forte Monte was a nice place to take pictures.

In face, the whole of Macau is rather picturesque.

We visited quite a number of churches and temples.

We also took long romantic walks. *shy*

We also ate a lot of 'instant noodles' and Portuguese baked rice/pasta but to prevent this blog from becoming a food blog, I shall not be posting pictures of food. That, and the fact that I'm still trying to get myself into diet mode! Haha! Oh, if you guys do visit Macau, do make your way to Lord Stow's Bakery for their version of the egg tart. Yummy! They are so good (sweet), the egg tarts brought out the dragon in me!

But my supposed bravado did not prepare me to face the statue of A-Ma. To get to the statue, you have to scale a rather steep and tall hill in the country-side island of Coloane. As you reach the peak, you emerge from a boulevard of trees and come face to face with a very imposing statue. I felt like I was caught in a scene from Jason And The Argonauts.

It strikes a certain fear in me as I looked up at it. It's a weird feeling, standing on the top of a hill only to have a gigantic statue towering over you. Standing there at the foot of the statue, I could see the entire island of Coloane as well as the island of Taipa and Macau. I just can't stop imagining Godzilla emerging out of the sea around us and start battling A-Ma.

To think that the average height of people in Macau/Hong Kong isn't all that tall. And I thought that the Japanese were supposed to be the short ones.

Yao Ming ma man, I feel ya dawg!

The 3rd thing that disturbed me was Macau Tower. It took me at least one minute before I could psyche myself up to step onto the see-through glass floor. One day, I'll go back there to do the bungee.

Oh and I met some of my regional colleeagues at giving out free almond cookies at Senado Square. I did not tell them I worked for the same company though haha! At the center of Senado Square was St Dominic's Church. On our last night in Macau, we actually queued for more than an hour to get tickets to a concert at St Dominic's by the Macau Orchestra. For a small population, they really did have a decent orchestra. So good that I fell asleep halfway through the first piece.

But hey, being a tourist can be tiring OK? Especially with having to contend with Monster Lisboa, Monster A-Ma and the floorless Macau Tower. Luckily we had a great hotel to return to and rest our weary bodies and souls.

Ahh... the bliss. Makes you never wanna leave the bath. Alas, after 4 days and 3 nights, we had to leave Macau. And guess what? The Venetian has their own fleet of high speed ferries that leave for Hong Kong every hour!

I'll write a bit about Hong Kong; when I have the time haha!