Ni Hao 2008, Day 3

Of all the days in Ni_Hao 2008, Day 3 was when we woke up the earliest. After breakfast at the Salisbury dining hall, we walked to the China Ferry Terminal, close to the Royal National Hotel. It was a good 15 minute walk, and we were pretty psyched about Macau. None of us have been to Macau before, so this was something new.

A few escalators up, we found the ticket offices. One of the barkers told us to get the tickets from the corner ticket outlet, and the round trip ticket turned out to be less expensive than what we had originally quoted from the internet. Wootwoot! We got three tickets to the New World First Ferry to Macau!



10:30 AM was the departure time of our ferry. We were held up a little in Immigration (as the officer asked Remy to fill out a form). We had our own version of Amazing Race Asia. We ran all the way to the gate, where we made it in time for our ride.

This was a most interesting ferry ride! It was uber fast! Like riding a jetski! The seats were comfortable. And because we were so tired from our walkathon the day before, we slept for the most part of the ride.



We arrived in the Macau Ferry about an hour later. It was more immigration stuff first, and then we were out. Grabbed a couple of maps (with Cantonese translations of the tourist attractions in the island), and we walked out to where most public transportations were waiting for passengers. We decided to get a taxi and head off to Largo De Senado first.




Macau seems quieter and more old-European than Hong Kong. We didn't see a lot of people milling in the streets. The buildings weren't as tall. There was a laid back feel to it. And there were many signs in Portuguese.

The driver dropped us off Largo De Senado. But we entered this interesting hall sorts first and took pictures. Then we crossed the street for the nice cobbled stone plaza. It was smaller than what I expected. Hehe. But it had a lot of old European charm. The small alleyways and the interesting buildings. Although it's also very commercialized! There seemed to be a Sasa in every corner! Haha.




Good thing Kar and I thought about our outfits carefully! Our nice bright colored tops looked good on the photos. Hehe.




We walked down the streets, following the signs to "Sau Paulo", which was the St. Paul Cathedral ruins. We passed by a couple of stores which sold egg tarts. I was quick to sample them, confirming the Lord Stowe's in Manila reassures me their egg tarts are as good as the ones here. There was also another store. A pastiliera, which sold a lot of Macau baked goodies. Perfect location, because we could visibly see the ruins up ahead

I must say, seeing the ruins made the long, sweaty walk worthwhile! This is an iconic Macau landmark, and now we know why! It's magnificent! I don't know how the facade survived! Perched on top of the stairway, it was just so picturesque.




Then came out the camera whores in all of us. Haha. We took a lot of pictures! And I reminded Karina about doing jump shots. So jump shots we did!






When we finally got one right, just when Karina landed, her glasses fell off. And when she landed (after the jump), her foot found her glasses and ka-put it went. She was very sad. And she officially became a lola!





After camera whoring, we couldn't stand the Macau heat any longer. We took a cab to the Venetian hotel, which is actually on a different Island (Cotai). From a distance, we could see this hotel was just huge. It was most certainly a mini-Venice!



Now we know where everyone's at! They're in the Venetian! Playing craps, riding the gondola, and taking lots of tourist photos. Haha.











It was past noon, and we were hungry. I was at first doubtful if there was a food court. We decided to eat at this Singaporean resto, where one of the waiters/cooks was Filipino. He gave us a tip that there was a free shuttle going back to the Macau Ferry. Yipee.

After lunch, we went around the hotel. Walking down St. Mark's Square, and taking pictures with a human statue. Obviously, Karina and I were slightly terrified of it. Haha. More pictures of the nice small bridges, and the gondola with the singing rower.

We found a Promod! And a Zara.




None of us were gamblers anyway, so we got on the free shuttle service to the ferry a little before 5 PM, and we were there a quarter past five. We were on standby for the 5:30 PM ride back to Hong Kong. Thankfully, it wasn't very full, so we got in.




Back in Hong Kong, we were all quite pooped from the Macau day of walking. With the little energy we had left, we went to Toys 'R Us for Irb's Transformers toy and to the Esprit Outlet on Hankow Road (a few meters away from our hotel). I think I prolly reached my shopping breaking point there. After paying for my purchases, I sat down close to the entrance by the sidewalk. Kars and Remy, paid for their stuff and we walked back to YMCA.

Kars, being the expert traveller that she was, started packing her stuff and accounting for her expenses. And what did moi do? Take a sinfully relaxing warm bubble bath.

After my bath, I attempted to steal another free wifi signal. To my dismay, the open network "linksys" learned how to use the WEP Password, and I could no longer mooch off the free internet. Dengit. In my frustration (I was also craving for spaghetti that evening), I availed of the four-hour wifi internet service the hotel offered, which ironically, had erratic connection! I ended up sleeping through the 2.5 remaining hours.

What a vacay! Haha. We end up exhausted after each day!