Macau Day 1

by Brianin Macauon Posted on

Since Macau (also Macao) was so close to Hong Kong and did not require a visa to enter, I took a short trip via the ferry to check it out.  Didn’t know much about Macau except it’s supposedly famous for casinos… I was also disappointed to find out that the casino in Skyfall was fake and not actually in Macau lol.

Walked over with my luggage through the subway stations to the ferry station. Luggage costs extra to take on board... I can't see why because it stayed in my possession the entire time. No handling by the crew whatsoever. I just put it in the back of the main cabin and retrieved it again when disembarking.
Fastest looking ferry I've been on, fitting name, the turbojet hehe
Exchanged some Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) for some Macanese pataca... partially curious just to see what it looks like. I realized later this was a mistake since HKD are accepted pretty much everywhere and they are also a little stronger than patacas. Also, some of the casino machines only accept HKD... how does that make any sense? So, next time, save myself some exchange fees and just keep the HKD
Across the street from the Grand Lisboa (I stayed at the older Hotel Lisboa)
Not much time in Macau so got busy right away. Headed west to find the Mandarin's House (not the same as Iron Man 3)
Apparently the park nearby is also a heritage site, Largo do Lilau
Circled around for a while and couldn't really find the guy's house so I continued on towards the Templo de A-Ma. Of course I just googled places of interest in Macau so this is how I decided where to go
Entrance to Templo de A-Ma
Inside the Templo de A-Ma
Still had sunlight so I decided to go back looking for the Mandarin's House (still don't remember what it was famous for)... and I found it... but... it was closed. haha, oh well....
Walking around I noticed many of the streets and foods seemed to have a greater Portuguese influence than Chinese. More Chinese people of course, however I thought this interesting to my liking. Much different feeling from Hong Kong.
Decided to walk in a loop back to the hotel so I walked past the Macau Tower. Didn't go up to the observatory deck as I was saving that for later when I had more time.
Just an interesting looking church on a hill
Panorama of the waterfront
Grand Lisboa, Hotel Lisboa, Wynn, and others
Statue of Guan Yin
Macao Science Center
Fisherman's Wharf and boardwalk area was full of different building replicas... definitely touristy. Not many things were open and seemed like some was still under development, a common theme this trip
Still had time so I thought, why not check out the Grand Prix Museum, another thing Macau is apparently famous for. Just my luck, admission was free too
I was the only one in there aside from about 5 security guards just talking story
After all that walking, called it a day. Had some crab fried rice dish and a black egg for dinner at the hotel. Nothing special, however I remember being confused when they gave me two sets of chopsticks... one black, one white... not quite sure why.

To be continued!

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