Travel flashback: Christmas 2008 in Macau

Our trip to Macau was very short. We initially planned to skip our half-day Hong Kong City tour so that we could spend one whole day in Macau. However, the tour operator insisted that it was compulsory, and assured us that we could still tour Macau in just half a day, and that they would drop us off at the New World First Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui after the HK city tour.

At the terminal, we intended to purchase round trip Hong Kong - Macau economy class tickets. However, the clerk said there were no more economy tickets coming back from Macau and, and advised us to try purchasing from the ferry terminal in Macau instead. We then just bought one-way economy tickets to Macau.

The ferry ride lasted for about more than an hour and a half, and then we docked at Macau Ferry Terminal. We initially planned to take any free shuttle bus to any casino from there, when a local lady approached us and offered us a 2-hour tour of the Macau Peninsula.

Here’s my unpublished short review of the tour operator we availed in Macau:

Hou Mei Tour and Travel Co. Ltd. (Macau)

From Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station in Kowloon, the ferry terminal to Macau is within walking distance via Canton Road. The ferry ride takes only about two hours, and going to Macau is always worthwhile when visiting HK.

In Macau, there are a lot of free shuttles courtesy of the grand casinos (which transfer you to and from the Macau Ferry Terminal and their casino only), and you can hop on and off each shuttle (ex. Venetian, Grand Lisboa, Wynn, Sands, etc).

Macau is also very small that Macau Island alone can be completely toured within two hours with a minivan and a tour guide and driver in one (courtesy of Hou Mei). Hou Mei can approach you (walk-in) upon arrival to the Macau port showing you the visual aid of their route offered at a discounted price. If you have been exhausted from your HK trip or from the casino tours, this may be convenient for you.

Macau is very hilly and it would be hard to walk all day. This 2-hour ride includes hopping on and off all the tourist spots and souvenir shops in Macau Island. This tour can complement your free shuttle rides to Macau's grand casinos and enrich your experience with the old Portuguese and new Macanese sights and tastes of Macau.

The local lady was probably in her mid-twenties. She also turned out to be our private driver and tour guide. I do not remember anymore the vehicle that we used during the tour, but it is similar to a Suzuki APV. It was quite comfortable given that we were just three tourists in the car.

We only passed by the Fisherman’s Wharf. The tour guide said we could just go back there after the tour.

View of the Fisherman's Wharf from the outside

Some of the first few quick stops we had were the Kun Iam Temple, Penha Hill, A-Ma Temple and Macau Tower.



From left: Kun Iam Temple, Macau Tower, Penha Hill



View from Penha Hill



The last part of the tour was around the Senado Square, and of course the Ruins of St. Paul. We also had a stop in nearby Choi Heong Yuen Bakery where we bought phoenix rolls for pasalubong after we had a free taste. We also bought McDonald’s take-away for dinner. Macau businesses accept HK dollars and it was convenient for us because we didn’t bother getting some pataca from the money changer anymore.



Christmas at the Senado Square



Ruins of St. Paul

After the 2-hour tour, we requested to be dropped off at any casino with free shuttle rides, instead of dropping us off at the ferry terminal. We were dropped off at Wynn Macau where we took photos of the Macau nightlife around there. We fell in line at the shuttle bus station of Wynn Macau. The attendant of the waiting area there was a Filipino!



Macau at night

The shuttle bus of Wynn Macau finally arrived and we were dropped off at the Macau Ferry Terminal. We tried to purchase economy tickets from there but unfortunately they were sold out. We were offered instead deluxe tickets which was I think 40% more expensive. We had to take them because the next day would be our flight back to Manila.

We got on the deluxe seats and there was barely any passenger. We were also surprised that the deluxe ride includes a free meal!

From left clockwise: Deluxe ferry ticket to Hong Kong, deluxe floor of the ferry,
free meal for deluxe passengers, view of Macau from the ferry

We got back to Hong Kong and docked at the ferry terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui and spent the rest of the late night walking around. (See post on Hong Kong here).

Our tour was limited to Macau Pensinula only. It lasted only two hours but the walking we did were really challenging because everything we walked on was steep! We were too tired to even take a shuttle bus to the Venetian Hotel which is located in Taipa Island. We were not able to indulge in Macanese food, and I didn’t have the chance to explore Fisherman’s Wharf because it was already dark. And most of all, I didn’t experience betting in any of their casinos! These things that I missed are definitely reasons enough for me to go back to Macau!