Touching Moments, Experience Macau: Day 1

From June 1-4, we (my family and I) spent a few days at Macau and one day at Hong Kong. For many Filipino vacationers, Macau is just a secondary destination (where you can just spend a day there), with Hong Kong as their main destination. My family, having already been to Hong Kong quite a few times, decided to do the opposite, and spent more time in Macau, and just stayed in Hong Kong for a day. 

Many of you may be wondering--"what does Macau have to offer, besides being a gambler's paradise?" A lot of people may tell you that a day is enough for you to see what Macau has to offer. That may be true, but Macau, just like Bohol (where Cebu is the "main destination"), is fast becoming a main destination in itself, with more attractions and sights for the 28,000,000 tourists who come to Macau each year.

For instance, Macau has 37 hotel-casinos which are tourist attractions themselves (for example: The Venetian Macau), where you can spend a day shopping, gambling, or just marveling at the impressive architecture), with many more expected to be built and completed within the next few years or so. Macau may not be a popular shopping destination like its neighbor, but with several branches (almost every major hotel-casino has them) of popular luxury brands such as Gucci, Prada, Chanel and Louis Vuitton, and mid-range brands such as Zara, Esprit, and Pull & Bear, Macau is playing catch-up to Hong Kong, after playing second fiddle to this city for so many years. 

This blog entry covers Day 1 of our trip to Macau. But first, let me begin by showing you the shortened Macau's official tourism campaign, called Touching Moments, Experience Macau:

Day 1:

Our flight, Philippine Airlines flight PR352, was scheduled to depart at 12:55 pm. Our flight, however, was delayed for almost an hour (our flight took off at 1:50 pm due to the late arrival of the aircraft. Flight operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport also had to be halted for security reasons for about half an hour because President Aquino was arriving from somewhere.

Our plane to Macau, an Airbus 320-200

Flying time to Macau takes approximately 2 hours. The flight attendants on board were friendly and were professional. The in-flight meal service and the coffee-and-tea service right after were carried out quickly, though the coffee-and-tea service had to be interrupted a few times due to turbulence. 

Picture taken shortly after take-off, as we were over Paranaque City

Passengers had a choice between Pork Bicol Express or Lemon Chicken. I chose the Pork. Dessert consisted of fruit jelly from Goldilocks.

Our plane at Macau International Airport

Upon arrival at the Macau International Airport, we were fetched by a representative from our travel agency. We boarded a small bus that took us (and a few other passengers on our flight) to our respective hotels.

Our home for the next few days would be the famous The Venetian Macau, a 3,000-room, all-suite luxury hotel which happens to be the biggest hotel building in Asia and one of the largest in the world. It also boasts of having the world's largest casino. It also has its own concert arena which has been the venue of the concerts of the biggest names in the music industry such as Beyonce and Lady Gaga.

The Venetian Macau is the huge building at the right

The Venetian Macau as seen from the City of Dreams, another one of the many hotel-casinos in the area

The Main Lobby

Hallway close to the Main Lobby

After check-in at the West Lobby and leaving our luggage under the care of a Filipino bellboy (who told us that our bags would be delivered to our room in a while), we then headed to our room on our own. Yes, we did get lost (I mean, the hotel is HUGE).

We were billeted at a Bella Suite at the 9th floor of the hotel's north side. The 70 sq m suite has two queen-size beds, a living room (with a sofa bed), two televisions, and also a spacious bathroom with a separate toilet area, tub, and shower. 

Our Bella Suite

The Venetian Macau is located at Taipa Island, one of the two islands in Macau (the other being the Macau Peninsula). This is where some of the newer hotels and casinos are located, such as the City of Dreams, the Galaxy Hotel, and the Four Seasons Hotel, among others.

Here's some more pictures of The Venetian:

My apologies for the blurred shot.

The hallway at the 9th floor at the north side of the hotel

Gold dominates the hotel

After resting up a bit, we decided to explore the Grand Canal Shoppes a shopping center adjacent to the hotel. The whole place was made to resemble Venice, Italy complete with canals and gondolas where gondoliers (mostly Filipino) would serenade you with their repertoire of Italian (or even Filipino) songs. Tickets for a gondola ride cost about 118 Macau Patacas (Mop) per person.

Speaking of currency, the official currency of Macau is the Pataca, though the Hong Kong Dollar is also accepted anywhere. Some establishments may display prices at either Hong Kong dollars or Macau Patacas, or both.

Gondola ride

The Grand Canal Shoppes. Notice that the ceiling is painted to look like the sky

An Armani Exchange store at the Grand Canal Shoppes

After checking out the Grand Canal Shoppes, we decided to go hotel-hopping, one of the best things to do at Macau. The great thing about this is that you do not have to spend anything to get around Macau--all you have to do is to take the many free shuttle buses that go from one hotel-casino to the other. There are also shuttle buses that take you to the Macau Ferry terminal, or to the airport. Just make sure that you join the proper queues.

A typical shuttle bus which you could use to take you to the other hotel-casinos, airport, or ferry terminal

On our first day, we were only able to visit the City of Dreams, located just across The Venetian (but you can take the shuttle bus if you're too lazy to walk). 

Shopping center at the City of Dreams

A Burberry store at the City of Dreams

From left to right: Crown Macau hotel, City of Dreams, and Hard Rock Hotel

For dinner, we walked back to the food court of the Grand Canal Shoppes, where you can choose from a wide selection of food from countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and many more. For our first day we decided to have Japanese food at this stall (I forgot the name, though). Servings are huge, so you must have a really empty stomach.

Japanese Pork Cutlet Curry

Stay tuned for part two, where I will show you a lot more of what Macau has to offer.

(TO BE CONTINUED)