Another taste of immigration... Macau!
Kidding aside, one word to describe Macau: LUXURY. Or GRANDEUR. Or if you wanna be simple, MONEY. Contrary to popular belief though, it ain’t just for the rich. Sure, you’ve got all those casinos and high-end shopping places. But here’s an irony: Macau is where we didn’t spend anything except for food. Transportation is free when you got the know-how. You’ll see later~ *winks*
Our TurboJet ferry tickets were conveniently booked via Klook (buy yours here). We got roundtrip tickets where you’re given the liberty the time you wanna go. We were to go and leave the same day so I chose 10AM and then 10PM, respectively. There were changes; Klook emailed me if I would want to go for the 9AM trip because the one we had was actually already fully booked. Well then, okay - it’s better to be early, right?
But another issue arose: my folks asked me if we could leave earlier than 10PM? I took the 10PM slot since I wanna maximize the visit there. They made me in charge after all! Lol wait, let’s establish this first:
HOW TO GO: DRAGON HOSTEL TO CHINA FERRY TERMINAL
1/F China Ferry Terminal, China Hong Kong City, 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Fare: 5.5 HKD
Estimated Journey Time: 7 minutes
• Walk to Mong Kok MTR station
• Tsuen Wan Line – Red line
• Stop at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, Exit A1
• Walk to Ferry Terminal
The ferry terminal is NOT that near to the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR so prepare for a lengthy walk - 10 minutes at most?
When you enter, proceed to the counter and again, normal Klook procedure: present voucher for tickets and you’re good to go!
Regarding the schedule change, I’ve read reviews in Klook’s website that you could request for it. The situation though was that it was a holiday in Hong Kong that day. Everybody wanted to go to Macau. Lol bottom line, everything was fully booked. You can only actually change if the earlier trip still has vacant seats. Mission unaccomplished. We stayed in Macau until 10PM — not that I complained... *shrugs*
As I said, you’re gonna go through immigration again — leaving Hong Kong then entering Macau — since Macau operates as an independent city as a Special Autonomous Region of China. Similar to HK, everything was fast so I don't think you don't have (much) to worry.
It's similar to a plane — comfy assigned seats, air-conditioned BUT more legroom. It took us an hour and we docked at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal. There's also the Taipa Ferry Terminal via the CotaiJet but since the tourist spots we were going to were nearer the Outer Harbour, I decided for TurboJet. I based this from this guide by Klook!
Just follow the exit and walk down this tunnel and up to the bus terminal. This is where you're going to ride the free shuttle by whichever casino is closest to your destination. First in our itinerary was the Senado Square, and according to my research, we had to board the bus going to Grand Lisboa.
The bus drove through underground parking though and we were ushered directly into the casino. That's why they offer these free rides so that they can bring more customers to their establishments = more earnings. We, the young ones, were asked to present our passports - minors are not allowed, of course, and apparently, we still look younger than we really are. Lol it's prohibited to take pictures inside and I didn't wanna push it because did I want to be dragged out of there? NO. So let's follow the rules.
Before exiting the casino, there were a few Filipinas who may have recognized us fellow kababayans and offered to tour us around. As much as I appreciated it, especially if their intention was indeed good, I'm just that one gal with trust issues~ And to be honest, I'm not exactly into their help because I did my own research. Granted, research vs actual stuff would definitely differ but I'd rather discover that myself than just rely on someone else — another that I didn't know too. Well, basically, I'm suspicious AF *shrugs*
Look at that! So I carried on with acting as our tourist guide since — and I'm always repeating this — there are signs EVERYWHERE. I mean, this was my first time in that foreign land but I was able to navigate to where I wanted us to go because you're just pointed to the right direction. As long as you just follow them, you know, plus get some help from your trusted friend, Google (Maps), it'll all be a breeze.
Before arriving at Senado Square, there laid a gem in our midst: JOLLIBEE!!!!
This was, by far, our best meal there! Love your own ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Crew are all Filipinos too! Next, Senado Square:
Macau is pretty touristy too, more so on that holiday, so you're gonna walk and sightsee with a big crowd. It was a Sunday too. If you can, then do schedule Macau on a weekday.
This is the square and it's actually just full of shopping establishments. Look, here's a Watson's branch, though I just realized it was one. As you see, the name is cut off.
And because I wanted more shots, we went into corners and did our thang. Actually, there were Korean girls who posed here before us so I wanted to do it more! Lol but they're cuter so they win~
As you walk further in, the St. Dominic's Church will be in sight. It's a first to see a yellow-painted church and yellow is one of my fave colors so what a delight
We stayed around this area for a while because Papa was meeting one of his school batchmates who will also help tour us around. Well, I allowed to give her the reins since she's one my father personally knows and they've lived and worked there for years.
I relate to this kid! Shiela and I wanted to move forward already but we couldn't leave our parents. The friend took way too long to come and I didn't wanna waste time. Our next destination was the Ruins of St. Paul's.
Along the way, you can stuff yourself with free jerky (which was damn soft and yummy) and drop by any Koi Kei bakery! I found 2 branches and we went inside one to try a lot of their samples. And I mean a LOT like we snacked on them. Lol we bought pasalubong there anyway so they shouldn't mind if we ate a lot~
As you've seen (and will continue to see), it's really crowded but it was much, much more on the way to the Ruins. The narrower passageways didn't help too. Lol
In no time, the Ruins were in sight!
This was easily the highlight of this Macau trip! Sure, the glitz and glamour of the high-end casinos and hotels (which I'm yet to show yall) were no joke — they totally left me in awe — but I love the European feeling / ambience that Senado + The Ruins of St. Paul's gave me ♡
My OC side didn't jump out. Lol but really, you can't stress yourself with the photobombers. Plus I trust my 35mm, it creates the bokeh effect for the above photos~ These below were taken by the kit lens though, so there's no blur effect. Still, I like these pictures especially because yall, we took a lot!
This was how it looked like from up the stairs:
I think there's no charm if there's no one else, yeah? All this buzz just makes the photo livelier~ It also gives that travel thrill. That other people also seek fun and pleasure in life so they go on trips, whether by themselves or with people they treasure.
Look at those intricate details! We weren't able to cross to the other side of the structure though because we had set a time to meet up with the others. And time was ticking. Tsk
It was crazier when we walked back to Senado Square area. But we dropped by an Innisfree to rest a bit and buy face masks on sale! Lol after this, we were led by my Papa's friend to the many casinos. Up next, I guess~
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