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| EatWalkShop (2): MACAU (November 20, 2010) |
– Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)
Only
a ferry ride away from Hong Kong (and with no additional visa
requirements), Macau is one of those places I’ve always wanted to visit.
I’ve always been intrigued by the seemingly chaotic mixture Macau
offers: grand casinos, historic ruins, quirky architecture, Portuguese
food, and Chinese culture. It seemed like the perfect fusion of the
east and the west, which is why when we booked our Hong Kong tickets my
only condition was we go on a side trip to this former Portuguese
settlement.
I M M I G R A T I O N
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| The posh HK-China Ferry Terminal |
From Harbourside in
Kowloon, we took Green Minibus No.77 to Harbour City in Canton Road,
TsimShaTsui (Fare: HKD$3.7). We walked to the HK-China Ferry Terminal,
which looks more like an airport or a shopping mall than a ferry
terminal, and boarded the 9:30 AM trip of the New World Fast Ferry
(Fare: HKD$148). We made it just in the nick of time for the 1-hour
ferry ride, which was very smooth owing to good weather.
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| The ridiculously long LINES |
Up until this
point our journey to Macau was basically uneventful, so we were quite
relaxed. What we didn’t realize was the ridiculously LONG lines (yes,
that’s plural) waiting for us at Immigration. We’re used to long lines,
but this one was just ridiculous. As we would find out later in the
trip, we apparently chose the worst possible time to visit Macau,
because first, it was a Saturday. Second, the Macau Grand Prix was
ongoing. Third, the Macau Food Festival was also ongoing. Fourth,
everybody was preparing for the Asian Games. Even without any of those
things, Macau is already a famed destination for both international and
local (from mainland China and Hong Kong) tourists, so we were bound to
be in a crowded place. Lining up in Immigration took around an hour, so
by the time we were finished it was already 11:30, and we were
famished.
T H E C O N F U S I N G B U S
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| So where do we go from here? |
After
exiting the terminal, we wanted to look for Bus 10-A, which would lead
us to A-ma Temple and basically Macau’s historic centre. We couldn’t
find such bus, and someone was ushering everyone into this huge bus that
looked like a free shuttle going somewhere, so being such adventurous
(and clueless) travelers that we are, we followed the crowd.
The free
shuttle (we were right about the free part) dropped us in a bus stop
somewhere, and from here we could see bus signs with lots of numbers
(10-A was one of them). We were waiting for Bus 10-A, but Bus 3 arrived
and all the tourists we were with got on it. Some guard kept ushering
us in and when we said A-ma temple or Senado Square he looked at us and
said (or gestured, I can’t really remember) “Yes, yes, go in.” All I
know is that all the other tourists got in the bus, and
again, being such adventurous (and clueless) travelers that we are, we
followed them.
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| Inside the bus |
The bus fare cost MOP3.4, which we paid for in HKD. We
had no idea where we were going, but we were thankful to be seated. The
Macau cityscape rolled by, and it was interesting to see the casinos on
one hand and old buildings with Portuguese-style architecture on the
other. We passed by the Grand Prix as well. Soon after, we saw what
looked like the Senado Square on the right side of the bus, so we got
off at the next stop. Thankfully, a lot of other tourists got off at
this stop too, so we were on the right track.
S E N A D O S Q U A R E
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| Senado Square |
The
Senado Square is Macau’s center of activity and one of Macau’s most
famous landmarks. The floor is paved with a unique wave pattern, and
the square is surrounded by a lot of Neo-classical buildings that make
you feel like you’re somewhere in Europe. Here we saw the Senate
Building, the Holy House of Mercy, and other such landmarks.
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| Lovely buildings and paved roads |
At this
point, however, we were really just looking for a place to eat, so we
walked and walked until we could find something that suited our fancy.
It is worthy to mention at this point that we were getting tired of
Chinese food with all its MSG, so we wanted something different.
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| St. Dominic's Church |
Our
seemingly directionless walking led us to St. Dominic’s Church, which
was build in 1587 by Spanish Dominican priests. For some reason we went
inside, and for some reason the guard was Filipino. We asked him for
suggestions of nearby places to eat, and he suggested Restaurante
Platao, which was just around the corner.
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| Restaurante Platao |
P O R T U G U E S E F O O D
Restaurante
Platao is the place to be for authentic Portuguese food. Because we
wanted a change in cuisine, it suited us perfectly. We dined al fresco
at their charming little courtyard, and the experience was lovely.
Again, it seemed like we were in Europe. Ironically enough, our waiter
was Filipino, so he was able to suggest a lot of great dishes.
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| Baked Bacalhau |
We
ordered Portuguese Fried Rice, Baked Bacalhau (salted codfish) with
Mashed Potato, and Baked Pork Loin with Parma Ham & Cheese. We even
got free Poppy Seed and Cashew Nut Rye Bread w/ butter as appetizers.
It was our first experience of Portuguese cuisine, and the taste was new
to our palate. It was delicious, but we couldn’t quite compare it to
anything we’ve ever eaten before. Even the rice, which was so colorful
and looked like the Spanish paella, didn’t taste like it at all. While
the taste of the food was closer to Mediterranean cuisine, it’s still
unique and a welcome addition to our palate (Lunch: MOP 107/head).
T H E S E A R C H F O R E G G T A R T S
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| Cathedral Square |
Although
egg tarts can be found practically anywhere in Macau, we asked our
Filipino waiter where to find the best ones, and he suggested Margaret’s
Café e Nata. He said we had to walk up towards Cathedral Square, turn
right and go down an alley, cross the main street, and find the famous
egg tarts in a back alley café.
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| Lining up for egg tarts |
It sounded easy enough, so we did as we
were told and walked up until we reached Cathedral Square (the area
surrounding the Cathedral of Macau), where we took several pictures. We
went down the alley and found a shop where they sold milk tea, so we
had our regular fix (so far, we’ve had milk tea with EVERY single meal
of this trip, excluding breakfast). The milk tea was really good and
cost MOP 10 each.
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| Egg tarts! |
We walked some more until our instincts led us to the
famous Margaret’s Café e Nata, where we bought the most delectable
Portuguese egg tarts. A piece of trivia I just found out, Margaret is
apparently the famous Lord Stow’s ex-wife, and judging from the long
lines, her egg tarts must really be well-known among locals and tourists
alike.
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| The alley full of people |
T H E R U I N S
Our boxes of egg tarts in
hand, we walked back to the Cathedral Square and followed the signs to
the Ruins of St. Paul. Walking a few more blocks, we reached this
really narrow alley full of souvenir shops, beef jerky stalls, bakeries,
and other such food stalls. The place was really crowded and a tad
chaotic, so we went in one of the shops (Choi Heong Yuen Bakery) and
bought almond cookies as pasalubong.
Finally, we caught a glimpse of
the famous Ruins of St. Paul, what’s left of the Cathedral of St. Paul
(Mater Dei), which was built by the Portuguese sometime in the 17th
century. The Ruins is one of Macau’s most famous landmarks, and also
one of the tourist-infested areas.
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| The Ruins of St. Paul |
L O S T I N M A C A U
After
the Ruins, we decided to skip the rest of the historic sites (temples,
more churches, etc.) and go straight to the Venetian. However, we
didn’t want to go through the crowd of people on the way back to Senado
Square, so we found another way. However, our instincts weren’t as spot
on in Macau as they were in Hong Kong, so we ended up getting lost.
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| Public "exercisers" |
We
just kept walking, passing by St. Anthony’s Church, until we saw this
touristy park and went inside. We ended up in Camoes Garden, although
we didn’t know at that time, and it was actually a beautiful garden and such a peaceful oasis in a chaotic bustling city. What we noticed
though, was that there were so many old people in the park. Some were
using the “exercisers” and some were playing chess. It was charming to
see culture like that up close. To think, this was not part of our
itinerary and we only ended up here because we got lost. After walking
further inside and sitting on one of the benches, we rested our very
tired feet, regrouped, and found our way back to Senado Square after a
few more minutes of walking. It’s worthy to mention though that this
whole “getting lost in Macau” walking business took an hour. One full
hour.
T H E V E N E T I A N
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| Inside The Venetian |
By the time we got back
to Senado Square, we were so tired and about to give up but we couldn’t
leave Macau without experiencing the dazzling casinos. So we hopped on a
bus which brought us to the Venetian. A Filipina (I love that there
are so many Filipinos here!) who probably sensed the confusion in our
conversations on the bus asked us where we were headed, and suggested
that we get off on the second Venetian stop instead of the first one. We got off in front of City of Dreams, where we got tickets to the
Bubble Show before crossing the street to The Venetian.
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| Care for a gondola ride? |
I’ve
been to the Venetian in Las Vegas, and it has always been my favorite of
all the Vegas hotels because of the grand canal and the gondolas. I
loved the ceiling that looked like a sky, and the architecture and shops
inside that make you feel like you’re in Venice. We took a lot of
pictures and even tried our hand at the slot machines. Although we
couldn’t understand exactly how the game went (we knew it was a game of
probability and combinations, but the mechanics of “winning” were just
too confusing), we played anyway and had a grand time.
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| The Venetian at night |
C I T Y O F D R E A M S
We
crossed the street back to The City of Dreams just in time for our 7PM
Bubble Show, and because it was dark by this time, the dazzling casino
lights were already on full display. The show at “The Bubble” was
called Dragon’s Treasure, and of course we didn’t know what to expect.
What greeted us was a spectacular 10-minute digital masterpiece complete
with light, sound, and water effects, all projected in a “bubble” or a
sphere-like screen which made the experience a fascinating 360-degree
one. We felt like little kids again, and it was the perfect way to end
the night.
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| Crossing the street to the City of Dreams |
L E A V I N G M A C A U
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| Ferry ride back to Hong Kong |
From the City of
Dreams we boarded the free shuttle back to the ferry terminal, where we
boarded the ferry back to Hong Kong. More walking and a train ride
later, we found ourselves back at Elements, where we ate our very late
dinner at 360. We had really good ramen at just around 10PM, and the
noodle soup was so therapeutic and delicious (Dinner: HKD$53/head).
The
experience was tiring but fun. Getting lost can be stressful, but
there are surprises along the way, and by getting lost we really got a
peek of Macau’s culture. The place is really a strange mixture of
conflicting cultures, architecture, and people, but I guess that’s part
of its charm. I loved that we were acting like travelers and not just
tourists, and I loved that most of the places we went to were suggested
by fellow Filipinos.
In hindsight, the Macau experience was
something I’m glad I went through, although my feet will probably
disagree with me. That said, after an entire day of walking in Macau, I
think I can survive just about anything.
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