Macau is known as the Las Vegas of the East. Macau boasts some of the most luxurious places to stay in all of China, and the Chinese know how to wallow in luxury. Among these luxurious compounds is the Venetian Macao!
Las Vegas has The Strip, and Macau has Cotai. The area is the main strip for gambling, shows and shopping. You can find super nice hotels in the southern part of Macau island, but Cotai is the heart of the luxury area! One of the nicest hotels there is the Venetian Macao. The American Las Vegas Sands company owns it. They’re the same company that built The Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas, The Parisian in Cotai, and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
I reached Macau on 2nd January 2020 in the evening around 4:30 pm but reaching the hotel took me another one hour. It is because you don’t get uber or any online taxi. Well, from Hong Kong I took a bus to experience the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, this is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link on earth. So, Wont you give it a try? I went to Macau from Hong Kong as its nearby i.e just 40 minutes and you in different province. Trust me, I had a very hard time after reaching Macau as people over there don’t understand any other language than Cantonese or Mandarin (these two are different Chinese dialects). So, I stayed in Macau for 3 days which was more than enough.
I was staying in Grand Lisboa Hotel which was kind of okay I would say. The staffs were really helpful. Life without a SIM card in Macau was a hell of a ride. No one literally helps in Macau as they ain’t welcoming to tourist much.
Finally I left my room to look for SIM card and taxi. Since it was my first day in Macau so I had no idea about the Taxi pick up service on the left side of my hotel. So, the first day I had a booking in the Macau Tower.
Well you actually get the feel of United Kingdom and Portugal in this province.
MACAU TOWER
I reached Macau Tower around 7 pm, well it was 20 minutes walk from my hotel. Since I didn’t know about the Taxi service I had to walk there. As the Macau Tower entry was only till 8 pm. I did my booking from Klook for really better discounts and souvenirs included in the ticket.
The entrance fee is $120 – slightly steep but still reasonable, depending on what you want to do there. The entrance fee gets you to the indoor and outdoor observation decks — you can get an amazing view of Macau from there. There are food stores and some shops (can remember Toys R’Us for example), and you need to pay to go to these establishments there.
Macau Tower features Bungy Jump, Skyjump, Skywalk X, and Tower Climb — I couldn’t do these because these activities are time consuming (more than an hour, I was told) but the tour basically allows you to just go up and down the tower to view Macau. Macau Tower has got the world’s highest Bungy Jumping reaching 764 feet (233 meters). If you’re a daredevil, this world record jump is definitely a must! It was scary as when they push you down, you will face the sea directly. God I get goosebumps !!! Well the Macau Tower has also got some fascinating views of Macau city while enjoying the lunch, afternoon tea, or dinner buffet at the Macau Tower. It took me 30 minutes to complete the Tower and after that I went back to my hotel as I was exhausted with the day travel from Hong Kong to Macau.
A-MA TEMPLE AND CULTURAL VILLAGE
A-Ma Cultural Village is far from other tourist attractions but still well worth a visit. It offers a close look at a beautiful temple complex and huge A-Ma (Matsu) goddess statue. who is a female protectorate of those who venture onto the oceans. The temple itself is beautiful, and all of the art and decoration is extremely well done.
After exploring the temples, you may want to check out Coloane Peak Park nearby with beautiful views of Coloane from high above and, if you like long walks, take a hike on Coloane trail. From there, you can get to Hac Sa Beach and catch a bus back to Macau in the evening (Costs 5 MOP).
After viewing the temple, I walked up the hill to see the gleaming white statue of Ma-Zhu/A-Ma, and the associated panoramic views of Taipa and Cotai, Coloane, the Black Sands Beach, surrounding mountains and finally the South China Sea.
In addition to the temple and the statue, there are 17 km of hiking trails on this mountain as a whole, and I will be taking advantage of hiking these in the future, as it is the last place in Macau that has an extensive park with some critters to view and great photo opportunities.
After this, I took a taxi to the place, and after about two hours I was ready to head down. However, the free shuttle buses that are provided weren’t running. But fortunately, I had a good luck as I got a taxi which brought me down to the Ruins of Saint Paul for 30 MOP.
RUINS OF ST. PAUL
The cavernous cobblestone street, bustling with tourists, boasts perhaps the highest concentration of tourist-themed souvenir shops, but also some incredible galleries, historic buildings, boutique hotels, lively rooftop terraces, cafes and eateries with international cuisine, a sing along “boite a chanson” pub, and some truly inspired Quebecois arts and crafts themed shops that are turning the tacky souvenir on its overpriced head.
You will get to see the shops mentioning every where that you can take I wore comfy walking shoes, gave myself at least a half day to explore rue St-Paul alone with its many shops. I tried coconut ice cream there which was super nice. I would suggest you to try some ice creams and egg tart over there.
If you need a washroom, I recommend the McDonald’s corner of Notre-Dame and St-Laurent across from the courthouse. At last always remember that tourist prices are higher than usual in this area, so if you are budget conscious, it’s worth it just for a nice stroll through a must-see part of Montreal anyway. So, After this I went back to the hotel at around 6 pm and got ready for the Golden Reel Ferries as I had booking for 7:30 pm.
STUDIO CITY – GOLDEN REEL FERRIES
After reaching the studio city at around 7:30 pm and I had to the third floor for the Golden Reel Ferries because it closes around 8 pm. So, I entered the place showed them my booking and directly went to the Golden Reel Ferries which was in the shape of eight.
The number 8 is lucky in Chinese Feng shui so those believers can take a ride to better their luck at the gaming tables. It was an interesting 15-minutes ride.
I would recommend to video your experience. You can see the stupendous lights of Macau. Macau has really got the best night lights. I can guarantee if you see Macau at night, you will feel ‘an Indian bride shinning in her jewelleries’.
So, after this ride I took some photos in the desk and left the place at 8 pm. I stood in the road and clicked photos with the buildings as they look nothing less than a Palace. After all this I felt so hungry and went to the Venetian – The Venetian Macao is the largest casino in the world, the largest single structure hotel building in Asia, and also the seventh-largest building in the world by floor area.
I found an Indian restaurant in the Venetian where the entry was through the Casino. The Casino was asking for Passport – just to enter as they wanted to ensure that you are 18 and above. After showing my passport I went to the Indian Restaurant – The Golden Peacock. You also get to see so many restaurants in Venetian and all world class designers.
THE VENETIAN
You can go directly from the casino to the shopping mall! There are all kinds of brands, and if you don’t find what you like you can just walk towards the Four Seasons mall or towards the Parisian hotel. Or, you can walk across the street to find the City of Dreams! If you can think of a high-class brand, though, you shouldn’t have any problem finding it.
The mall on the third floor has little river channels, like the ones that surround Venetian markets that you expect in Italy. There are even opportunities to take a gondola on the channels, with an actual gondolier dressed the part. The whole mall has a ceiling that is painted the color of the sky, so it feels like you’re outdoors in perfect weather, cruising down the river or walking along the banks.
The Golden Peacock– This is by far one of the best Indian restaurants in Macau! I came here for the dinner. The staff were incredibly friendly and very attentive. The food was absolutely delicious with a wide range of options to choose from. And literally all of the desserts were to die for! Especially the Ras Malai! There were also plenty vegetarian options which was great. After eating here once I made up my mind to eat here till I am in Macau. You get to have both the Buffet and Ala- carte option. I tried both and yes! both were amazing and so does the ambience of the place. Even Buffet had so many vegetarian options to chose.
Another great thing about luxury hotels is the SHUTTLE BUSES. The city of Macau doesn’t have a public transportation system that’s easy to understand, at least for me.
The stop information is all written in traditional Chinese (Cantonese style) and Portuguese – which was a lot harder to understand than I expected! I’m not sure if there are designated lanes for all the different shuttle buses that will take you places, like at Studio City which looks like a bus depot, but I did stop there on the shuttle bus to the hotel. The bus to the airport is free like all others, but it doesn’t start service until 10am!! What??? If you need to go somewhere inaccessible by free shuttle bus, there is a taxi stand with people happy to open the car door for you, even at 5:30am.
There are so many fountains in Macau. Macau is popular for the lights and fountains with addition to Casino. There is a House of Dancing Fountain you must attend in the Venetian. it only costs HKD200. The first 2 rows are required to wear poncho while the next 2 rows are given towels as the show might get a little wet! Overall, it’s an awesome experience! You can book the tickets online too from Klook.
HAC -SA -BEACH
Morning I had to wake up around 6:30 am to go to the Hac- Sa- Beach. I had so much problem in reaching this place because at first the taxi driver took me to a water reservoir, I kept looking for the beach and didn’t find anything there except a few people hiking in that place. So, I spent there like 60 minutes and explored it. The place had a reservoir dam which seems like it purifies the beach water and make it worth drinking. People in Macau came with empty jars and were filling water from that place. After all this I got down and saw some people waiting in the Bus stand for the bus. Since you don’t get taxi from there so I decided to take a bus from the place to the beach. I saw a map near the bus stand showing how to go the beach. So, I took the 21A bus as per the map and the funny part was no one speaks Chinese so I kept on moving in the bus for like 35 minutes and finally reached the beach. I felt better after reaching as I thought I will be in the bus forever. Hahaha ! After getting down, I went straight away to a small store and bought some chips to eat as I was starving to death and finally I got to see the Hac Sa Beach which is also called Black Sand Beach due to the interesting mix of yellow and black sand found here.
This is the only proper beach in Macau, located at the southern end of Coloane. You’ll find a few beach shops, Portuguese BBQ style restaurants, public toilets and changing rooms, small section of promenade at the southern end as well as children’s play area. Importantly, there is a long stretch of beachfront space and outdoor area at Hac Sa Beach.
Water quality is murky, not particularly clear but many locals enjoy swimming here. If you visit during on windy days, you may also catch some wind surfers. This can be enjoyable to watch. If you walk up Rua de Hac Sa Long Chao Kok street on the south end of the beach, you often find fisherman pulling small catch from the the choppy waters.
Continue that route and you can take what is easily one of Macau’s best trails, the Long Chao Kok Coastal Trail, which clings to the rocky outcrops and shoreline and affords hikers some surprisingly good coastal views.
You can reach the Hac Sa Beach area by taking public buses 15, 21A, 25 or 26 to Hac Sa. All bus routes are MOP 6 per person for all rides throughout Macau.
PARQUE DE SEAC PAI VAN
Seac Pai Van Park is an outdoor and zoological park in Coloane where visitors can find a small variety of activities and view rare wildlife.
First and foremost, this is where you come to find the Giant Panda Pavilion. Visitors can spend up to an hour (MOP10) in the panda enclosure with our precious pandas. I felt I got a better view of Panda here than the Ocean Park in Hong Kong. I spent almost 2 hours in the Panda pavilion. The Panda kept playing and eating bamboo. I miss him. He was super cute. The other 2 pandas were sleeping. So, this is the main highlight of the place as you need separate ticket to visit the Panda Pavilion.
You will be able to see other rare and interesting animals on display in the park. These include rare red pandas, flamingo, peacocks, other birdlife, deer, lemurs and other wildlife.
There is also an aviary, large koi pond, garden, educational centre, Natural and Agrarian Museum, double-winged light aircraft that was used for flights between Lisbon to Macau and finally a gift shop within the park grounds. Lastly, the park is well decorated during seasonal holidays such as Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year.
The Sec Pai Van Park is open from 6am to 10pm daily and can be reached by all public buses making way to Coloane or Has Sa Beach. Just exit at the Seac Pai Van Park. This is a popular drop-off point and the bus driver will be able to tell you when you arrive so don’t worry about knowing where to get off. But luckily I got a Taxi from there to the the Parisian.
THE PARISIAN – THE Eiffel Tower EXPERIENCE
This is the replica Eiffel Tower situated in front of the Parisian Macao property on the Cotai Strip. The tower is 160 metres in height around half the size of the original Eiffel Tower in Paris. It is the landmark which stands out amongst the large scale hotels and is attractive to see in the day when sky conditions are favourable and at night when they light up the replica tower.
For those interested, you can ride up the Eiffel Tower to viewing platforms on the 7th and 37th floors (MOP110 per adult and MOP90 per child) You’ll find the entrance and lift within the Shops at Parisian at the Eiffel Tower shop. Opening hours are from 11am to 11pm daily.
I reached the Parisian at around 8 pm and went directly to the Parisian.
They keep playing music after 8 pm in every one hour with different colours and after 11 pm, they will just keep changing colour in every 2 minutes but without music. I was in that place till 12 am and then went back to the hotel as I had my flight back to my destination in the early morning from Hong Kong.
Long-term, we believe Macau can capitalize on the rising Chinese demand for holiday leisure travel.