Macau

Yesterday, I went with a group of students to Macau, known for its casinos and its Portuguese Egg Tarts. And the egg tarts were one of the first things we did try after getting off the 1-hour ferry. While we initially planned to get there around 2-3 pm, we ended up having to wait for friends for an extra 2 hours. By 5 pm, it was late into the day, though we had a lot to explore.

We went to the historical downtown district and saw a bit of Portuguese architecture and passed the burned-down church with only its front façade remaining. It almost didn’t feel like we were in Asia.

Then, we headed to casinos to win big. Well, actually, I’m not a gambler and I don’t want to start to become one, so I only played and lost $10HKD. Did you know that the casinos in Macau have greater revenue each year than Vegas? It’s pretty amazing. Says something about Chinese and their culture I suppose. The Venetian there was three times the size of that in Vegas. Inside, it has a canal adorned with gondolas and little bridges. It is surrounded by little shops in Venetian architecture; really great for photos. I’m glad that we got to see this side of Macau, that I probably never would have if I came by myself or with family.

At the end of the exploring, it was 1 am, and the shuttles back to the ferry terminal stopped. We ended up paying for taxis. Then, the ferry didn’t have any tickets left in the booth. We ended up paying a scalper twice the price for them. Although it was a rip-off, we were really lucky that all twelve of us were able to get on. We got back to Hong Kong at 4 am or so, and again, the MTR (subway system) had stopped running. We ended up paying a lot extra for transportation that day that I would have liked. All in all, however, it was a memorable experience. I’m glad I went on a spur, with a German/Austrian crowd that I might not have gotten otherwise.

On another note, classes start tomorrow. Fun days ahead!

Originally posted on halfwayaroundtheworld.studentsgoneglobal.com.