Day 2 Around Macao

As expected, we could hardly get out of bed this morning and had to miss our daily breakfast. As such, we opted to use our lunch vouchers and had our first meal of the day at a classily designed Italian restaurant called Bene.

We were its first customers for the day so we had to wait about 30 minutes before we were served. As we had only 6 set meals and 9 of us, we had to share the 3 appetisers, 6 mains and 3 dolce vita plus additional antipasti, calamari and parma ham pizza ordered ala carte. All paid for with our vouchers.

Although portions were a little too small, the meal was scrumptious! However I didn’t really had the luxury of pampering my palate as I was busy eyeing my children unnervingly as they ran around the exquisite dining hall decorated with many fine GLASS fittings and totally making a ruckus. Thankfully as we were its only patrons at this time, the waiters tried to help out a bit by entertaining them.

After lunch, we got lost again in the huge shopping mall and making many stopovers as the children were either captivated by some greenery decoration, water fountains or circus like performances. When we finally got out the right entrance to take the shuttle bus, a full 30 minutes had passed and we were well into the afternoon. So much for an early start.

The shuttle brought us to Galaxy Macao which seems to be the main bus interchange in this part of Macao. All the different hotels offer free shuttle to the main attractions of Macao so you can actually quite easily get around free of charge. However you will probably need to be armed with the time tables of all the buses, its routes and stops and plan your connecting bus trips.

Our destination was Xin Ma Lou, which is the cultural and historical centre of Macao where one can view all the Portuguese relics during the period of its colonisation. Once again we made several wrong turns to find the right bus stop to wait for the shuttle but the queue was ridiculously long. I didn’t expect Macao to actually see so many tourists.

So we opted for an alternative shuttle that would take us to  Star World Hotel instead. From there, it would be a short walk or taxi ride to our destination. Getting a taxi was however another obstacle. Due to some dumb traffic rule, taxis are only allowed to carry a maximum of four passengers at any time regardless if they are adults or children. We tried to bargain with the taxi to allow us to board 2 adults and 3 kids but they vehemently refused. Finally Theo and I had to split two cabs, him with one child and me with two.

While it was a short trip of less than a kilometre, it took us about 15 minutes to get to Xin Ma Lou due to the traffic jams and multiple traffic lights. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this area is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and it did have a distinct European feel to the place. There is a tourist information centre right at the entrance of the public square which is adorned with a fountain.

There is one main road to take from the plaza that would pass through the various heritage buildings, churches leading up to the main highlight which is the remains of St Paul Cathedral. Along the way, the slightly gradient road is lined with modern day boutiques selling make up and personal care products, juxtaposed against more traditional bakeries that sell local popular favourites like pork buns, curry balls, egg tarts, fruits, salted egg biscuits and what not. We stopped frequently to break from the throngs of tourists to snack.

The main confectionery to buy souvenirs from are located at the main square at the foot of the stairs leading up to St Paul’s. Items to buy would be the almond cookies though I felt that their pastry puffs were much more tasty. We spent a bomb here on the confectionery amounting MOP 588 or SGD 120! I also realised that MOP is a stronger currency compared to HKD so it is not possible to use HKD 1 for 1 here.

The experience of the exploring Xin Ma Lou was probably more of an attraction than the remains itself. While the façade of all that remains of the cathedral is impressive, there is little else to see behind it. It kind of makes you feel like ‘I came all the way here for this?’. Admittedly I didn’t do much historical research of the 16th century building. What was probably more interesting is continuing through what would have once been the sanctuary towards the back, where stone steps lead up to a fortress lined with cannons.

It certainly made for more exciting experience for the children as we followed the windy path up the fortress, stopping intermittently to pose and act out military scenes. Those who make it to the top are rewarded by bird’s eye view of the city which unlike Cotai is made up of low rise run down houses built against the hills. I guess not everyone benefits from the glitziness of the casinos.

By the time we were done with Xin Ma Lou, we were quite beat. My brother insisted on trying some milk custard from a nearby coffeeshop which is apparently famous for it. We ordered a total of 11 bowls but ended up not finishing at least half of it. I guess it’s an acquired taste as the children didn’t quite like it. From the coffeeshop, it was short 10 minutes walk to Luso Bank where we joined the queue for the shuttle back to Galaxy.

I am amused to see that despite knowing the long queue waiting, the shuttle buses that came were so small they could only accommodate no more than 15 passengers each time, and the frequency for each bus is about 15 minutes. After what seemed like an eternity for our aching legs, we finally were on our way back to Galaxy. I was contemplating visiting one of the hotels enroute to see a nightly performance but thought twice about it when I saw the fatigue in my mum. My brother had a call from work along the way and was also impatient to get back to office to submit some document.

So there was a consensus to go back to our hotel to rest first. By this time however, our children were clamouring for food. My brother, mum and sister-in-law were too tired to head out again so we offered to go scout for food and then buy back for them. Our exploration led us through the Sands mall, over the bridge and to Venetian Macao. We spent a good 30 minutes taking photographs of the surrounding buildings which really looked amazing in the night.

The interior of Venetian was equally dazzling with murals covering the walls and ceilings. Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant tucked away at a corner of the hotel lobby. We decided to eat there after running out of all other options. Using the rest of our vouchers and topping up with a bit more (about MOP 900+ or close to SGD 200) , we had a good cozy meal with one of the best char siew I have ever tasted. After payment, we found out that this Canton Restaurant is apparently award winning.

By the time we got back to the hotel with food, they were eager to tuck in though it wasn’t quite enough. My mother had no qualms though as she was prepared to head down to try her luck with a bit of gaming and supper after we retired for the night.