How did we end up in Macau for the afternoon you ask? Well that would be a Grant move! He books our travel and it was probably cheaper to fly to Macau from the Philippines than to Hong Kong. Plus there was some new train involved I’m sure he was dying to ride on. All that plus the fact that Macau is basically a Las Vegas replica and we were in!
We were envisioning gambling, boozing, shows, and all the Vegas glitz and glam, but Macau was decidedly different than Vegas. It was like being in the Twilight Zone. It looked identical to Vegas (there are even the same hotels like The Venetian), but everyone was serious and it was cold and rainy!
PS. I know Macau is independent of China (another reason Grant wanted to visit and cross off another country) but I couldn’t resist with the title.
How to Spend One Day in Macau
We arrived in the early afternoon from Cebu and had some time to kill before our train to Hong Kong.
First Stop: Cotai Strip
We jumped on the hotel shuttle from the airport to The Venetian (they’re typically free because they hope you’ll gamble) and checked our bags at the front desk. Don’t miss the dumplings at famous Tim Ho Wan in the food court. We walked around a bit (the hotels are gorgeous!) then decided to ditch fake Vegas for old town Macau.
Stroll Around Taipa Village
Taipa Village is a non-gaming zone in Macau and it’s managed to preserve some of Macau’s historic pre-casino charm. We got kombucha and lobster rolls at Tim and Dafs.
Visit Senada Square
We *think* we visited Senada Square. I’m writing this a few years after our trip and I couldn’t find confirmation in the photos but it seems so familiar. I think we went to a nice bookstore there to kill time or wait out a rain shower.
We headed back for our bags and boarded the Sky Train to Hong Kong. The other passengers at the border crossing were ruthless, cutting in lines, shoving and pushing. Welcome to China, kind of.
Vegas is better,
-Ray
Note: We visited Macau in March 2019.