Magical Macau

Although Matt has been here several times with the boys, I really wanted to see what the madness was all about. It all started very well, with a high speed train from Guangzhou South to Zuhai, where we had to cross the border by foot into Macau. There are free buses from the border to your hotel, so we got to the Sheraton very easily, where we ended up in a Suite as an engagement gift from the hotel!! 

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Train station at Zuhai

We went to explore over in the Venetian and found the best Indian restaurant, The Golden Peacock and enjoyed all the lovely food. All without going outside!!

The casinos are also, gigantic and nothing like I have ever seen before. Then inside the Ventian in between the shops, you can even ride a gondola down the river.

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Saturday: Macau Old Town

Senado Square

So, Macau is not just about gambling, shopping and casinos... there is also an old town area which is of Portuguese decent. The good thing is, you can get on free buses from casinos to get into this area and have a wander around. The weather was scorching at nearly 40 degrees, so we headed out early and did as much exploring as we could bear!

Ruins of St Pauls

Once in the back streets and alleys, away from the more metropolis area, the views were stunning of this place and the architecture did make you feel like you were in a European town. We did what most people do and headed towards the ruins of St Pauls via Senado square, but then went off the beaten track and found more hidden gems.

After rehydrating and eating at an Irish pub (classy!) we went to a Ferrari exhibition which was worth wandering around, before watching the afternoon performance of "House of Dancing Water". I was not overly convinced that the show would be worth watching, but on friends recommendations we booked our tickets and I am so so glad that we did!! Not giving too much away, but the audience is seated in a circle around a huge pool of water and there are acrobatics and diving into the pool, firstly from a big pirate boat that emerges from the waters depths!! It tells a story through the dance and then randomly at the end through a motorbike show (the staging comes over the water at various points), click here for a trailer.

We headed upstairs in the City of Dreams to find our dinner at a lovely tapas restaurant, before heading to the casino for my debut! As I am sure you can tell, I went wild and as soon as I made a profit I checked out. So showbiz!! 

Sunday: Macau in the daylight

A lazy morning and one last look around the Cotai area before heading back to the border for our journey home. I was suitably surprised by Macau and enjoyed how different it was to 'normal' life! Well worth a few days here if you are in Hong Kong and can get the ferry across.