a Day in Macau

For the first day in Macau , we didn’t bother to visit typical tourists attractions but the casinos.

This adventure happened on Sunday April 22 2012.

Quick facts

Even tough macao has its own currency Macau Patacas ( MOP ). They accept Hong Kong dollars ( HKD ).

Macau is one of the two special administrative region (SAR), the other being Hong Kong. Official language is portuguese. But English is spoken as much as in Hong Kong = not very well but good enough to have directions.

If you’re coming from Hong Kong, bring your passport. My main complaint is the inefficiency at the customs, add one hour in the waiting line.

From HK to Macau/Macao

The boat travel takes one hour on TurboJet ( others may be as fast) . Since Macau used to be Portuguese and Hong Kong British. Even tough they belong to China now.They have separate immigration systems. So you’ll need to fill a form and your passport will be stamped. Yep if you came to Hong Kong for a visa SORRY. I’m surprised at HK departure, no one checks if you have your passport. The customs entrance takes another hour. That’s the big complain. If Macau wants to attract more tourists, why not just skip this step ?

After the port exit, we didn’t bother to take a paid taxi or paid tour guide. There are plenty of free bus to the hotels. The hotels have casinos. If you want to see the typical Macau monument : St Paul’s Church Facade …  If you want to feel casino, have a great buffet, then take the free bus. We took the latter path.

The bus took us at the grand Lisboa hotel. As you’d expect all casinos / hotels are lavishly designed.

grand lisboa hall interior

Casino/hotel ambiance

I had been in Las Vegas long ago, I was underage. But I did remember the ambiance, the sound coins dropping , free cocktails … The casinos were filled with people.  Macao casinos are nearly empty on a Sunday. In some cases , there were as many clients as staff. But most are BIG players and spenders : few slot machines,  plenty of poker tables. Unfortunately photography is forbidden inside gambling area.

The casinos from outside and inside look splendid. This one is taken at  the fountain of the Wynn ( 永利 shui li).

Buffet

Like all casinos , you ‘d expect a great buffet. We spent zero on gambling, we went to Macao for one reason: luxury buffet. BTW HK Dollars are accepted.

Look at the freshness of the sushis. FYI The red drink is watermelon juice ( I don’t know how why it’s so red )

lunch at MGM Grand Buffet

Fresh sushi at MGM Grand Buffet

fresh seafood

From outside

From outside

This buffet is under the transparent arch. At this time , a construction was ongoing for Buttefly Pavilion.

butterfly expo

Macau outside

Few more photos of the day.

One day certainly is not enough to discover Macau . Is it worth to spend a day ? Depends if you’re more than a week in Hong Kong , yes.

on the way back to Terminal Ferry