My OneWorld Around The World Trip: Macau

The last few days have certainly been hectic, but still good. It was a major case of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”. Since Macau is a separate country from Hong, we had to cross customs and immigration to get there. However, once you cross into Hong Kong customs in the airport, you can’t take the ferry directly to Macau! But we did have to do this since we needed to leave our big bags in the airport – they were too much to lug around for these short excursions. So… we passed through Hong Kong customs and immigration after arriving, then went to leave our bags with the left baggage desk, and then had to walk around to figure out what to do for a while, then take the express train into Hong Kong, find a transfer train to the ferry terminal station after we got to downtown Hong Kong, and then buy a ferry ticket, take the ferry to Macau, and then find a cab to the hotel, check in, and at last, collapse upon arrival. We made it without getting in a fight, a pretty major accomplishment given the stresses of that series of transfers! We checked into the hotel shortly after 2:30am. Needless to say, we did not strike out to try our luck in the casino this evening.

The next day, we slept late and headed out after breakfast, and played our modest budget, which did not last long. In fact, we only played about 75% of our initial plan, and decided there was no need to lose the rest. So, we have officially played Blackjack in Macau now – check that one off the list. We walked around the extensive shopping areas in the Venetian, and decided to use part of our spared budget by not gambling as much, so we went to the Cirque du Soleil show, Zaia. This was my first time to Cirque du Soleil, and it was pleasantly surprising and entertaining. After, we had a hearty dinner at one of the Chinese restaurants, roast eel and chicken and tempura, and Macau beer.

Today, we slept late, and then enjoyed a leisurely brunch before checking out and now we’re on the ferry back to Hong Kong. My main impression of Macau was… it is like Las Vegas with Chinese writing, and without the cocktail waitresses. I do think I am getting over the whole casino thing. I was struck though by how remarkably consistent the experience remains at casinos the world over. They are all polished and almost identical name brand “high end” fashion shops and retailers, in the same configuration, with the same casino layouts and designs. I guess they found what works best and just repeat it everywhere. But honestly, the casino thing gets boring pretty fast. I think I may be over it altogether.

I’m glad we saw Macau, since this will likely be our only chance to visit that famous place. But I’m happy to move on now, and glad we just had a short time planned there. Hong Kong is an exciting city, so I am looking forward to that today and tomorrow. Then, our big flight across Asia will finally pass us both through every meridian – although a few more to go yet to pass them all on this particular trip, a milestone, nevertheless. We are really looking forward to the slower pace in the next couple of weeks, and the encounters with Rome and Israel, where some of the richest history from world history awaits.

PS For my Mom's sake, I will say, don't worry Mom, things got better after Macau. I just haven't caught up my posts yet... I never expected it to be the greatest part of the trip anyway, but had to tick that one off the list... Hong Kong was much cooler!