Lost In The City: Avenue of Stars, Ferry to Macau, and the Cotai Strip (Day 2)

Even though I slept really late last night, I woke up early to go jogging with my dad. When I'm in travel, I make it a point to maximize my limited time. I'm like a train with no brakes and unlimited fuel.

We started through the Avenue of Stars at the Waterfront Promenade where our trail led us past the hand prints of famous Chinese personalities in the film industry and a statue tribute of would-have-been UFC Featherweight champion Bruce Lee. I really appreciated just being able to soak in the peaceful early morning view of Victoria Harbour and its skyscrapers, while passing through some ultra expensive hotels in Kowloon.

We ended up at Hung Hom MTR Station which is amidst a swanky residential neighborhood where we took the MTR back to the hotel. Everyone was now awake so we headed to a nearby Mcdonalds for breakfast.

Sunrise at the Avenue of Stars

UFC 200: Arman vs Bruce Lee

Waking up early is worth it!

Hung Hom Station

Macaroni Soup with Burger, MCDO HK

Because we had a couple of hours to spare before our ferry trip to Macau, we decided to wander around Canton Road from the 1881 Heritage Building all the way to the Harbour City Shopping Complex. Harbour City houses signature shops and designer brands, 3 Marco Polo Hotels and a City Super food court and supermarket.

Old Clock Tower

1881 Heritage Building

Inside Harbour City

We arrived at the China Ferry Terminal and bought tickets from New World First Ferry for HK$ 133 one way each. To get here, enter the China HK City Mall and go to the 2nd floor, it is located beside Harbor City after passing the Prince Hotel. It is 15 minutes walk from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station or you can take an inexpensive 5-minute taxi ride. The ferry trip to Macau takes an hour, leaves on time, involves going through an immigration, and is definitely more comfortable than riding a plane or bus. Again, visa is not required for Filipinos, but you still have to bring your passport. It's actually weird that you have to go through an immigration because it's pretty much the same place, with the same people and government (yeah, yeah don't lecture me about the Special Adminstrative Region whatever...). Another gripe I have, is the difference in currencies. In HK and Macau, Hong Kong Dollar is accepted, while the Macau Pataca is not accepted in HK, which just makes no sense.

The Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal is the arrival point for most visitors from Hong Kong, and hosts ticket counters, food shops and a mini department store. Just outside the entrance are Filipinos offering guide services. We actually tried this during our first time in Macau and the guides are knowledgeable around the area, give useful tips and help with ferry bookings. They charge a fair rate, and of course, we were able to aid our countrymen.

One of the cool things about Macau is the free shuttle bus provided by most of the casinos from their hotel to the ferry terminal round trip. Some of the bigger casinos even have free services to Macau airport, the Taipa ferry terminal and the border gate to China. Upon arrival, we rode the free shuttle bus to our chosen hotel, Hotel Sintra. You can also ride the Lisboa Shuttle Bus to the hotel or the Grand Emperor Shuttle Bus which is just across the street. Considering the great location (near the historic city center, New Yaohan Mall and the giant casinos), the clean and adequately spaced but dated rooms and the in-house casino, I think we got a bargain for MOP 600 per night.

If you want to travel on a tight budget, Macau should be in consideration. It is possible, to explore every place in Macau by bus for free with a little research on which hotels are near the sites. The hotels are cheaper than in HK, transportation is easy with the free casino buses, bottled water and other drinks are free in casinos, there is free tasting of tapas and crackers in pastry shops near the Ruins, most shows are free, airfare is cheap and cost of food is the same as in Hong Kong.

Here are the hotels in Macau which I recommend:

- Hotel Sintra (City Center)

- The Venetian Hotel (Rooms can fit lots of persons) (Cotai)

- Lisboa Hotel (City Center)

- Metropole Hotel (City Center)

Inside the Ferry

Macau Maritime Terminal

Hotel Sintra

After a little rest, we spent the rest of the day at the Cotai Strip starting with the City of Dreams casinos, and it's three neighboring hotels namely: Crown, Hyatt and Hard Rock. In front of Hotel Sintra, there is a bus stop of a free shuttle bus going directly to the City of Dreams. I was disappointed that the Bubble Show at COD was no longer free. They now charge you MOP 30, good thing juice, coffee and tea are still served free. COD has a luxurious feel about it and is mainly catered to foreigners as opposed to Chinese locals who are mostly at Lisboa. We had dinner at the 2nd floor food court, where the food is plain ordinary at best.

City of Dreams

Bawal daw picture :D

Bubble Show

2nd Floor Food Court COD

After dinner, we crossed the street to the Venetian Macau, the largest casino in the world. It boasts of fine European decorations, a 2nd floor shopping area, Italian styled squares, a concert hall, thousands of hotel suites and an artistic but way overpriced food court. We capped off the evening trying our lucks at the casino, where predictably, I lost money (slot machines only :D), although my gambling expert grandparents won and so did little bro (beginner's luck).