17 May 10 – Day 2 (Macau)

oke up around 7+am and we went out about 8+am. Ate breakfast at the Margaret's Cafe e Nata. I had an egg tart (MOP$7), a butter bun (MOP$4) and a cup of coffee (MOP$7). SWT and KC shared an egg tart and pork bun each and KC ordered coffee too. Egg tart tasted nice when eaten warm, the crust was flaky and crispy. After that went to get water from 7-11 before taking a public bus to our first stop – A-Ma Temple. We took bus 10 (I think) and the fare was MOP$3.20 each. A lot of people at the temple and a lot of smoke from the incense and from the cigarettes. Walked around the temple, took some photos and then tried to figure out how to get to the next stop. An old lady saw us holding the map and offered to help us. She suggested going to the Maritime Museum saying that there are a lot of things to see there.

Margaret's Cafe e Nata

Pork Bun & Egg Tart

Some pictures of A-Ma Temple and the surroundings:

So we walked to the Museum, which was just nearby A-Ma Temple. Paid MOP$10 each for entrance fee and walked around the Museum which has a lot of exhibits on the development of their harbor and ships. Bought a pen there for my elder niece before moving off to Lilau Square, which was basically just an empty space. We missed Moorish Barracks coz we couldn't find it or we could have just passed by it without knowing. Then moved to Mandarin’s House and St. Lawrence Church where more photos were taken. The churches were strict coz they required goers to be in at least short sleeves so KC had to wear her thin cardigan before going in.

A few pictures on Maritime Museum and Mandarin's House:

Lilau Square (Fountain of Luso)

Passed by Dom Pedro V Theatre, went into St. Joseph Church, passed by St. Augustine Square, Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, into St. Augustine Church, passed by Leal Senado, arrived at Senado Square where we ate the double layer steamed milk and French toast at Leitaria I Son. We couldn't find the Heritage Exhibition of A Traditional Pawnshop Business and Culture Club so went to find Sam Kai Vui Kun temple, which was only a very small temple. Couldn’t find the Holy House of Mercy and so we went to The Cathedral, St. Dominic Church, St. Paul’s Ruin, Museum of Sacred Art & Crypt and Na Cha temple. The Cathedral was stricter coz KC wasn’t allowed to go in as she was in shorts.

Some pictures on the various churches:

St. Lawrence's Church

St. Lawrence's Church

St. Joseph's Church

St. Joseph's Church

St. Joseph's Church

St. Joseph's Church

Dom Pedro V Theatre

St. Augustine's Church

Designated WC Place for Dogs

St. Joseph's Seminary

Along the way to St. Paul’s Ruin, there were many shops selling pastries, candies, etc. Many people at St. Paul’s Ruin, we went up the staircase to see and then to the Museum. Na Cha temple wasn’t easy to find and it was just a very small temple like Sam Kai Vui Kun temple. Didn’t go on to St. Anthony’s Church, Protestant Cemetery / Chapel, Casa Garden and Camões Square / Garden. Back track to Senado Square for shopping and went into big shops like Bossini, Giordano, etc. Bought some clothes, stuff and decided to look for Boa Mesa for dinner.

Senado Square

Fountain in Senado Square

The building with rose pink façade in Senado Square where Leitaria I Son is located

Double Layer Steamed Milk

Ginger Milk

French Toast

St. Augustine's Square

The Cathedral

The Cathedral

The Cathedral

The Cathedral

The Cathedral

Na-Cha Temple

Na-Cha Temple Admin Office

St. Paul's Ruin

St. Paul's Ruin

Museum of Sacred Art & Crypt

The Crypt

Relics of the Martyrs of Japan and Vietnam resting in the Crypt near St. Paul's Ruin

Found it and ordered grilled codfish, chicken curry in Portuguese style, boiled vegetables, apple juices and serrendura. Food was nice such that SWT finished most of the curry except the fish coz it was very salty so we didn’t finish that. Perhaps we are not used to the cooking style of the fish. Left around 7+pm, cut cross Senado Square and saw the Lovers’ Street and took some photos there and this was when we saw the Holy House of Mercy. It was the building that we had passed by so many times during the day but never realized that this was what we were looking for coz the name at the front was Santa Casa da Misericordia and we were trying to look for “The Holy House of Mercy” the whole time.

Chicken Curry in Portuguese Style, Boiled Vegetables and Grilled Codfish (Bacalhau)

Macanese Dessert (Serradura)

Boa Mesa

Window along Lover Street

Holy House of Mercy

Went back to guesthouse to unload our stuff and went out again around 8+pm to walk over to MGM for the light and sound show, Wynn for the Tree of Prosperity show and the Performance Lake show. Wynn’s Dragon of Fortune was under maintenance so we didn’t get to see. Along the way took photos coz at night a lot of neon lights were on and the view was very nice. Done with the show, walked back to guesthouse and along the way looped over to New Yaohan to get water and checked out the whole supermarket in half an hour before they closed at 10pm. On way back, we bought supper (肠粉 + 烧卖) from a pushcart stall around the corner of our guesthouse. The night ended around 10+pm with us going back to eat supper, shower and watched The Mentalist.

Some shots while walking towards MGM area:

Macau-Taipa Bridge

MGM Central Plaza

Bird Cage in MGM Central Plaza

MGM Central Plaza

MGM Main Lobby

Wynn Rotunda Atrium Ceiling

Wynn Performance Lake in action:

Our Supper: Chang Fen and Siew Mai in sweet sauce, chili sauce, sesame sauce and soya sauce bought from a pushcart stall round the corner of our guesthouse.

Thoughts: Heritage trail is worth doing. Different churches have different style and interior deco. For The Cathedral, one needs to be in long pants and top with sleeves before one is allowed to go in. Some places were near to each other, while some were a bit out of the way and some were hidden away unless you look real hard. And make sure that you don’t only look for “The Holy House of Mercy” but the “Santa Casa da Misericordia” which was the white building near the fountain in Senado Square. MGM interior was nice, like the light show on the façade and the big birdcage. Missed Xian Xinghai and Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre coz we were very late. It’s a pity we didn’t get to see the Dragon of Fortune show at Wynn. The Tree of Prosperity show was only so-so but the Performance Lake show was really great. Would have like to wait for the next Performance Lake show but it was already very, very late. Supper was awesome. Though it was simple, it was very tasty with all the different sauces.

16 May 10 –Day 1 (Macau)

The plane took off at 6am and after 3hr 25min, it landed at Macau International Airport about 9.40am. By the time we checked-out, collected luggage and exchanged HK$500 each to MOP$, it was already close to 11am. Tried to figure out where AP1 goes to and after asking the lady at the Visitor Information Counter, we took AP1 to the Macau Ferry Terminal and then looked for the free shuttle to the Grand Lisboa. Actually after alighting from AP1, we just needed to walk straight to the other side of the terminal to look for the shuttle buses that go to the various hotels and casinos. But we didn’t know and we saw some buses with hotel logos on the opposite side of the road and so we crossed the underpass to get to the other side. We couldn't find the bus that we wanted and so asked around only to find out that we needed to cross back to the other side (the terminal side) to look for it. So lugged our luggage and crossed the underpass again.

Got up the shuttle bus to Grand Lisboa and it took us straight to the entrance of the casino instead. SWT had to ask the staff there to let us take the restricted escalator up to the main lobby where we got out of the building. Asked the policemen in front of Grand Lisboa how to get to Nam Pan Hotel. Got the direction and we dragged our luggage about 3-5min over cobbled pavement all the way to Nam Pan Hotel, which was visible with only a brown signboard hanging from the second floor.

We had to carry our luggage all the way up a few flights of narrow stairs to get to the guesthouse. Told the lady of our reservations and the triple sharing room was just near to the so-called reception counter which was just a table. Made the full payment of HK$1920 without deposit and then went into the room to settle down. Took some photos of our room as well as get some rest. KC took the bed nearest to the window; SWT took the middle one while I took the one nearest to the door. Room was small and simple with basic needs (TV, Mini Bar, Toiletries). After some rest and discussions, we went out again around 12+pm. The lady from the guesthouse advised us to take the free shuttle to City of Dreams (CoD) to get to Taipa Island.

Our beds

Part of our room

Before taking the shuttle bus, we went to the New Yaohan, which is just about 10min walk from our guesthouse to get water and bread as lunch before heading to Hotel Sintra to catch the shuttle. We ate the bread as our lunch on the bus and then alighted at the CoD. Walked over to Venetian and tried to figure our way to Taipa Village. Asked a security guard and followed his directions of going to the Hotel West Lobby, cut across the coaches' car park, saw a football court and walked along the road straight. Managed to find the village, looked at the flea market and we were disappointed about it coz it was very small and not a lot of stalls.

Taipa Houses (Museum)

Couple taking Wedding Photos

Taipa Village Food Street

The Pinochio Restaurant in Taipa Village near the flea market

Taipa Flea Market

After the flea market, we went to the Taipa Houses Museum. Took some photos and strolled the food street, Rua Do Cunha (官也街). Saw a few eating places that were recommended by the forum people such as Restaurant Dumbo, Galo and Panda. Then we decided to go into a shop called 城昌饭店 to try the crab porridge. We ordered a small one at MOP$120 and tried to finish it. After that, we bought some ginger candies from a shop before getting desserts from a shop recommended called 莫义记. SWT had serrendura cake (MOP$12) and I had mango drink with sago and pomelo (MOP$18).

Dumbo Restaurant in Taipa Village

Taipa Village (Cheng Chang Restaurant)

Crab Porridge

Mok Yi Kei Gelatina - 80+ years of selling durian ice cream and agar agar

Walked back to Venetian to have a look around and walked the Canal Shoppes. Inside the Venetian was very nice and grand; the ceiling looked like sky and had a river with gondolas. There were people performing near the Canal too. Took some photos and after that, moved to Four Seasons Hotel to look at the shops before going to CoD to get the tickets for the Dragon's Treasure Show at The Bubble. We got the 9pm show and therefore had about 2+hours to kill. Went to Hard Rock Hotel to look at the mermaids, looked around the shops then ate dinner at the City Café inside CoD.

Some pictures of the interior and exterior of Venetian:

About 8+pm, we queued to go in for the show. While at the holding area, there were two performers dressed in fish costumes and played some games to entertain us. The Bubble was similar to our Science Centre Omni Theater with a dome-shape ceiling. The show was very nice. After that, we went to take the shuttle bus back to Hotel Sintra and walked back to our guesthouse. Along the way in a small street, we saw Margaret's Cafe e Nata and decided to eat there the next morning. By the time we got back to the guesthouse, it was around 10+pm.

Our tickets

Thoughts: Lots of guesthouses as well as hotels in the area that we stayed. Taipa Flea Market was a letdown. The stalls there were similar to our basam malam here. The Taipa Houses Museum is worth checking out coz you can get a lot of information on lives in early Macau. If you are a foodie, you will be spoiled for choices on which restaurants or café to choose and there are a lot of things to try.