Macau part II: Las turistas

Strolling around Taipa

A couple of days before the trip we tried to find some cheap accommodation from Macau; sadly that turned out to be a mission impossible. All there is to offer is fancy expensive hotels, so we ended up booking a room in one (around 55 euros / a night / per person). First when we checked the price level, we planned on staying up all night and just taking the first morning ferry back to HK, but then we thought that what the hell. You only live once and probably you also go to Macau only once, so we lived it up for 2 nights in a 4-star hotel in a good location. A bit pricey on the exchange student standards but totally worth every Hong Kong dollar we paid, since the hotel beds were just like heaven, so wide and perfectly soft (but not too soft) and the blanket was like the most comfortable thing I've ever touched... The bed at Hung Hom halls is alright, but after sleeping in a really good bed again you realize how big the difference is.

Anyway. Friday night was pretty crazy, Nick had his birthday and there were about 10 of us from PolyU to celebrate it in Macau. We went to a karaoke once again and around 5:30 in the morning I called the hotel reception saying "Hello, can we get a wake-up call at 7:00, please" so that we could make it for breakfast :D

"What should I order from the room service..."

On Saturday we did all the tourist stuff. We had Portuguese food for lunch, went to see some buildings from the colonial times, enjoyed our hotel room with Kathi and Sandra (hanging out wearing a white and nice-smelling bathrobe and slippers - that's life!), walked a bit more and in the evening went to a casino again and met up with some other PolyU students. We tried to find some nice little bar for a drink or two, but that was quite difficult as well, since every place we checked had extremely loud Cantonese karaoke going on. Then we found one place which was not crowded and the music was alright, so we decided to try it out and sat down. After a couple of minutes of waiting, a security guy came to us and said "I am sorry, but the waiter cannot serve you since he doesn't speak any English, so maybe you should leave." That was strange and rude and at least for me the first time that somebody refuses to serve us because of a language barrier. It shouldn't be that hard for us to show a picture of a beer and say "BEER."... So in the end we just went back to the hotel to enjoy our beds again, while the others who had booked no accommodation stayed up until the morning ferry.

Wall art in Taipa

Older part of Macau

That holy Portuguese dude who brought Christianity to Macau

Scene from the hill

Walking to the fortress

Macau museum

Grand Lisboa - one of the most famous casinos in Macau

Two tired tourists

Ruins of the church of St. Paul

Spot K & S

On Sunday we slept late and then went to eat at a lunch buffet at our hotel. The food was alright, and the best part of it was absolutely the possibility to mix your own fresh and crispy SALAD. Seriously, the Chinese / Hong Kong food is always fried or boiled or baked or whatever. Even lettuce is usually boiled and eaten with brown sauce. Fruits and vegetables in grocery shops are even more expensive than in Finland, and in general cooking by yourself is not very economic, since eating out is so cheap. Where do the locals get their vitamins from?

All in all Macau is interesting and weird. The combination of old European architecture, busy streets, small 24/7 shops selling crazy expensive watches (in case someone wins a lot of money at 3AM and feels like spending it right away), casinos full of gamblers and artificial sights, high-class lifestyle, and cheap local food. There's only half a million people living in Macau so it's a relatively small city and spending a weekend there is quite enough for me.