Hong Kong & Macau : Part 10 - Farewell Macau!

21072012 : Today is the last day of our holiday. We shopped for some souvenirs at Senada Square. As we approached closer to Senada Square, the roads are of this style. I like them!

Today, my hat matches my top! Today's outfit of mine was bought in Hong Kong!

We went to the first pastry shop in Senada Square. And bought the famous almond cookies. Today, I am giving my ears a rest from all the earrings. My ears started to show their tantrum by crying out blood since they are not comfortable with the earrings I put on. Haha! So, today, I listened to them because they have been crying every night since my visit to Ocean Park.

Almond cookies were nice! But with the heat and too much of the cookies will ultimately lead to one thing - sore throat!! Also, vanity speaks now - my blue fingernails are nice too. Hehe.

The shop sells lots of egg tarts too. We bought 2 for the price of $7 each. Expensive. But it was more delicious than the ones we had yesterday.

For lunch, we stopped at a random eatery.

After lunch, we walked in the back lanes of Senada Square. I was reading a sign of how pork is a common food in Macau, because apparently, it is a signature dish for the Spanish. My sister took this photo because there are 2 pigs side by side. I am born in the year of the wild boar. Hmph.

Some nice stuff we saw along the back lane in Senada Square.

We found an ice-cream shop and bought one each because it was so hot.

We went inside another historic building. We did not go inside it yesterday because we were not aware it can be entered. This is the building before the street is crossed to Senada Square. It is the Leal Senado Building which means Loyal Senate.

After the walk, we headed back to the hotel and waited for the time to catch a taxi to the Airport. 

It was definitely a good holiday, though I got badly sunburnt with me shading skin like a snake. I read before in a YHA in New Zealand that there is no such thing as a bad weather, but the wrong clothings. Anyway, my skin is back to its normal form now after days of diligent moisturising. :-)

My friend commented - I am a Malaysian but I got sunburnt. Well, I have not experienced such heat before in Malaysia, and Malaysia is on the Equator too. It goes to show that summer is definitely way hotter than the Equator.

I was also told by many of those who have visited Hong Kong that the staff in eatery centres will scold / snap / shout / insult you if you are slow in placing your orders to eat. I can tell you that I did not experience any of those. All the people I meet was kind in explaining what I wanted, and taught me how to order based on other people's food or photos. Maybe it was me smiling all the time? Or maybe I apologized each time I wanted to ask something? Or maybe I look so innocent no one has the heart to raise their voice? Well, whatever the reason was, I am so glad I did not experience any of the scoldings / insults. Yay!

Will I come back to Hong Kong? I definitely will, but maybe at the end of summer.

If you miss my previous posts of Hong Kong and Macau, here are the lists, although you can just keep clicking 'Older Posts'.
Part 1 - Reach Hong Kong
Part 2 - Ngong Ping 360
Part 3 - Avenue of Stars
Part 4 - Ocean Park
Part 5 - Disneyland
Part 6 - Stanley Market, St John's Cathedral, The Peak
Part 7 - Steamed Milk, Shopping, Pineapple Bun
Part 8 - Leaving Hong Kong for Macau
Part 9 - Senada Square, Casino

Hong Kong & Macau : Part 9 - Hello Macau : Senada Square, and Casinos!

We reached Macau after the 75 minute ferry ride. It was a calm ride. No choppy waves. No seasick. No vomiting. I am so traumatised by my experience in the ferry ride to Lombok that I sat quietly and closed my eyes.

This is the view from the Macau Ferry Terminal.

We took a photo against the reflection of the building. Does my dressing look like I am from the Mainland China?

Outside the Ferry Terminal, we took the bus to our destination. We are taking bus 3A and heading towards Ponte Harta. In Macau, every names has a Spanish name too as Spain was in Macau till 1997.

After 20 minutes in the bus, we finally reached our stay in Macau. London Ole Hotel. A room with 2 single beds for RM360. That is about HKD720.

After checking in, we went to our destination for the day - Senada Square. The Square is one of the UNESCO Heritage Site. It was less than a 5 minute walk to the Square. 

This is Senada Square. I love the cobbled road. There were old buildings but with shops inside.

From where we cross the street, that was the opposite view. That is the Leal Senado Building which we entered inside the next day.

We entered inside St Dominic's Church.

We found a place to eat. Actually, it was a stall at a back lane. They sell pork chop buns and small dumplings. I guess it is a famous place because it is approved and certified, plus appeared in the papers too.

Look how much the pork chop bun costs. We paid in HKD though. And balances are usually returned in Macau currency. When we were given Macau currency, we tried to finish them up, because it cannot be used elsewhere (duh!), and once you have visited Macau, you won't be keen to visit it again unless you are a fan of gambling.

The pork chop bun is yummy because the pork is crunchy!

We ate in front of the stall because we just wanted to sit. Plus, the Square was full of people, and it is hot, so not a good combination to enjoy the meal.

Next up, we saw people buying egg tarts here. So, we decided to join the queue. It costs $10 for 2 egg tarts.

According to sister, the egg tart is a bit milky. For me, I do not have much comments. I just eat unless the taste is very much distinctive, then the comments will start pouring out. Haha!

Then, we saw another long queue. The elderly man was making egg rolls. They were flattened egg rolls. We paid HKD10, and he weighed the amount to give. We got about 15 small pieces.

We walked further down from the Square and was headed towards St Paul's Ruins. St Paul's Ruins consist of its front entrance only.

I love my colour of the outfit which is so bright and contrasting against the dark background of St Paul's Ruins. Also, I love my hat.

Next to the Ruins, was a walkway towards the Fortress. Walk up the stairs. Quite an easy task if it was not for the heat. But it was almost 5pm, and the sun should be setting soon.

The way leads to the Museum which we did not go in as we need to pay a fee.

Then, we headed back towards Senada Square, and found another attraction, Lou Kau Mansion. This place reminded me of the UNESCO buildings in Penang Island, Malaysia.

Then, we found the Cathedral of Macau. There were prayers ongoing inside the Cathedral, and we did not take any photographs.

Then, we took a bus to see Red Market. The bus shows the speed too. Amazing! It was in this bus that I noticed my skin was peeling off at the shoulders. White flakes flew off as I scratched. And my hands got itchy and started peeling it. Then, it looked horrible. I stopped peeling. Then, I continued because there were loose skins hanging off. Then, my new pinkish skin appeared. So, I stopped peeling because the colour contrast was too great. 

We saw the Red Market. We went inside the Red Market. It turns out to be a wet market. Then, we walked out of the Red Market looking for a herbal shop for my sister's sore throat. I am not sure why is the Red Market a place to go.

After a walk around the lanes near Red Market, we managed to catch a bus at that area to go to the Casinos. The bus belongs to the Casino. It is free.

The first Casino we visited was the Galaxy Casino! Galaxy Casino has a cool water performance inside. In the water performance, the water goes down to reveal a large diamond. Then, the water comes up and brings the diamond down with it.

I wanted to see the Venetian Casino. So, we walked out of Galaxy. This is how Galaxy looks like from far. The lights changes colour.

Straight ahead is the Venetian Casino.

The food court in Venetian Casino. I love the ceiling! It is so bright! And we had dinner in the Venetian Casino! Yahoo! Of course, it is not exactly a shoestring price, but I have always wanted to go to the Venetian Casino and here I am.. so, no second thoughts!

What we had for dinner - assorted egg salad, marinated pork with rice, and fried seafood noodle.

After dinner, we walked around the building. There was even a canal.

It was 9.40pm, and time for us to take the bus back. We took the bus to the Ferry Terminal, where we took the 3A bus again.