Day trip to Macau

Macau is a former colony of the Portuguese Empire, after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until 1999, when it was transferred to China. Macau has become a major resort city and a top destination for gambling tourism, with a gambling industry seven times larger than that of Las Vegas.

The start of my day trip to Macau didn’t go as planned. In fact, I ran into obstacles at the beginning that it forced it to become a half day trip. It did end up being worth it after all and what a neat place it was.

It all started by purchasing my ferry ticket on an app called Klook the night before. The app is an amazing app to easily purchase tickets to a lot of things when you’re travelling. The main reason why I use it is because I can use my credit card instead of going through the hassle of exchanging cash for local currency to purchase tickets.

When I purchased my ticket however, it didn’t mention anything about the late opening hours of the third party ticket office that I was to pick up from. Bummer, because by 7AM I had already hit the road and wasn’t able to collect my ticket until 10:30am. That was the first road bump.

The ferry ride from Hong Kong to Macau was smooth and enjoyable. The facitilies on deck was what you’d expect of a ferry and I really liked that they have overhead compartments to store your belongings. I believe the total sail time was about 1 hour there and it went by quickly, especially when there’s WiFi and magazines on board.

The second road bump came when I was getting off the ferry in Macau. Apparently I was a suspicious enough of a person to be pulled into a room by police to be investigated and have my belongings searched. This was during the height of the Hong Kong protest so I suspect this was related to the reason why they searched me, perhaps thinking I was aiding in gathering intel? This ordeal added about an another hour delay to exploring. You can see the officers waiting for me below.

Upon exiting immigration and the ferry terminal, you’re greeted with a bunch of free bus shuttles to various casinos, which I used as an opportunity to hitch a ride into the city. The bus I picked was to Wynn Palace.

Exploring Wynn Palace

I had more fun at a casino without gambling than I thought I would have. Wynn Palace is huge and displays they have inside are extravagant. I’m a fan of colourful eye-catching things and there was no shortage of it here.

Just outside is a gondola tourist attraction (free of charge) which gives you a nice view of the area from high above.

Exploring the Venetian & Grand Canal Shoppes

The Venetian was hands down the coolest with its man made canal, entertainment, and neat shops to check out.

St. Paul Ruins

City Vibes

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