1am, always the best time to arrive in a strange country. Macau was no different, clear customs and immigration, find a taxi, check into hotel and sleep. Rising late the next morning we went for a stroll around the old part of town to check out the old colonial architecture and grab some street food. We were down bynthe harbour so wandered around checking out the fish and squid drying in the sun – smells we’ll never forget. Macau seemed like a very laid back place compared to the rest of Asia, nobody seemed to be in a hurry, the traffic was reasonably sensible and the streets narrow and quaint.
Christine was eager to get shopping again as we needed to buy gifts for our relatives in Hong Kong with whom we’d be staying next week and there is always the need for some upgrades to the kit in our backpacks, we needed toiletries, gifts, a new pair of shoes, socks – the list goes on. One good thing about shopping here is you can be confident that the stuff is real, Nickm got some North Face walking shoes, Columbia trousers and a Berghaus top for 40% of the UK price. The shop assistants were great, even if we did have a language barrier, Nick kept trying to get discounrt and Christine tried to get free gifts, we had a ball, even if we didn't get everything we wanted.
One of the main things Macau is famous for is it’s casinos, there are loads of them and one, the Venetian is the biggest in the world, bigger than its sister in Vegas. Well we had to go there and check them out. We went to Sands first as you then get a free shuttle bus to the Venetian. Sand was brilliant, huge gaming floors, entertainment, food and drink – even a branch of McDonalds and KFC. Everywhere was polished brass, chrrome and glass, huge chandeliers hung in every room and it was heaving. There were thousands of Chinese there, they come from Singqapore as we had, from over the border in Guangzhou and on the ferry from Hong Kong – all for one reason, to gamble. The noise was incredible, the sound of roulette wheels, men and women shouting, bets being slammed down and poker machines going wild paying out money. A little strangely, you could only use HK dollars and not Macau ones here.
We decided as time was getting on that we’d get over to the Venetian as we’d heard so much about being the biggest, the best, the flashiest in the world – it didn't disappoint! Coming across the river you see the light pollution before you see the building. Styled on Venice (obviously) it has huge screens outside, terraces with Roman statues intespersed with palm trees and red carpets leading you in over highly polished marble floors. There is a shopping centre, restaurants representing every type of cuisine, bars from all around the world and even a canal with gondolas to take you from the shops to the restaurant and vice versa!
We didn't get to the tables as a lot of the games were in Chinese and a lot of them were too high stakes, just being there was enough. We left at midnight intending to get the free shuttle bus back to the city but decided against it when we saw the queues. If we thought Sands was busy, it was nothing compared to the Venetian, while we thought the entire province of Yunnan was inside, it seemed that the whole population of Hong Kong was outside! We got a taxi.
We left later that day on the ferry bound for Hong Kong and a week with family Nick had never met and Christine hadn’t seen in years, fingernails were being chewed on that ferry crossing and not just because of the waves....
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