danzbuddies Trip to Macau 3

Saturday 11th September 2010 - Day 3

After a quick breakfast, we braved the rain and headed across the street to catch the Wynn Shuttle Bus for Gong Bei Border Gate where we met up with Lucius and Anita who happen to stay in an apartment right opposite the border.

There, an electronic board was displaying all kinds of annoucements - even telling us that as at that hour 45,000 persons had crossed the border into Zhu Hai.....

We joined the throng to get through Macau and Chinese immigration - and then join the thousands of shoppers at the complex - it being a Saturday, the place was really crowded.

our first stop - 'Female World' which occupies one whole big section of Level One of the gigantic shopping complex. And, so off we went - shopping away, dresses, t-shirts, jeans, shoes......all kinds of everything

In between, time for a 'pull-string' facial.........

and then, it was lunch time......Anita brought us the the 'Food World' and introduced us to a 'hole-in-wall' type of restaurant where we had the most delicious 'xiao long bao' ever......the shop was tiny, the queue was long but the food was real yummy.......

More shopping followed after lunch and then it was time to head back across the border and return to the hotel.........

We met up again for dinner - and thistime, we decided to try one of the many seafood restaurants that dot the roads behind the nearby hotels. It was 'peak' hours and a couple of restaurants were 'full house', so no choice - we just pop into one that has that one remaining table available.

Ordering the dishes was easy - just look at the pictures of various dishes with prices pasted all over - one the walls and on every glass-topped tables..........

We left the ordering to our hosts, Lucius and Anita - and we were not disappointed. It was a great Chinese, or rather Cantonese dinner........

After dinner we took a walk to the sea-side plaza facing the Macau Tower to watch the 9.00 pm Fireworks Competition

It was a great fireworks display, but we felt that our Singapore National Day fireworks were better in comparision........

Back at the hotel, we saw the next Fireworks Competition display which went off from 10 pm - right from our hotel room window.......

Sunday morning and Day 4 came so quickly - time for some last minute shopping with a stop-over at one of the many 'Bird-Nest' Cafes for a sampling of the their famous bird-nest soup - only MOP 188 per bowl.

12.00 noon - and time to check out.

Our guide Leng was punctual with the transfer coach which brought us to the airport with plenty of time to spare......we were impressed with Leng's service and promised to contact her the next time we visit...

after the usual wait, boarding, 4-hour flight, arrived home at 9.00 pm....tired, but happy with the many purchases from the shops in Zhu Hai
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danzbuddies Macau Trip - the President Hotel

danzbuddies Macau Trip September 2010
- the Presidente Hotel

Our choice of the Presidente Hotel was based on its excellent location - at No. 355 Av. Amizade - that stretch of road where you'll find all the major landmarks of downtown Macau and food and retail outlets - Starwood Hotel, Wynn, Lisboa, MGM, seafood restaurants and supermarkets.

Not a luxurious hotel at all, its pretty basic in fact. But at the price we were paying - S$100 per night for two (off peak rate is about S$80 - S$90), we can't complain. The lobby is big, service staff reasonably friendly and the breakfast room adequate.

The rooms are standard - double or twin-bedded, with the usual amenities including internet connection. What impressed us was the view, even from our 10th floor room. Looking out the window- to the left was the Starwood Casino & Hotel.....

to the right, we can see the Wynn Casino & Hotel right in front with the MGM Casino & Hotel beyond it.......

Looking down the right side, we had a clear view of the whole Wynn frontage, including its Musical Fountain which gave us regular fire-water-music shows every 20 minutes right through the day and night............and during the Fireworks Festival on Saturday, we had a good view of part of the fireworks right from our room window.....

The most valuable thing to us about staying at the Presidente, however, has to be the fact that it was close to the Starwood and Wynn from where we can catch their shuttle bus service to various places - to the Gong Bei Border Gate to go to Zhu Hai, to the Ferry Terminal to catch a connecting shuttle to the Venetian - all for free......

Its a great transport system which is freely used by tourists and locala alike - the buses are well appointed - some with leather seats - all that's missing - that cuppa of expresso....!