Monday 7 June 2010,Everyone looks bright and cheerful - but its 4.00 am in the morning! and we were waiting to board the Tiger Air flight to Macau. Flight TR2902 took off at a little past 6.00 am and we arrived at 10.20 am ......
There were 12 of us - staff and students of Asia-Pacific Gaming Management Institute visiting Macau on a Study Tour to attend the G2E Gaming Expo.
A short taxi ride from the airport took us to the MetroPark Hotel where we were to stay for the next three nights.......after having stayed at the MGM Grand Hotel last November, nothing at the MetroPark seem to impress.......
After a quick wash-up, itwas off to lunch at a near-by cafe.....
The rest wanted to rest, some wanted to go to the A-Ma Temple.....I decided to take a walk around to see some of the Casinos and Hotels......
First stop - the Lisboa and its sister hotel, the Lisboa Grand which really stands out with its garish building design - love it or hate it, but you can't ignore it stands out screaming at you for attention.........
Another landmark that stands out is the Wynn Casino/Hotel - such a huge property, you can't miss it too. Had a look around inside and was really impressed with the classy ambience of the place....and on the outside, the muscial fountain attracts a crowd all times of the day
Next stop was the StarWorld Hotel and Casino, nothing outstanding about the building but quite classy inside - what attrcted me was the scale model of their sister property coming up at the Cotai Strip next year - The Galaxy Hotel and Casino......looks really fantastic - will have a Banyan Tree Resort within it, complete with a real-sand beach and wave pool..........
It was time to call on my good old Uni classmate, Lucius Lai who works at the Macau Institute of Management, taking care of their Business Management Degree programme. Had a look at the MIM and its facilities - really reminded me of my first job at the Singapore Institute of Management - in the 70s......
Lucius then brought me to visit his apartment in which is on a street right next to the Border Gate in Zhu Hai - we were planning to have dinner across the border in a Zhu Hai restaurant.
I really could not get over the fact that Lucius and his lovely wife, Anita stay so close to China and that they do their shopping and dining regularly in Zhu Hai. And so, from their apartment block, we took a short 200 metre walk and arrived at the GongBei Immigration Building.......
We joined the big crush of people rushing to get over the Macau Immigration and then joined the next queue to get through Zhu Hai Immigration.
On getting across the border, we headed for the 'Yick Kin' Seafood Restaurant right across the Plaza area after Immigration.......
On getting across the border, we headed for the 'Yick Kin' Seafood Restaurant right across the Plaza area after Immigration.......
We had a great feast....of fried pigeons....
we had hakka fried tofu.......I remembered how tasty they were when I had them in Shunde in November, so couldn't resist another go at them......and they turned to be yummy.....
What a surprise it was for us to see an Indian chef at the restaurant preparing all sorts of 'roti prata' - with fillings of banana, egg, cheese, ham, even durian....! So again, we just had to give the roti pratas a try.........
We had it served steamed and found the dish so very delicious that we eat up every bit of it except the bones......
After dinner, we took a quick tour of the huge shopping complex on two underground floors beneath the Plaza. There were hundreds of shops selling all kinds of everything .......just like the stuff we found in the Shezhen shops.............
Managed to buy some t-shirts but didn't have enough time to shop for other goodies......definitely must make a return visit sometime soon.......
Took the return trip through Zhu Hai and Macau Immigration, said farewell to Lucius and Anita and took the free shuttle bus to check out the Venetian and the new 'City of Dreams' Hotel/Casino complex........
The Venetian was really impressive, just like the original complex in Las Vegas. Everywhere inside the Hotel was just so luxurious - the lobby, the corridors, casino and the shopping and restaurant areas......
Across the road from the Venetian is the newly opened 'City of Dreams' comprising the Crown,
What a surprise it was for us to see an Indian chef at the restaurant preparing all sorts of 'roti prata' - with fillings of banana, egg, cheese, ham, even durian....! So again, we just had to give the roti pratas a try.........
However the best of the best we had at dinner was the special fish dish we had - the 'cham lung'
fish, once such a rare specie that eating it was banned. It's being farmed now and is available as a special treat at some restaurants
We had it served steamed and found the dish so very delicious that we eat up every bit of it except the bones......
After dinner, we took a quick tour of the huge shopping complex on two underground floors beneath the Plaza. There were hundreds of shops selling all kinds of everything .......just like the stuff we found in the Shezhen shops.............
Managed to buy some t-shirts but didn't have enough time to shop for other goodies......definitely must make a return visit sometime soon.......
Took the return trip through Zhu Hai and Macau Immigration, said farewell to Lucius and Anita and took the free shuttle bus to check out the Venetian and the new 'City of Dreams' Hotel/Casino complex........
The Venetian was really impressive, just like the original complex in Las Vegas. Everywhere inside the Hotel was just so luxurious - the lobby, the corridors, casino and the shopping and restaurant areas......
Across the road from the Venetian is the newly opened 'City of Dreams' comprising the Crown,
Hard Rock and Grand Hyatt hotels as well as the Casinos within.
Not to be missed at the 'City of Dreams' is the show at the 'Bubbles' which features some lovely swimming mermaids and more.........
Not to be missed at the 'City of Dreams' is the show at the 'Bubbles' which features some lovely swimming mermaids and more.........
No comments:
Post a Comment