HONG KONG - MACAU

On Day 3, we went to Macau by sea. The high speed turbo jet vessel took about 60 minutes to reach Macau, 71 kilometers from Hong Kong. 

The Turbo jet's economy cabin.

Macau ferry terminal.

Leaving the ferry terminal by the hotel's shuttle bus.  

Passing through the Macau Peninsular - Grand Lisboa hotel, the tallest building in the background. 

 The Venitian Macau, our accommodation for 2 nights.

When we arrived, it appeared as though there were no hotel staff present to meet and greet guests as in other hotels I have been to. A porter service was also not readily available and we had to find our way to the reception on our own. The queue to the reception counter was "a mile long" and no staff were attending to the waiting guests. In my years of travel, I have never experienced such poor treatment by a 5 star hotel. It took me about 45 minutes to finally reach the counter. I did not receive any greeting or words of welcome from the receptionist. He just asked for my passport. It took him about 15 minutes to complete the check-in but with discrepancies. In issuing the room card keys and hotel passports, he failed to include all the deals in our confirmed "Ice world package" which should include, a one way free ferry tickets from Macau to Hong Kong, daily breakfasts or lunch, MOP300 voucher for shopping, free wi-fi in room and the tickets to their Ice World show. It took another 15 minutes to rectify this.

We were given a non-smoking suite in the South tower. 

 

 A spacious bath room.

However, the toilet had a strong scent of cigarettes. Obviously, the previous guests who had broken the room's non-smoking rule.  

 View from our suite.

Within the same hotel building, there is a huge shopping mall and a wide selection of restaurants including a food court.

Gondola rides inside the building.

The only Christmas tree I saw in the hotel at one of the entrances to the casino.

 Majority of the gamblers were Chinese from the mainland.

 

In the evening, a family friend drove us to Coloane, an old village with many Portuguese-style houses and narrow lanes.

Our friend recommended to try the "Macanese" cuisine at this restaurant. 

Next to the restaurant is the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier.

Mainland China is just across the bay. 

The dinner was very good, we had the popular stewed chicken, beef ribs, a Bacalhau dish, mixed salad and a special fried rice. 

A mango fruit cake for my birthday.

After dinner, we went on "a night tour" driving thorugh the Macau peninsular.

The Galaxy hotel next to our hotel was putting on a "light show" when we returned.

We had a very good evening in the Coloane village. The dinner was delicious and the night drive was superb. It could have been a prefect day if not for the poor and unfriendly service at the Venetian Macau.