As part of our summer vacation travels, a friend and I decided to visit Hong Kong. After spending a few days on the lovely island of Cheung Chau we were back in the hustle and bustle of the city. Since we’d been to Hong Kong previously and seen most of the city, we thought it would be fun to take a day trip to a place neither of us had been yet, Macau.
Initially when I thought of Macau I pictured Las Vegas; lots of casinos and business men placing their bets. However, thanks to Instagram, I realized that there is a pocket of Macau that has remained in touch with its Portuguese history. I saw pages flooded with photos of beautiful pink and yellow buildings, and I knew I needed to make the journey over to see this little region of China.
Getting from Hong Kong to Macau was surprisingly easy. Our hotel was in walking distance from the ferry which we were able to hop right on after showing our passports. An hour or so later we were standing in the immigration line in Macau. Once we were through the line we took a casino shuttle bus that brought us within a walkable distance to the Portuguese area of the city.
We were dropped off in the basement level parking garage of the casino and had to walk through in order to get back to the street. Walking through this casino was a surreal experience. Western pop music was blaring, just barely drowning out the sounds of the machines, the lights were dimmed, huge chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, and, as I quickly learned, pictures were not allowed.
When we finally made it out of the casino we eventually found our way to the brightly painted buildings we were searching for. Immediately it felt like we were in Europe, yet looking up we still found ourselves reading Chinese signs. We walked along the main streets admiring St. Dominic’s Church all the while searching for the Ruins of St. Paul’s which weren’t too hard to find. We explored the ruins for a while and then wandered down some side streets taking in all of the beautiful architecture.
After we’d felt we had seen all we wanted to see in that part of Macau we hopped on a bus and crossed the bridge to the other side of the city where many of the big international casinos are. We found our way to the Parisian to see the Eiffel Tower and the Venetian to see Venice. Neither of which disappointed. We were immediately transported into a life of luxury.
After a late lunch I decided to try my hand at the slot machines. And I won! The equivalent of six dollars, triple my initial investment, which I quickly spent on the way out of the casino buying some frozen yogurt.
With that little treat, our day in Macau came to an end. We were back on a bus and quickly on a ferry bound for Hong Kong. It was a lovely day spent in a new place that turned out to be quite charming.
We were greeted by a fantastic look out point and beautiful blue skies. I couldn’t have asked for better weather that day. We had about two and a half hours to really explore the wall. It was incredible to walk through some of the fortresses and see the history of the country. One of my favorite moments was seeing a father showing his young son the small windows in the wall and explaining to him how they were used back when the wall was built. While I’m sure the facts that he was sharing are pretty depressing, the moment was sweet.
I had received strict instructions the night before to meet my tour guide at an adjacent hotel down the street at 8:10 a.m., which is where I was introduced to Mike, our tour guide for the day. I’d signed up for some small group tours to try to get the most out of my limited time in Beijing, however, when the van door opened it became clear that I would more likely be intruding on a family’s private tour. With just four of us in the group, I met two lovely sisters along with one of their sons who were touring Beijing and Mongolia on holiday from the Philippines. They could not have been more lovely. We spent the day exploring the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace, with a quick lunch in between.
After the Forbidden City we moved on to the Temple of Heaven. This time Mike gave us a brief overview of the history and then allowed us to explore the temple for ourselves. The coloring of this structure stood out to me as it was blue rather than red which covers most of the structures we visited. As I learned, blue was used to symbolize Heaven throughout the buildings which really made it stand out in my mind compared to everywhere else we visited.
Following lunch we made the drive to see the Summer Palace. It was immense and incredible. We didn’t cover nearly a fraction of it, and that is something I would go back to Beijing to see more of. But Mike led us around explaining to us the history of the 17-arch bridge and the palace itself, happily answering any questions we asked. I have to say I think my favorite part of the day was getting to chat with him about his life in Beijing and his passion for Chinese history.
In saying goodbye to life in Korea, I’ve said hello to an exciting three months of traveling throughout Asia before returning home to Chicago. The first flight out of Incheon brought me to Beijing where I would have approximately 60 hours to explore all that I could of this dynamic city.
Anyways, back to Beijing. So I opened the door to the hostel and was amazed. It was beautiful. White walls were adorned with wooden beams and strong pillars in the center of the room. Worn wooden tables were dressed with bright pink flower arrangements and surrounded by mismatched, yet complementing chairs. The whole space was filled with lush greenery hanging from the ceiling and sprouting from planters along the walls. GORGEOUS. And exactly the breath of fresh air I needed as I was officially feeling overwhelmed from traveling and being away from my home away from home. Mind you it had only been about 6 hours since boarding the flight to leave.
bbm travels 