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.
Rather than going straight to the city we spent a few days on a neighboring island; Cheung Chau. It’s always hard knowing what to expect when going to a new place, but from our research we were really excited to be visiting this island that was said to be quiet and didn’t allow motorized transportation. A perfect relaxing getaway. After the quick flight from Korea to Hong Kong we took a train into the city and a ferry onto the island where we met our Airbnb host who led us to our accommodations.
Aside from the gorgeous beach, one of my favorite aspects of Cheung Chau was simply wandering the streets. So many of the buildings were painted in bright colors and it seemed there was street art around every corner. We spent one morning just walking from one side of the island to the other taking in its casual beauty.
After a few wonderful days in Jeju City, our vacation was dwindling down to just two more days. We had a few things left on our to-do list, one of which was visiting Manjanggul Cave, a UNESCO World Heritage sight that is a cave formed from a lava tunnel.
When we arrived, we were greeted by a vine covered staircase entrance into the cave. We followed along the one kilometer path through the lava tunnel enjoying the chilly climate that was so different from the sweltering streets of Jeju.
Our last day started with us packing our bags and quickly dropping them off at the airport before catching a cab to the beach to soak in some sun before boarding our flight that evening. We had an incredible cab driver pick us up who tried his absolute best to communicate with us in his broken English and we attempted our best broken Korean. Though we had to act out words for ‘beach’ and ‘swimming’, he had no problems telling us his opinions of what was at the time the upcoming 2017 presidential election.
After a few days 
Once we had taken 100 or so photos we decided to leave the refreshing mists of the falls and start making our way to Sanbanggulsa Temple.
In my travels I must have visited dozens of various temples at this point, but each one grabs my attention in a new way. They are so beautiful and feel so sacred and offer such an interesting insight into the beliefs of those who follow the respective religion.
Finally it was summer vacation. One thing I’ll say about Korea is that there’s a descent amount of public holidays, but they really don’t space them out efficiently. I joyfully boarded the small plane that would be taking some friends and I to 
We knew that the Cheonjiyeon Waterfall was within walking distance and at some places could even hear it. Finding it was another task entirely though. We walked around the island following maps and street signs for what felt like hours. Eventually we made it to the park for the falls, where we walked along the path stumbling upon little bits of character all the way.
After lunch our group split up. One friend and I decided to brave the 90 degree heat and walk the town. Along our way we found a bustling street market and a charming café filled with vintage books and tropical leaves on each stainless steel table top. I also had the best coconut ice of my life.
bbm travels 