Macau: Land of Casinos, Food, and Fun!

I'd heard of Macau before arriving in Asia, but I didn't know much about it. To those of us in the United States it is often thought of as the Vegas of the east. July 2, 2013 we set off on a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau for a few days.

Goals of my Macau visit:
1. Visit the casinos and compare to Vegas.
2. Eat tasty Portuguese/Chinese food.
3. Tower Climb on the Macau Tower.

As the ferry pulled up to the terminal we were able to see the Macau Tower off in the distance, as well as several casinos and the science center. I was pretty excited. It looked just like a mini Vegas along the water! The next couple days would definitely be interesting.

Unfortunately, taxi drivers in Macau do NOT often speak or read English. We were not able to find a taxi who would take us to our hotel. I went back into the ferry terminal and asked a woman at the information desk to write out the hotel info in Chinese (I think it was Cantonese) for us. That little slip of paper was the only thing that allowed us to ever get back to our room during our stay in the city. In addition, Macau uses both their own currency and Hong Kong's, so we just stuck with our Hong Kong money since that's where we had just come from. No reason to get Macau money for only a couple days worth of use.

It has been a while since the actual visit to Macau and my writing of this blog, so things will not be in order. Instead, I will just address each of my main goals.

1. It turns out that rather than having just one strip of casinos and resorts like Las Vegas, Macau's casinos are divided among a couple areas. There is the Cotai strip and one other area, the area viewable from the ferry terminal on the main island. The Cotai strip is a portion of land that was created between two of Macau's islands, Coloane and Taipa. It is home to the Venetian, City of Dreams, a Sands property, and a few others. We started off walked around the City of Dreams. Typical to Vegas casinos with lots of fancy shops and food too. Their entertainment is not free which was a bit surprising, but we decided to pay to see one of the short shows anyway. Dragon's Treasure. I personally do not think it was worth the money, but it seemed as though most other customers were very pleased. As we wandered through the Sands resort, we stopped at a lounge for a break. Unlike most lounges in Vegas, this one offered an afternoon tea set. It was extremely tasty and pretty affordable. Next we went over to the Venetian. The shopping area is just like the one in Vegas, with the gondola rides and the sky up above. The casino portion itself is said to be the largest casino in the world. While it is definitely huge, I felt they don't really utilize their space. The slot machines and tables were all much more spread out than the casinos I'm used to seeing. The other region of casinos has the MGM, Wynn, and a few others. The Wynn has a tree show which is interesting, but aimed at the Chinese more so than western viewers I felt. In addition, they also have a fountain show similar to the Bellagio. You can get right up by the water and experience a lovely mist which is definitely welcomed in the summer heat. The focus of the Macau casinos seems to be 100% gambling. I didn't notice many buffets or ads for shows. In addition, we noticed a few slips of paper on the ground with half naked girls, but we didn't actually come across any distributors.

Summary: Casinos exist in both Vegas and Macau. Gambling itself seems to be the big thing in Macau while Vegas has much more to offer. Macau's casinos are split into different areas making it more of a challenge to see them all. The buildings are similar and the decorations/lighting fixtures/stores and so on are all pretty similar.

 2: Macau was once a Portuguese colony. I don't know the details of the history of the city, so I won't waste time trying to elaborate. Instead I will just say that this means there is a great mix of Portuguese and Chinese food. I can't recall the names of the incredible items we ate, but I can tell you the the sauces on the dishes were different than any food I've had before. Everything we ate in Macau was just delicious I definitely plan to return one day just for the food!

 3. Towering at at 338 m (or 1109 ft), stands the Macau Tower. It is similar to Seattle's Space Needle, Vegas with the Stratosphere, or the CN tower in Toronto. It is essentially an observation tower with a restaurant and some other activities on top. Prior to my visit to Macau I had talked with a co-worker. He had just visited the city and was telling me about a bungy jump that he took off the edge of the tower. When I went to the website to learn more about the jump, I noticed something called a Tower Climb. This greatly intrigued me. I've been skydiving 3 times, I've done the Sky Jump on the Stratosphere, but I had never seen the option to do a tower climb anywhere. I clicked on the link to learn more. I discovered that the Tower Climb is the highest urban climb available to the general public. It allows you to climb up the ladders and stand at the very top of the tower, 1109 ft above the ground, all while harnessed of course. This was definitely something I wanted to do. I'd have many other opportunities to bungy jump if desired, but climbing a tower to the very top...that is definitely a unique experience.

It was the 4th of July. This was the first year I'd be going fireworkless! Oh no! Luckily we planned for an exciting day anyway. It would be the day of the Tower Climb! We arrived at the tower and learned there was a package deal. Tower Climb plus free Sky Walk. Why not? We hopped in the elevator to go up to the top. We signed up and were given bright orange shirts to change into. Harnesses were fit, equipment and water were provided. Then the tour began. Jim and I were lucky. It was just the two of us plus our guide and his helper. We entered a stairwell and went up to the first ladder. We ascended it. We then spent a little time learning how to properly use our equipment to remain safely connected to the cable as we climbed. We reached level 75 and went outside to take a few pictures. 293m in the air! We continued to climb and reached level 79 at 303 meters. The ladders up to that point had been indoors. Now it was time to conquer the first of 3 outdoor ladders. We latch on and climbed. Looking down makes it a bit harder. You feel the breeze and you see the city below. It actually isn't smart to look down. I remained focused on the ladder rungs and just climbed. Upon reaching the next platform I had a chance to take in the view as well as an opportunity to see what was coming up. 2 more ladders. Both outside and each one on a smaller portion of tower than the last. When it is time for the last of the 3 outdoor ladders, I started to have doubts. This thing wobbles. You can see it blow in the wind. The top platform is only about a foot wide so once you get up there, you hook onto a "railing" and just lean back with nothing behind you. As we climbed the last ladder, the photographer told us to let go and just dangle. I've never been scared of heights for as long as I could remember, but I didn't exactly trust this for some reason. I was able to let go with my arms, but I couldn't bring myself to let both feet go from the ladder. When I got to the top I did just dangle for a bit, but that is honestly one of the most horrifying feeling I've ever experienced. We stayed up there for a bit. We took in the views and we slowly became more comfortable being up on a tiny platform, wobbling slightly, looking down on all of Macau. Climbing down is bad too. It is different than going up, but once you get down the first ladder and come up with a system, it is alright. Overall, the Tower Climb is an amazing experience. It is actually terrifying up at the top, but it is worth it. How many people can really say that they've been to the top of a tower, 1109 ft in the air, right up with the blinking lights and the lightening rod? Not many. Jim and I both now can.

After the climb, we had a chance to do the Sky Walk. They hook you up to cables and you walk around the outside of the observation level. They take pictures. Then comes the fun part. You run and then lift your feet and just fly through the air. It's incredible and definitely fun.

Despite being provided gloves, we both suffered from pretty awful blisters on our hands. Climbing about 100m of ladders or so will do that to a person. My arms were sore for a few days. Actually, I've never liked ladders. Not at all. If you don't like ladders or if you are afraid of heights, I still definitely recommend the climb. It is worth it.

Summary of Macau: It's a lot like Vegas in some ways, but very different in others. The food is incredible. The Tower Climb is fantastic! Go there. Visit. Have fun.

Any questions, feel free to ask. There are pictures from the climb. I'll put them up somewhere later.

I almost forgot! Jim's opinions!! Let's see what he has to say. "The architecture, well not really the architecture I guess, but the attention to detail and extravagance of the casinos was really impressive. The Macau Tower Climb was fucking awesome. Climb should not be capitalized. Oh, and the food was delicious." He'd return if he had unlimited money. So there you go. We seemed to have similar opinions on Macau so they must be right! Go visit!!

One more thing: We learned that there will be a bridge connecting Hong Kong and Macau which is expected to be completed within the next year or so. Instead of taking a ferry, a person will be able to do the drive across in just under an hour. In addition, a 4th island is being created. Macau is definitely still growing. I'll talk more about that bridge in my dolphin post which will be up shortly. Ok, that's all for now!

Hong Kong: Disneyland!

For those of you who are unaware, I have basically grown up at Disney parks. At one point I went to Disneyland and California Adventure once a month for a few years straight. More recently, Disney World took over as the park of choice, and at least one day each weekend was often spent in one of the parks. Seeing as Disney has had such a large part in my life, I’ve always been curious to compare the international parks to the ones in the states. When I was in Europe the other summer I was very tempted to visit the one in Paris, but due to lack of time (and the fact that I know zero French), that did not end up happening. Now, seeing as I was in Hong Kong, there was no way I’d be passing up the opportunity to visit the Disneyland there :)

I purchased the tickets at the Metro station a day before we were going to go (they were about $60USD a piece, which is significantly cheaper than the Disney parks in the US). I figured it made more sense to have tickets on hand rather than wait in a long line at the gates. Anyway, the day finally arrived. Monday, July 1, 2013. The day of Disneyland Hong Kong. We boarded the metro and set off to the park. They have a train station right at the entrance which makes it nice and easy to get to from the downtown region of Hong Kong. 

Disneyland Hong Kong is set up very much like Disneyland in California or the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. Main Street is almost identical. The castle is very short though, smaller than the one at Disneyland. The park is divided up into several sections, 3 of which have been added over the past several years. Reviews of the park I’d read in the past described it as small and a disappointment compared to other Disney parks, but those reviews were all prior to the add-ons. 

Main Street: Upon entering the park, you see the traditional Mickey in the flowers with the train station behind it. The basic entrance is the same as the parks I’m familiar with. Once you go through the tunnel, you see the basic Main Street store fronts, the fire station, and other buildings. The shops all sell similar items to the US. Tasty foods, clothes, jewelry, toys, and so on. Overall Main Street is on par to the ones I’m used to seeing.

Tomorrowland: Off to the right, just like in the US, is Tomorrow land. It has a few rides, including Space Mountain, the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Autopia, and a few others.

 

Fantasyland: Right ahead of Main Street you can see the castle which is modeled after Sleeping Beauty’s castle, however it looks more like the castle at Disneyland to me. It is very small and doesn’t really stand out as anything special to me. Like in California, It’s a Small World is a stand alone building with moving parts on the outside. The ride itself integrates Disney characters into the various scenes, which I believe makes it much better than the ones in the US. There are not many other  rides in Fantasyland, and those that are there use the same tracks/concepts/films as the ones back at home. Tea Cups, Winnie the Pooh, PhilharMagic, Carousel, Dumbo. They also have the areas to visit characters and food and shops, but nothing very unique.

Adventureland:  Adventureland is home to the Jungle River Cruise, Tarzan’s Treehouse, and the Festival of the Lion King Show. It’s a nice area to walk through with all the plants and birds chirping. The Lion King show is very similar to the one at Animal Kingdom in Florida. There are two monkeys who help translate parts of it for the Chinese guests, seeing as the show itself is performed in English. I don’t have much to say about the other attractions in this section of the park unfortunately.

Grizzly Gulch: One of the park’s add-on sections is home to the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars ride which is a cross of Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom or Disneyland. It is a typical Disney coaster.  Grizzly Gulch has a few areas to take photos as well as a place to grab some food. 

Mystic Point: The newest section at Disneyland Hong Kong just opened in April of this year. It is home to Mystic Manor, a pretty impressive ride utilizing trackless technology. In addition to the movement of the vehicles, Mystic Manor uses some pretty incredible special effects and also introduces an adorable monkey character, Albert. Mystic Point is also home to the Garden of Wonders, which I was pretty disappointed with. It is supposed to create 3D illusions when you look through a viewing area, but I didn’t really notice anything spectacular about it.

 

Toy Story Land: This was a very well done addition to the park. One entrance houses Woody while the other has Rex. Within this area of the park, guests are shrunken down to the size of the toys and can take pictures and ride attractions based off the movies. 

I definitely enjoyed my day at Disneyland. The rides were mostly the same rides I’m used to back at home. The atmosphere was the equivalent, with music playing all through the park, decorations and attention to detail everywhere you look. People watching was as fun as it ever is. It wasn’t too crowded and lines were never too bad. Surprisingly, the newest ride didn’t even have a line the first time we went on it! The food was very tasty, and cheaper than the food back home (only thing missing were the churros). There was however, one downside to the day. Rain. When it rains, all outdoor attractions are closed. Unfortunately, this is a major portion of the rides. It started to rain in the early afternoon before we had a chance to go on everything. We hadn’t considered the rain when planning our route for the day. I was unable to experience the Jungle Cruise or Tarzan’s Treehouse, both of which I had been looking forward to. We did make it on all other outdoor attractions we cared about. In addition, we didn’t stick around to see if the rain would clear up for fireworks, and it’s a good thing we didn’t, because the storm only got worse. I had been looking forward to watching them, but perhaps I’ll go back another day.

Tips for your Hong Kong Disney Adventure:

Get there early and start with the outdoor attractions.

Be sure to get fast passes for rides like Space Mountain or Buzz.

Eat a lot of tasty food!

Stay hydrated!

Mostly everything is in English and bathrooms are western style with toilet paper and soap. Rain may put an end to your day, so if possible, avoid going on a rainy day.

The end! (Written August 1, 2013…yes…I’m bad at staying up to date!)

Edit: I forgot to tell you about Jim's opinion! Jim had never been to a Disney park, nor did he have a desire to ever go, but I dragged him along. From my perspective, he seemed to enjoy his day. He was impressed with a lot of what he experienced and he liked several of the attractions. Let's see what he has to say.

What did you think of Disneyland in Hong Kong? -"What did I think of Disneyland? Um...(sits with folded arms). Um...as someone who does not have a Disney fetish, Hong Kong Disneyland was an entertaining day out. Most of the rides were intended for a younger or more Disney oriented audience so they didn't catch my fancy as much, but uhh Toy Story land was pretty awesome. And Mystic Manor was a really cool ride. I'm sad that they did not have churros available for sale. Because I have not been to any other Disnelands, I can't comment on the overall quality in comparison and since I prefer parks like Cedar Point or Six Flags, it isn't exactly my cup of tea so I cannot in good conscience recommend it unless you are a fan of Disney in particular.

Oh no! It looks like I was wrong! I guess he didn't enjoy it :( Oh well. I still had a nice day.