Today we took the ferry to Macau, so Mum could get some more stamps in her passport. Very efficient and quick out of HK, the ride was not too bad and only the most susceptible to sea sickness got sick. Over in Macau, Dad claimed it was just like HK. He then promptly found the seniors line for immigration and went through quickly while mum and I queued with the hoards of gamblers. We eventually got through to find Dad had been speaking to a local guide called Tony. I was cautious at first, but he was an official guide and a very funny guy too.
He drove us past many of the 34 casinos in Macau. We stopped at one that had gold ingots in glass tiles in the floor. The casinos in Macau, pay all the taxes it seems, with many residents avoiding tax.
Posing in Macau
We also visited a couple of old churches, before we had lunch in a cheap local restaurant. well not that cheap, but it appears local restaurants get shunned for casinos these days. After lunch we went to the main square, which had a distinct european vibe, especially when eating a portuguese egg tart. We then went to see the ruins of St Pauls, which seemed to be the main tourist destination in Macau. not sure why, because our next stop was the best one.
Macau
Down in the south of Macau on the island of Coloane is the Panda pavilion. At around $1.25 to get in (Dad was free due to his age..) this was a bargain and I was happy to accept the casino subsidy known as tax for providing us Pandas. Yes it was two pandas, but they were happy and playful and the enclosures were great for Pandas and viewing. There were not many people there either. Dad was excited and also thought they’d be smaller than they were. They are not called giant pandas because they are small though.
Pandas
After a few hundred panda photos we came back to HK to find the streets were a tad busy due to it being race night at Happy Valley across the road.