Macau

The day after our tour of Hong Kong, Chris and I hopped on a ferry to Macau, another special administrative region of China. 

Macau is the Vegas of Asia.  MGM, the Hard Rock Hotel, the Sands, and the Venetian have hotels and casinos on this rapidly expanding island.    Chris and I were looking for a chance to blow off steam and rest before I dove back into the school year, and Macau was the perfect location!

The ferry was a great way to get back and forth from Hong Kong.  We were very comfortable surfing on the free wi-fi! We purchased our tickets the day we wanted to travel at the marina.  We were able to purchase our return tickets in our hotel the morning we left.

After our 1-hour long ferry ride, we headed to the Venetian on their hotel coach.  (Most of the casinos in Macau have clearly marked shuttles, so cabs aren’t necessary.)  Upon arriving at the hotel, I felt like I was in the Vegas Venetian.

This was home sweet Venetian.

Many of the decorative details were identical to the Venetian in Vegas.  

Our suite was beautiful and inexpensive.  We didn't leave the complex for 24 hours!

To promote their 3D Dinosaur show, the Venetian housed a dinosaur skeleton.  Ironically, in order to attend the show, you had to bring a minor to the show. 

I really didn't mind missing the show.  The cast was sort of creepy.  We ran into this character in the lobby.  SO realistic!

They followed us into the mall!!!  CREEPY!!!!

Like the Vegas Venetian, the hotel had a canal with serenading gondoliers.  We enjoyed a lovely boat ride. 

Many of the designer shops had over the top goodies for those who were willing to splurge. 

For soccer fans, one could experience what it is like to be a member of Manchester United Soccer Club.  While I didn't participate in the experience, I got a shot with their mascot, Fred the Red. 

We didn’t gamble too much because we weren’t familiar with many of the table games like Sic bo and Fan tan, and many of the poker machines were in Chinese.  Also, the table games we knew how to play such as Black Jack and Roulette had sky-high minimums.  However, I did double my money on a Michael Jackson slot machine!

Chris and I take time for a picture on date night.

We had a lot of fun, but didn't do much gambling.  The tables were too rich for our blood.

After my big Michael Jackson slot machine win, I decided to quit while I was ahead and listen to some live music.

Macau is a lot of fun, however if you want to go sightseeing, I would stay more than 24 hours.  We wanted to do more, but the last ferry to the Hong Kong airport departed at 4:00 pm.  (We had an 8:00 flight, so we spent quite a bit of time in a small terminal.)   It was nice to return to Shanghai refreshed and ready for my second year teaching at Shanghai Daning International Elementary!