Macau's Finest: Hotels and Casinos

     After exploring the "outdoors" of Macau, it's now time to explore its "indoors". And what we mean about "indoors" is experiencing Macau's finest hotels and casinos.

     Macau is known for its casinos -- 33 in all, and rakes in hog-rollers! As what was previously mentioned in our blog, we had our first casino experience in Macau and if not for the Oceanus' promo, we may not have experienced it at all.. Haha! :) 'Twas a lot of fun winning some HKD's hihi! Beginners' luck maybe? =p

City of Dreams -- Let's get lucky! :)

     
     After our trip to Ruins of St. Paul, we boarded a free shuttle service to the City of Dreams. It is divided into four towers: namely the Hard Rock Hotel, Crown Towers Hotel, and the Grand Hyatt Macau (2 towers).

 At the Hard Rock Hotel ^_^

     This casino is equipped with 550 gaming tables and 1500 machines occupying a 420,000 square feet of game space. That was huge! We saw this projection panel called the Vquarium which showed larger-than-life mermaids swimming on screen.

 Marlie with Dream girls :)

     Our main goal here is to witness the Bubble Show, one of City of Dream's signature attractions. Entrance for this attraction is free and combines a 360 degree 3D audio, theatrical lighting both in the venue and in the screen, show action scenic components, a state of the art water curtain, special effects, and CG animated media.

 Art water curtain

     We were taken into a  journey of a supernatural realm of the four Dragon Kings with each dragon enjoying a moment of boundless power with the Jade Emperor's mighty Pearl of Wisdom. We were amazed as we saw the whole show on a 360 degree dome screen.

Macau Tower + Senado Square + St. Paul Ruins

     After visiting Grand Prix Museum and the Wine Museum, we hopped onto a bus going to Macau Tower. We paid around 3 patacas for the bus ride. We had a good view of Macau because of this ride. =)

Macau Tower tickets

     Original price for the ticket costs 120 patacas each, but Ate Lyn gave it to us for a discounted fee (saving is important!) :) We wonder where she gets her tickets. Hehe! :)

At Macau Tower's first floor

     The Macau Tower, also known as the Macau Sky Tower, measures 338 m (1,109 ft) in height from ground level to the highest point. It offers the breathtaking birds-eye view of Macau and  has been used for a variety of adventurous activities.

 At the top of the world - at 1109 feet!

     Our Macau Tower tour is divided into two - the 58th and 61st floor. The 58th floor is where the Main Observation Deck is while the Outer Observation Deck is on the 61st floor. Glass fronted elevators were also used so that we won't miss the spectacular view as we reach the observation decks.

     
     We first went to the Main Observation Deck which gives us a panoramic view of Macau. Sections of this deck are fitted with glass floor that lets us see the ground beneath our own feet! Stepping on them feels like we're walking on air.

Fisherman's Wharf + Grand Prix Museum + Wine Museum

     We woke up very early to get the first trip to Macau. We left at around 5:30am and took a taxi to the  ferry terminal. (Good thing the driver can understand English! We were in a hurry!) We then headed straight to the New World First Ferry (NWFF) ticket booth but it was still closed. Early birds! Haha! :)

 Got our tickets! Yay! ^_^

 NWFF ticket to Macau

     While waiting for our boarding time, what else is there to do but to take pictures! =D

Brrrrr.... :/

     At exactly 7am, we were called to board the ferry. It was so cold -- felt like 8 degrees! The 1 hour ferry ride was ok, sans the alon moments but even motion sickness won't dampen our moods for an eventful day ahead!

Welcome to Macau :)

     We were greeted by Ate Lyn and Ate Jo, our kababayans, who would show us the must-see places in Macau! Time to ready our cameras!

Ate Lyn and Ate Jo
Lyn Montero - 0921 361 2766

     First stop: walking distance from the terminal -- the Oceanus. We registered (using our passports) and they gave each of us cards with free $50hkd to gamble (our first casino experience. yay!). We then chose our slot machine and played away. We won about $100hkd (balik taya lang! Haha!). We would have won more if we knew how the game works from the start. Too bad cameras are not allowed inside casinos. :/