My God , my family and my travels: Macau / Hong Kong 2011

Well I did say my hobby is travelling..so our first trip for 2011 was a 4 day trip to Macau and Hong Kong...actually our very first taste of China....'our' meaning me and my soulmate/ travel buddy David . I take him on all my trips...he is great company. On February 25th Macau welcomed us with beautiful cool weather of about 15 degrees...we checked into the Macao Regency Hotel on Taipa Island. A 4 star hotel with comfortable rooms facing the harbour. We took the hotel shuttle into the city and it was just amazing to see how much of Portuguese influence there is in Macau..road signs..department names...and even the little avenues were paved with glazed mosaic tiles..and yet the locals do not speak a word of the language. We spent the day walking around Senado Square and its surroundings and of course the iconic St Pauls Ruins. Had the ever famous Portuguese tarts , curry fish balls , barbequed pork and almond biscuits.Its funny how when you mention Macau everyone thinks of only the casinos...but they have beautiful 16th century churches that were built by the Portuguese namely the St Dominic's Church...the casinos are only for people who do not have a life!

A day trip saw us taking a hydrofoil turbo jet to Hong Kong from the Macau Ferry Terminal..what a piece of equipment..it was such a smooth one hour journey as you cannot feel the waves..it was like being on a plane! Hong Kong can be summarised into one word...BUSY. The city is filled with iconic tall buildings...so we took the MTR to Mongkok to feel the real rhythm of Hong Kong. And yes we did feel it..the hustle and bustle of the streets really was something to experience...visited the day markets to get souveniers...had a lovely lunch at an authentic Hong Kong Restaurant....the people walk fast and even the escalators move at a pace that might throw you off....and we later took the ferry back to Macau that night after snapping some photos.

The next two days saw us pacing around Macau City..Fisherman's Wharf....the fabulous hotels...The Venetian...City of Dreams...The Grand Lisbao Hotel..The Sands Hotel...Wynn Hotel...MGM Grand...had authentic Portuguese food and the lot.

Personally I found Hong Kong too busy for me...Macau was much nicer with a beautiful pace of life..but what was etched in my mind were the beautiful churches...and the magnificent weather we had for 4 days. We bid Macau farewell on the 28th of February and boarded our Air Asia flight home.