Back to Hong Kong

Monday, June 20, 2011
Hong Kong, China
Monday started early with us checking out about 0900, of the Emperor Hotel in Macau before heading "out on the town".    Cabs are relatively cheap in Macau, as our ride only cost us $3CDN and we were at the Red Market, one of the most popular traditional markets in Macau. Greg said they opened their shops at 0730, but Eve was very skeptical – most Asians she knows are not known for being early risers! As it turns out we arrived just after 0900 and most vendors were not yet fully open for business. In the more touristy areas of Macau, it is an amazingly amount of jewellery shops, many times one right next to the other, including many jewellery and watch shops right in the casino! Here in the more traditional marketplace it is obviously more for the locals with small food vendors, hardware vendors and clothing vendors. We wandered through most of the many streets and shops, prices were decent, especially by North American Standards – as most shops seemed owner operated, many were open to negotiating on the prices.

The Red Market was very close to some of Macau's most famous tourist sites.   First, we arrived at the Ruins of St. Paul’s, one of Macau’s most famous landmarks. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It sits on top of the hill with beautifully manicured shrubbery alongside the stairway up. Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, the cathedral was the largest Catholic church in Asia at the time.    It was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835 and all that is left now is the façade. Amazing it was still standing and the crypt was one of the few notable parts open to the public. The entire area was buzzing with mostly Asian tourists.   

Right next door, is Fortaleza do Monte (Portuguese for Mount Fortress), the historical military centre for Macau. This was also constructed in the early 1600’s and at the time was the city’s primary military defence. This fortress held enough weapons and supplies to withstand a siege of up to two years, however they only fired their cannons once, when they were invaded by the Dutch in 1622.

We decided after a full morning of taking in the Red Market and checking out two of Macau’s best known landmarks, it was time to start wandering back to our hotel – easy to navigate in the winding streets, as all we had to do was keep heading a little left of the Grand Lisboa Hotel/Casino, as its huge pineapple shaped structure dwarfed everything else in the area.   

We collected our luggage and took the hotel shuttle back to the ferry terminal; we were soon on our way back to Hong Kong.

Upon arrival, we gathered our large suitcases from the Royal Pacific Hotel and jumped in a cab for the Shangri-La Hotel Kowloon, where were will be for the next five days, as its time for Eve to start her Conference on Tuesday.

Eve had been in contact with an acquaintance of hers, Sylvia, and she has invited us out to dinner on Hong Kong Island. Now it is time for us to learn Hong Kong’s subway system. After getting some directions from the hotel staff, we found our way to the Subway station and were soon on our way. The trip was very short, and we only had to change trains once. It is vey interesting, as we actually go under the Bay on the way to Hong Kong Island.

To be safe and not arrive late, we started out very early for the new Hong Kong Subway experience.    We, of course arrived very early for dinner, so we went with our usual SOP, and stopped at an Irish pub for a drink. What a metropolitan place when in the middle of Hong Kong we can stop at an Irish pub and have Nachos!

Sylvia was meeting three of her friends and invited us along, so there were six of us. Silvia mentioned that a few of her friends did not speak any English, but Eve said no worries, Greg doesn’t speak any Cantonese (just 3 or 4 words, which all pertain to food!) As dinner started, everyone had a laugh, as I was the only one using chopsticks, as the rest of them were shoveling with fork and knife. It was the first time for everyone at this restaurant. We had an enjoyable dinner, laughing, sharing pictures and even talking a little business. After supper, the ladies they took us down to Victoria Harbour, to see the city lights, the Convention Centre, and then up to the mid-point viewing area of Victoria Peak. Very beautiful!

After this, it was to the city ferry terminal, for a short trip across the harbor back to Kowloon, and a short walk back to our hotel for the night.

It was certainly a very full day!

Apparently there is a chance of a Typhoon tomorrow.

Comments

Brian Lee
2011-06-22

Any visits to night markets planned?

2025-02-12

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