Macau

Macau was my first international travel alone. The trip was mostly motivated by my love for k-pop. Yes, you read it right. The main reason why I went to Macau was to watch BTS perform live. I also had other reasons as well. One of them was to visit and check one specific place off my bucket list. I've listed it as one of the places I must visit before I leave earth. Have you guessed it? If you were thinking of the Ruins of St. Paul, you are correct! It is one of my life goals to visit all of UNESCO World Heritage Sites because I know that these places hold a significant story that has shaped mankind and these stories are meant to be felt and experienced.

I landed at Macau International Airport at night time around 8:00pm and my best friend’s mom and cousin fetched me and dropped me off my Airbnb place. They even went grocery shopping with me to ensure that I had food to eat during my stay because eating out in Macau is quite expensive.

view from my window when I arrived 

view from my window in the morning

I was able to explore Macau, Taipa and Cotai in 3 days and 3 nights. Macau’s transportation system was quite efficient. All tourist destinations are accessible via bus. Some of the destinations, especially the ones in Old Macau are quite close to each other. You can just walk to each location because they are a few steps away from one another.  However, you have to make sure that if you are planning on commuting your way around Macau, you are waiting for and boarding the bus with the correct number or else you will get lost. 

DAY 1: WALKING TOUR OF PENHA PENINSULA

who doesn't love free maps?

Outside A-ma Temple

Inside A-ma Temple

Maritime Museum was located next to A-ma Temple (but it was still closed) so I decided to go to the next location of the walking tour, the Moorish Barracks. You cannot miss this place, the design of the barracks is unique and the colors were quite charming. 

Moorish Barracks

Moorish Barracks

A lot of the places that I passed by in the morning were still closed. So I decided to grab a quick breakfast before I proceeded to the next destination. Estabelecimento de Comidas Tim Lucky, caught my eyes with its bright yellow and red façade. One good thing about restaurants in Macau is that they have the menus in Chinese and English translations so ordering food and drinks is not that complicated. I had honey lemon tea and the ever famous Macau pork chop bun. The bread was toasted with butter so it was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside but even with the butter the pork chop was quite dry. The lemon tea was served with two lemon slices and the tea was already infused with honey. The meal was very simple but it was filling. 

The next locations I visited were Mandarin’s House, Lilau Square, St, Joseph Seminary and Churh, St. Lawrence’s Church, Don Pedro V theatre, St. Augustine Square and Church, Sr. Robert Ho Fung Library, Rua de Felicidade and Leal Senado.

Don Pedro V Theatre

Largo De Senado was the last stop of my walking tour. The entire space was amazing. The design and architecture of the buildings in the area was so intricate and the colors were so nice. I have never been to Europe, but when I posted a photo of Largo De Senado one of my classmates in high school thought that I was in Portugal, she's the one currently living in Europe.

Largo De Senado is the gateway to the Ruins of St. Paul. As you walk along the intricately paved roads you will find several street signs that will lead you to various tourist spots around the area. A lot of shops who sell souvenirs offer free stuff. I personally loved the almond cookies and I ended up buying a lot. They also have pork jerky which tasted like our local version of tocino.

Tourists flock this area so it’s quite difficult to take a photo without random arms and heads getting in the way. You just have to maneuver around them, wait for the perfect time and take a lot of shots so you can choose from them after. After taking photos of the ruins, I followed the street signs to some of the places not listed in the walking tour map and I ended up taking photos of random things that sparked my curiosity and interest. I walked around the area and saw Travessa De Paixao. A narrow street with pink and yellow buildings. 

Largo De Senado

 

Travessa De Paixao

the Ruins of St. Paul

I basically spent the entire day searching for brown information markers. I conditioned myself that if I see any brown markers, I had to stop, take a photo, read what's written on the information marker and enjoy area as much as I can before proceeding to the next one. If you've been to Macau, you will know what I'm talking about. The brown information markers are everywhere. There were a lot of narrow streets close to the ruins so I kept on walking and realized that I was already going in circles so I decided to visit Museo De Macau. It's a 10 to 20 minute walk or hike from the ruins. Be prepared because you have to walk several flights of stairs to reach the museum but I can assure you one thing that will motivate you to reach the top, the views of the city are truly amazing. 

view of the ruins from the hike up to Museo De Macau

city view from Museo De Macau

After my visit at the museum I went back to Largo De Senado and did a little bit of window shopping.  I got myself a milk tea from Long Tea Fan. I also met and had dinner with tita Malou and kuya Denver. We got some spicy calamares, fried chicken and a mango sago drink. I forgot the name of this place but tita Malou and I walked around the area for almost an hour before we found it. It was worth it though because the food was great and we had a good time. After dinner, we decided to go around Largo De Senado. We shared lots of stories. Most about their experiences living abroad and my experiences travelling abroad. In such a short time, I was able to learn a few valuable lessons from their stories that I can apply for my upcoming travels. It was almost midnight so we parted ways. I got home safe and I slept so well throughout the night.

The second day, I decided to visit Luis de Camoes Garden for a morning walk or stroll before going  to Cotai to get my concert ticket. I've noticed that the parks in Macau are clean and well-kept. 

After my morning stroll, I went back, got changed and proceeded to Cotai via bus. I was able to go around the Parisian and the Venetian but I didn’t get to take a lot of photos because I did so much window shopping. I got my ticket, grabbed lunch and I had to wait in line to watch BTS perform live. I met Jeca and Chelzzie while waiting in line and they are the sweetest fans ever. We got freebies and photocards from fellow ARMYs and when we were called to line up for the concert we were informed that we were not allowed to bring in our cameras so we had to drop our cameras at the cloak room.  As the last place for the Wings tour I felt so bad for Jimin because he was not able to perform due to an injury he sustained when they landed in Macau. He was still able to sing all throughout the concert but he was unable to dance. During the last ment, Jimin cried, he was so apologetic that he couldn't perform during the last concert of the Wings Tour but everybody chanted "Gwaenchana". We also got to watch them perform DNA live. It was such an incredible night, the experience was so memorable. I already lost track of time because I had so much fun at the concert. We got our stuff from the cloak room and I parted ways with Jeca and Chelzzie and I took the bus back to Macau.

The Venetian

The Venetian

The Venetian

Cotai Expo and Exhibition Centre

the most expensive bibimbop I've eaten in my life, the meal cost me 800php

DNA - Love Yourself

Jimin is singing sitting in the far left while the others are dancing in the far right.

the final bow, before the concert ended

Capping the night with an egg tart from Lord Stow

I woke up early for my last day in Macau. I wanted to maximize the time I had so I went to Guia Fortress. At first, I was so excited to visit the Ruins of St. Paul but I had more fun at Guia Fortress. I rode the cable car to the top and the views were better than those from Museo de Macau. 

After visiting the fortress I decided to walk down instead of riding the cable car. I went to look for food and  found a small store that sold a variety of stuff. The owner said that their best seller was the cheesecake so I got the cheesecake and milk tea (again) for breakfast. Eating cheesecake for breakfast made me feel like a rebel and it is still, by far, the best cheesecake I’ve tasted in my life. The crust was heavy and crumbly, the cream cheese was very smooth and the blueberry topping wasn't to sweet nor sour, it was just right. 

After my visit at the Guia Fortress, I went home, prepared my stuff and figured that I still had time so I dropped by the Fisherman's Wharf and the Colosseum before I headed to the airport.

Everything still feels like a dream. But when I look at the photos I took during this trip, it brings me back to the reality that it wasn't just a dream. Everything did happen. Everything was real.

I feel like I will always go back to this moment. The time when I decided to be brave, to have the courage to go after things I loved and believed in and to leave it all up to God to make things happen according to His will.

I have nothing but gratitude for 2017. I had to let go of a lot of things that year. I also had to pursue a lot. I'm more than thankful to have parents who allowed me to travel on my own and supported my decisions with no judgment. I'm also thankful for people in my life who go out of their way to make time for me. To make sure that I am okay and to remind me that I am not alone.

❤