Viva Macau! (Splendid Tours & Travel (Macau))

Member Name: denise40

Product:	Splendid Tours & Travel (Macau)
Date:	09/09/08 (154 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A unique place

Disadvantages: A long day

Macau

**SPLENDID TOURS & TRAVEL LTD**

When I was in Hong Kong we noticed in out hotel we could go over to Macau for a day trip. In our hotel we could book this trip with Splendid Tours & Travel Ltd and they sorted out everything from our boat over to our tickets into the attractions. The tour cost us HK$760 each (adult) as we went on a weekday. For a child (under 9) it would have cost HK680 and a child (under 1) it cost HK$150. On a weekend/holidays it cost HK$780 for an adult, HK$700 for a child (under 9) and HK$150 for a child (under 1). For this tour you are required to have a Chinese visa before going on it. You will be provided with an English-speaking guide. Out guide was very friendly and very informative. He seemed interested with other cultures and made a point to spend time to talk to everyone personally on the tour.

To get in contact with Splendid Tours & Travel Ltd you can telephone (852) 2316-2151, fax (852) 2312-2031 or email infor@splendid.hk.

**THE TOUR**

This particular tour lasts roughly 11 hours and departs early. You will be met be a guide at 8am in the morning and given a delightful bright orange sticker. A bus takes you to the ferry terminal where you take a short boat ride over to Macau.

Once off the boat a guide on the other side meets you, then onto a bus to your first stop and that is the historic Centre. Here you are given some history on the area and then have free time to spare. The important landmarks here are Senado Square, Section of the old City Walls and Mount Fortress, which you can explore. Sections of the old City Walls remain which are remnants of the city dense structure since 1569. It was integrated Portuguese building traditions with local materials. The Mount Fortress was built in conjunction with the Jesuits in 1617-26 and was once the primary military complex. You will see canons scattered around the area between the walls. It covers 10,000 sq. metres. Years ago it was the first residence of the governors of Macau.

The main attraction of the historic centre is St Paul's Ruins. This is on of the greatest Christian monuments in the east displaying wondrous craftsmanship of early 17th Century. The elaborate remains of the façade of the Church of Mater Dei was destroyed in a fire in 1835. It stands as an altar to the city and is a tribute to the Jesuits heritage of Macau. Only one full wall remains and it is beautiful, the craftsmanship is very elegant. The Historic Centre is a designated World Heritage site in China and is full of culture in which you can learn interesting facts from.

Next stop was at the Kun Iam Temple, which is a Buddhist temple. It is dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy. I have to say it was amazing looking around this temple it was like nothing I had seen before. All the statues and incense being burnt. The temple itself was very well kept and colourful. It is a 400 year old temple and really does reflect the colourful culture of Buddhism with its richly decorated halls and terraced gardens.

Back onto the bus and we made a brief stop at a jewellery store at the boarder. My partners and I looked around however I felt slightly uncomfortable as some of the staff was staring at us so I left and went back to the bus. I have no idea why they were staring unless they were not used to seeing tourists which I found strange as the tour bus must always stop there. My partner has very pale skin and very blonde hair so unless they thought this was unusual. It still remains a mystery to me!

On this tour we got a free Portuguese style meal. It was nice as everyone from the tour sat together and chatted. The meal was served in buffet style so you could have as much as you wanted and try whatever dish you wanted. I felt this was a nice touch as you got to taste some of the local food.

Las stop was the Casino, Macau is very famous for its casinos. People from all over China come to gamble here. Even when I was living in Australia there was consistent adverts on the television trying to entice you to come singing 'Viva Macau'. The casino we visited at the time claimed to have the largest amount of tables however since I have been a bigger casino has been opened. When entering the casino I was asked for ID even though I was 22 years of age at the time. We were one of the youngest of our tour group, however I was extremely embarrassed. I felt that I have been singled out plus I had no ID or passport with me to prove my age. Luckily enough the tour guide confirmed I was of legal age and after my bags and all was searched (along with everyone else's) I got into the casino. We were told not to take any photographs but we did get spare time to gamble. Once all our gambling was finished we got back onto the bus and headed back to Hong Kong on the ferry.

**OVERALL**

I felt this tour was good value at HK$760 as all transport, entrance fees and a meal was included for the day. I would recommend Macau as it is a unique and interesting place to go to. It is full of culture and history. This tour group was good and the tour guide went out of his way to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible. He seemed to love his job and had a passion when he was telling you about every place we visited.

Summary: Worth while going to