Thursday, May 17, 2012

Traveling to Macau

According to Wikipedia, the Portuguese first settled in Macau in the 16th century where China lent it out as a trading post. In 1887, it became a colony of Portugal until the turnover back to China in December 1999. Today, Hong Kong and Macau are the only two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China. Each maintain its own legal system, monetary system, customs & immigration policies.
So, while traveling between Hong Kong and Macau, visitors will need their passport.
During our last trip to Hong Kong, we decided to visit Macau which is only an hour away by turbojet like this one. There is a turbojet leaving every 15 minutes so you can purchase your tickets at the ferry terminal. If there is room, you can catch an earlier turbojet even if your ticket is for a later departure.


This is the one we rode from Macau back to Hong Kong.
If you have never seen a "flying" boat, take a look at this video I found on Youtube.


Having never been on one, I did not expect it to look this luxurious with seats like on an airplane. They even sell food on-board.
But, don't let the fancy seats fool you. Each seat is outfitted with an airsick bag as countless riders got seasick during the short 1 hour "flight" as they were continually showing food programs on the large video screen in front of them.
It was not an enjoyable trip as I got queasy just hearing others get sick around me. My suggestion is to sit in the back of the boat which appears to be less bumpy.


However, once you get on land, there are many Macau delicacies to try such as this Portuguese custard tart.


Or, this pork chop bun street vendors were hawking by the tourist areas.


And, last, but not least, the countless meat jerky stores that lined a certain area of the city with free samples enticing passers-by to try and buy.


- Karen

14 comments:

eileeninmd said...

I have seen these turbo jets used as ferries in other places. They do move fast. Maybe it would be best to take a seasick pill before going on the boat. Macau has some yummy foods. Thanks for sharing, have a great day!

Louis la Vache said...

Fascinating!
There is a Chinese bakery in the Asian mall near Chez la Vache that makes those Portuguese custard tarts. YUM!

Kate said...

The turbo jet looks sleek and very modern. Love the photos showing aspects of daily life.

Anonymous said...

The trip sounds very fun. I like both eating food and ride on such neat ship. :)

FilipBlog said...

Brings back memories, I did exactly the same.

Greetings,
Filip

Zenserly said...

wow, I would love to one day travel that way too...all the food treats here are making me hungry:-)

rainfield61 said...

I tried to line up but the queue was too long.

I decided to give up testing the famous pork chop bun in Macau the last time I visited there.

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

The turbo jets are amazing, but what is just too much fun is the fact that you captured the food vendors - perfect!

betchai said...

i have not been in one either, thanks for the tip. oh, glad you were not seasick enough to capture the food vendors.

lina said...

Cool ride!

And I want that egg tart! xD

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Interesting post. I feel for you on the boat ride. I used to ride crew boats from offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. I used to get really sick. But they were 6 hour rides.

Jana said...

the big smiley maakes me smile too:-))

Jana said...
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Rishi Nepal said...
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