Hong Kong (2) & Macau

Saturday 14/10

We wake up around 8:30am.

We go for a tour in Central district. We take the Mid-Levels Escalators. We take a very good brunch (including waffles with hot Belgian chocolate and bruschetta) in a nice place. We then walk a bit in Central, including in the PMQ (the former Police Married Quarters), which has been revitalised as a hub for creative and design industries.

I like the cosmopolitan feeling of HK.

We go back at the hotel, to change clothes before going to the nearby ferry terminal to Macau, where Isabelle booked (in April!) tickets for the famous Franco Dragone’s ‘The House of Dancing Waters’ show.

We take the 1-hour ferry to Macau. Customs formalities are quite quick. Like Hong Kong, Macau has also its own currency.

As foreseen, the weather is not great today (grey) but no rain so far.

We go by bus to the center of town, to see the 2 major attractions: Largo de Senado and the Ruinas de Sao Paulo. We start with the Largo de Senado: the brightly painted colonial buildings and the (slightly psychedelic) paving make this square in the heart of Macau a favourite with photographers… on a beautiful day, which is not the case today… When we ask the kids if they know what “colonial” means, Florence answers “with columns” and Ludivine “colossal” (and Jules has no clue)… Next year will be tough at school (in French) in Belgium…

There are a lot of people in the pedestrian streets (it’s Saturday afternoon). All the vendors sell the same things: pork jerky (Ludivine and Jules actually like it) and pasteis (not as good as in Lisbon though). We see quickly the Ruinas de Sao Paulo: the façade and mosaic floor are all that remain of Macau’s grandest church, perched atop of a flight of stone steps.

We then go, still by local bus, to the Hyatt hotel where the show takes place (indoor). The mall is impressive; very luxurious.

The show was breathtaking. Leaving HK early afternoon, we were wondering if it was a good idea to go to Macau just for his show while we have so many things that we want to see in HK (we believe it was not). We now have the answer: yes, it was worth it! The show is splendid. The ‘House of Dancing Water’ is a 90’ water-based stage show that features acrobatic elements and original acts, with an amazing stage that transforms into different sets. Over 80 gymnasts, circus artists, dancers, divers, actors, and motorcyclists are featured in the show. The water is omnipresent during the whole show. The trapeze artists are amazing and the divers fantastic. We all loved this show; probably one of the best ones (if not the best one) we’ve seen in our life.

We don’t stay in Macau for the evening. We go back directly to the ferry terminal (kids are tired). We eat some dumplings and noodles in the terminal before taking the 8:30pm ferry back to HK, where we arrive one hour later.