Macau 2012 - Day 5 (Last Day)

Day 5 it is.. Our last day. We have to see the Panda, situated at Coloane - the southern most island in Macau. The island is largely rural that provides excellent break from the crowded and busy Macau Peninsula. 

On our last day we had an early check-out, left our luggage with the receptionist so we can go to Coloane and see some cuddly Panda. Our flight does not leave for the next 12 hours so we still have plenty of time to spend.

We had our brunch at again... May Box! I'm telling you, the food here is awesome. If you will ever have a chance to drop by Taipa, you gotta give this place a chance. 

Valerie, Patrick and Jaydee can't get enough of their pepper dish, they had to have it again, only I think this time, it's chicken. lol. Mark, had some pork steak with ham and egg and I had some baked pork chop in white sauce and cheese, it's a rice topping actually and it's a really huge one! lol. The middle aged lady which I think is the owner was indeed all smiles when she saw us. She knows we're tourists and I think she's happy that we came back.

It's the last day and boy aren't we just crazy to all agree to try the Macau's bus system. We had to take time reading and analysing the route as the last thing we want to experience is to be lost in Macau. lol. Although it's just a really small place, not even bigger than Quezon City. lol. But nevertheless.. lol. 

Reminder: If you're going to take a bus make sure you have coins with you. 'coz buses in Macau doesn't have a conductor. As soon as the door opens you have to drop the coins on a designated drop box. 

The bus fare from the Flower City to Seac Pai Van Park is like MOP4.00

I wanna share a story about our search of this Panda park. Before we can even find the right bus station to Seac Pai Van Park, we had to experience tremendous shenanigans because of language barrier. lol. We are  fortunate at first for being able to talk to a Filipina and ask directions. She was good enough to walk us to the correct bus station and even provide us the bus no. to take and then she went on her way back to her place. 

As we're reading the route map, we cannot seem to find the bus no. that our kababayan told us. So we had no choice but to ask the lady beside us for directions. We asked her if which bus to take to see a Panda. I'm not sure if she understands us. The conversation went like this:

Me: Hello Miss. Do you know which bus to take to go to Seac Pai Van Park?

Miss: (confused) huh? 

Me: Where can we see a Panda?

Miss: (talking in her native language) ..... Panda?

Jaydee: Yes! Panda. (mimicking a bear with his hands turned into claw) Arrrggghhh... 

Us: (Laughing at Jaydee..)

Miss: (with Chinese accent) I don't know.. (again talking in her native language)

Me: You know Panda? Like the movie KUNG-FU panda?

Miss: Aaahhhhh.. (nodding her head) KUNG-FU Panda!!!! Yes! Yes!!

Us: (Laughing) Yay!!!!! 

I'm not sure what's up with the KUNG-FU word that she immediately understood it. lol. It was a frustrating moment yet really funny especially what Jaydee did, charading and all that mimicking! lol.  Anyway, it turned out that we should take the same bus no. that she will take. So okay... and then we wait. 

We hopped on the bus and keenly observed every bus station it stops as it could be the station were looking for. I counted how many bus stations before the Seac Pai Van Park, it was like 8th. Now, on the 6th station I saw Seac Pai Van Park, I got confused, maybe that's the station already so we went down on the 6th station. 

So appalled as we check the surroundings, we cannot see any potential park in the area but constructions! Buildings being built! Golf course being constructed! We can't even hear each other because of the grinding sound of construction machinery and the sound of the jackhammer feel's like it's jarring our brain! lol.

We had to walk to the nearest bus station and waited for a taxi, unfortunately no taxi is available. We decided to take a bus and stick to the original plan of going down to the 8th station. We paid MOP2.50 to get to the next station. 

As the bus moves for a minute I noticed a park on the right side but I can barely see the sign as the bus was moving so fast and I don't think there is a huge sign that says "Panda Here" outside of it. lol. Though I see a parking lot with not so much vehicles parked. My gut reaction was telling me to get off the bus as I see a Chinese family and another tourist going down the bus, but we had to stick to the plan - "8th Station"

The little park at Coloane

Then come the 8th station, it's odd 'coz all we see are houses, typical Chinese houses and commercial buildings. Seems an odd place to put a Panda sanctuary but we saw it's the home of their military camp. lol. So we had to do what we had to do, we asked several locals for the right directions... and it was frustrating, I'm telling you! Most of the locals we can see are seniors and they do not even understand us. We had to walk towards the breakwater, just to loo for somebody who can understand us. Yes. I saw a body of water.. that's when I realized that we are already on the southern end of Macau, are you kidding me? I see water... I see ocean!!! WE ARE LOST!!!! lol.

From a far I saw Valerie talking to a lady at a bakery which has a very familiar name, name which I have read in so many blogs, Lord Stow's Bakery, the pioneer of Macau's egg tart!! We're actually standing outside the very first maker of egg tart in Macau and their very first store. Awesome! The lady was actually a Filipina working at the bakery. Finally, we found someone who can understand us. lol . So we talked in Fiipino and she told us the bus no. and which station to get off. lol. We waited.. and waited.. and waited.. until the correct bus arrives. Yay!

Lost in Macau (Coloane)

I don't know what happened but we're supposed to get off on the 7th station but we did not. The bus didn't actually stop on the said station, during this time I can already sense the sacrifice we had to do. lol. The looooonnng walk. Okay so we went back to the 6th station, from where everything started, lol. This time we already realized that the entrance to the park is quite a walking distance from where we are, though not as close as if we went down to the 7th station. lol. But we're out of coins already.. so we had to walk. Ugh! We we're walkig for like 25-30 mins. 

The first 5mins of walking was all fun. We're laughing at ourselves because of our stupidity.. but the following minutes, we started to be quite as we walk, never cared who goes first or who's being left behind. lol. We're dead tired from walking.. lol. Ice breaker was when Patrick yelled so loud because his Coach bag dropped while we're walking. So loud it almost made me shit! lol. And I've never heard him yelled with so much exasperation! lol. That was really funny. lol.

Finally!

Finally, we saw the entrance to the park! Arrrggghhhhhh! I was like telling my friends that the bears should be able to put up a good show after all these dilemmas we had or else... lol. Nothing. Hahaha! 

You'll never get lost with this. lol.

So there are 2 teenage pandas in the Sanctuary, for MOP20.00 you get to see a Panda in real life and not just an animated one who is a dragon warrior that kicks ass and loves to eat noodles! lol. People of Macau named them Kai-kai (Male) and Xin-xin (Female), their name was derived from the word "KaiXin" which means "Happy". 

The two Pandas, originally came from China, they are actually gifts from the Mainland (China) government to show their concern for Macau and deep friendship from the people in Mainland. Isn't that awesome?! I wish Philippines would have a great friendship with China so they can give us our own Panda. That is if they really don't want to end the discussion on that shoal they've been talking about. lol. A panda as a bribe might work. lol. Kidding! 

They are so cute.. way beyond cuteness. lol. I wanna give 'em a hug but ofcourse you're not allowed. lol. But in China you can actually get to touch a Panda and feed them for an additional fee ($350), apart from the entrance fee of the park. Yeah, very costly but you see this amount goes all the way to the conservation of the Panda. 

Just so you know, you can only find Pandas in the mountains of China. This is actually what I called the original "Made In China". lol. But seriously, it is a national treasure and it is one of the animals that's nearly extinct (1600 in the wild and 200 in captivity) that's why the WWF are very eager to protect these fury friends of ours. 

Why is it important to save these animals?

• "The region where pandas live, in the Yangtze Basin and its magnificent forests are home to a stunning array of wildlife such as dwarf blue sheep and beautiful multi-coloured pheasants; as well as a number of other endangered species, including the golden monkey, takin and crested ibis.

• They also play a crucial role in the bamboo forests where they roam by spreading seeds and facilitating greater growth of the vegetation. 

• The panda’s habitat is also home for millions of people. This is the geographic and economic heart of China. By making this area more sustainable, we are also helping to increase the quality of life of local populations.

• They also bring huge economic benefits to local communities through ecotourism and other activities. Besides all these natural values, pandas have are a very important cultural icon for Chinese people." - http://wwf.panda.org

Check out the Panda videos I took and see how cute they are! 

So after that panda sight seeing, we had to go back to the city to get our bags at the hotel and go to the airport to catch our flight. I know we still got plenty of time but we opted to be at the airport as early as possible. So while we wait for our flight we had to hang out at the Seattle's Best Coffee at the airport. You know, just like how you and your friends would end your amazing trip, just talking about the experience, reminiscing the amazing oppurtunity and laughing at the silly moments. It was priceless. 

The trip is something I will add on my travel box of satisfaction. I definitely had a swell time and as I write this article, I cannot help but to miss the place. The climate, the food and the discipline of the locals which I have been hoping we can also apply here. Never mind the language barrier, for as long as you know how to do the charades then you will survive! 

Macau 2012 - Day 4

Day 4 - We're supposed to go to the Panda conservation but we decided to just spend the day on buying stuffs or gift for friends and families back home as we have decided the night before to just stay in Macau instead of going to Hong Kong just to do shopping as our original plan and do the Panda in the morning on the day of our flight back to Manila. 

Although we all woke up late as we went to bed late the night before, it was still I who woke them up.

The weather that morning was perfect - not hot but not too cold. I was able to go out without my coat. We got out of the hotel at half past noon to have brunch and yes, it took us like half an hour to decide where to eat. 

We saw a Portuguese restaurant just three blocks away from our hotel. So while my friends were checking on the menu, I had to search on my phone (thanks to free wifi) their must try food. I read that their Portuguese chicken and anything curry is really good. So I had portuguese baked chicken, it has olives, potatoes, bell pepper and fried sweet onions. 

We noticed a lot of people waiting on the line outside as it's already lunch time. So I guess, the food is really good on this place. And so our food was served, it kinda took long for my order to be served, I don't know why. Valerie was making fun of it, she was saying like because I'm too picky with my order. lol. while she and the others had some beef pepper...

Anyway, I was wrong, the food here was not good... It was great!! lol. Had I only live on that place I wouldn't hesitate to stay on the line and wait for my turn to get inside. lol. The place is always jam packed!! 

While I was enjoying my lunch my phone rang. It's an international call with a US country code. I had to answer it despite that I know I will be charged for the call as I have an idea who the caller was. I recognize the voice and it's a very, very sad and groggy voice, it's my father and he was surprised to know I was already in Macau he thought I wouldn't be there until the end of February. Well, the call was to let me know my Grandmother (his Mommy) past away in the US. It didn't come as a shock to me 'coz the whole family knows that Mommy (what we call grandma) is not in a good health as before,  like what they say, she was just waiting for her time - she was 90. 

I definitely felt sad after hearing it, I can sense my father was just trying to hold on his tears as he doesn't want me to hear him cry on the phone. I asked him what will be the plan for Mommy's remains, he said the whole family will fly down to Manila to bring Mommy home.. yes, home. Despite spending most of her time in the US she even became a US citizen, mommy opted to go home to where she was born and be laid to rest beside her husband. It has always been her request to be returned to Manila if she had to close her eyes for a very long time. 

All of a sudden, a moral sense hit me, I felt like I should not be in that place but my father insisted that I enjoy the trip and that the family has everything covered. 

I was lucky to be at the company of good friends after that sad news. I saw how they tried to make things light for me. I was staggered that I didn't cry, I even ask them why. They said probably because at the back of my mind I know Mommy is in what we called a happy place.. or maybe because I don't want what supposed to be a happy memories in Macau be tainted with grief. 

May Box at night

Waiting for the food

After that saddest lunch of my life yet (I wasn't even able to finish my food) we had to take a cab to go to Macau Peninsula and return to Senado square where we shall do our shopping spree. As soon as we get to the square, we decided to go our separate ways so we can do the shopping without thinking about the other person tailing who. lol. We just have to meet on the specific place in 2 hours. It didn't take me that long to buy all the things I want for friends and Mom. 

We really had to drop by at Starbucks to buy the tumblers which Valerie, a coffee freak, have been collecting for over a year now. It's quarter to five in the afternoon and it's beginning to get cold. I felt like I made a wrong move of not bringing my coat with me. We just finished our drinks and then we hopped into the cab and while on our way I told Valerie that I'm craving for McDonald's nuggets so we  thought of having a take out at the nearest McDonald's in our hotel. 

Okay, would you believe it, I had some nugget meal which I had the fries and drinks upsized to large and another order of chicken wing meal with regular fries and coke. I guess it was my way of coping up with my feelings that time, with the passing of my grandma. And yes, I was able to finish it! lol. 

We received a call from the other room, it was Mark, he was asked to inquire what time are we going to the Galaxy casino that night as it was almost 7pm. 

Gluttony at its finest. Not too happy.

We found our way to Galaxy hotel at 8PM. I was with Jaydee and Mark on the cab, we got into the hotel first, we took pictures while waiting for Valerie and Patrick. The weather is so cold. So cold that we already started complaining. lol. I'm serious. 

Photos courtesy of Mark

Okay so we played another round at the casino, I won HKD200 but lost it eventually. lol. And just like a critic we found not liking the ambience of the casino, hahahaha, we felt like we're really at home with playing at The Venetian. lol. After a couple of hours of playing we went to see the shops in the area. What can I say? The place is really colossal and exquisite. I was telling my friends that had there have been a mall like that in Manila -  Greenbelt or Rockwell wouldn't come close to it, not even Resort's World. lol. 

I really like the entrance to the casino area. It's like a big peacock, isn't it?

Tired from doing shopping all day and strolling at the casino, we went home just after we had a japanese dinner. Yes, with all that McDonald's I consumed I still had some dinner. lol. We were supposed to watch a movie, we wanted to try and look at the movie house in Macau, unfortunately, it's too late as the LFS has already started. 

Anyway, we have a Panda day scheduled on our last day so we better get some sleep and recharge! I can't wait to see those black and white bears!

Macau 2012 - Day 3 (Part 2)

From Flower City we took a cab and went to The Venetian at Cotai for the Gondola ride. Once we got into the valet of this grandiose hotel, again I was left in awe, admiring the largest single structure hotel building in Asia. 

The Venetian