Slacking off... ;p

OK now I am on my slacking off mode.. I've been blog-hopping since afternoon. hehehe...

I was so busy last week that I didn't have time to train for the marathon last weekend, let alone surf the net or reading the blogs on my bloglist.

We've finished the big meeting yesterday, so I can rest for a while before the second wave coming right before the Christmas holiday. It's company off day tomorrow so the holiday spirit is already kicking in.

I have a lot to write in my mind but it seems that I can't translate them into words. I need to finish off my already basi Hong Kong-China-Macau trip, I wanna write about my Penang business trip, I wanna blog about my half marathon experience. But everytime I open the draft, I am stuck for words. So that explains why the lack of entries from me. I wonder how the other bloggers manage to do it, updating their blog on a daily basis. Some of them even have multiple entries in a day. Banyak betul idea diorang eh.

I need to do spring cleaning of my wardrobe. Maybe I will do it this weekend. I have a lot of clothes but I have difficulty to decide which clothes to wear to the office the next day. I choose my outfit the night before as I don't wanna waste my time in the morning. Late = bad traffic jam. If that night I am too lazy or sleepy, I will choose clothes that don't need ironing. It will be my sempoi dress-down day. If my mood is good, I will definitely dress up. One more reason is I need to separate those clothes that I can't wear anymore. I have some clothes to throw or give away, they 're too big for me now. Ehemm...

On track...

Finally I succeeded in dragging my fat ass to the gym last week to start my training for the marathon. Managed to run 7km in an hour. Not bad eh? Hopefully I can keep that pace, and finish the race in 3 hours. Still 30 minutes ahead of the time limit. 

Luckily the organizer extended the time limit this year. Usually it is 3 hours for half marathon. But it's good news for me because I know I will be among the last to arrive. hahaha..  

Received the courier yesterday. Now I can't wait to fly to Penang!

But I was worried though, because next week is very crucial, as the big meeting is coming again right after the weekend. Wonder if I have enough time to train and whether I can make it to the office on Monday. Mana la tau kot pengsan 2 hari lepas lari tu... huhu

Last day in Macau

I've decided to take ferry to Shenzhen in the late afternoon. So after bidding goodbye to each other, I was back on my own while the others went to the ferry pier and the airport.

With no purpose, I just headed to the Grand Lisboa since it's the nearest landmark from the hostel I could think of and I haven't had the chance to really examine it. I only see it from afar the day before and during night time.

It is the second tallest building in Macau, after the Macau Tower. Unique but at the same time, kinda weird design. It was inspired by the lotus but why I couldn't see it eh? I am really bad at architecture.. hahahha... But anyway, I liked it because it's design is one of a kind. Lain daripada yang lain.

The sun burnt me.. woahhh.. Macau is sooo hot man!! See my red face... looked like udang bakar.. T_T

So I went in and walked around the casino, learning and picking a thing or two from the games. Come challenge me in Texas Hold'Em Poker in FB.. hahaha..

Continued my casino exploration in Wynn.. it's situated just across the Lisboas.

 And take my own sweet time cuci-cuci mata at the designer stores.

Then it's time to go to Macau Tower, I had a mission to do. But still, it's a 50-50 mission. A part of me wanted to do it, but hell it's too scary man!!! Was I that brave? Was it really safe? Not forgetting the expensive fees. But it's once in a lifetime experience. Too many things were going in my head at that time.

 

If you watched Amazing Race Asia 3 in Macau leg, you'll know what was I talking about. The Roadblock where the teams' task was for one member to bungy jump off Macau Tower, which is the world's highest commercial bungy jump.

Not only bungy jump, but the Tower also has a few other adventure activities, all operated by AJ Hackett.

So when I reached the Tower, I was still contemplating, to do or not to do. I went to the AJ Hackett counter and asked about the slots. The guy at the counter said they had a vacant slot in 30 minutes time. Gulp! I was speechless.. hahahah.. because it was way too early my brain hadn't make a decision yet. The guy noticed that I was panicked undecisive and he said, there's a jumper in 5 minutes time you could go outside and have a look first.

So I went outside and watched the jump...

and decided I won't gonna do it. I watched the jumper jumped and in just a blink of an eye, he's already on the rebound. I think it's too expensive for just a few seconds of adrenaline rush. Not that I didn't know the jump would be that superfast, it's just that it didn't register in my head. I needed a reality check.

The full package for the jump would be MOP2088. That would be around RM1000. Just for that??? If the price is cheaper, let say RM500 I might just go for it. But RM1000 was just too much because I know in New Zealand it's way much cheaper, around RM400. Of course la it's cheap because the jump is shorter but I guessed let me start with a shorter one first.

 

Outside the Tower.. the Macau-Taipa Bridge. Oh yeah.. the Tower is situated just next to the seaside. So you have a very beautiful view of Macau before the jump.

Anyway, I didn't go up the Tower because it was quite hazy that day I thought it's not worth it.

After camwhoring for a while, I took the bus and went back to the hostel. It's time to make a move to the ferry pier.

Managed to get the ticket at 4pm.

Boarding time...

 

 

Another dizzy ride... 

I arrived safe and sound in Shekou Ferry Terminal around 5pm. Huanying ni lai Zhongua!

Travellers' shopping time...

 

 My heart is so tempted to buy the tickets..

BUT......

my head tells me NO.

Remember I said I'm planning to go back to school next year? To make it happen, I have to stop traveling lah kan.. at least for a year or two...  Nampaknya Tour de Europe haruslah dipostpone ke 2012..

Macau Sightseeing part 2

It was almost 4pm when we continued our sightseeing. Next on the must-go map is the Fisherman's Wharf.

Without signboards showing the direction to go there from where we were at Guia Hill, we just gambled the walking route, heading to the seaside as according to the map, the theme park is located at a reclaimed land near the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Pier. Had our late lunch in a local restaurant along the way.

Thank God the weather has cooled down, I was almost burnt by the hot sun. You can see the damages in my pictures.

 The ferry pier

The Fisherman's Wharf is a theme park and the admission is free! Inside there you can find stores and restaurants in buildings built in the style of different world seaports such as Cape Town, Amsterdam and Venice, and of course the roller coasters and other fun rides.

Anyway, much to our surprise, the theme park was very quiet. Maybe because it was on a weekday or maybe because it was already late afternoon, I wasn't so sure. Apart from the staffs, I could practically count the visitors. We had the park all to ourselves.

 

The volcano at the back there will erupt every evening. Too bad we couldn't wait to see the eruptions as we planned to go to Venetian that night. 

 

Entrance to the Aladdin's Fort..

 

When in Rome...

 

Restaurants in the theme buildings..

 

Beautiful Holland...

We went back to the hostel to refresh ourselves, and got ready to party. lalalala~

Macau at night is simply gorgeous. Just take a stroll along the road and you can see all the hotels and casinos basking in the glow of the night lights.

The Grand Lisboa hotel and casino. I like it's unique architecture.

One best thing about all this casino is that they provide free shuttle bus from some pick up point. This is to lure the gamblers to come to their casino. If you're smart enough, you can take advantage of this free shuttle bus to get around Macau for free.

But, some casinos are smart too. They know a lot of people just wanna have free rides so they will ask you for the tickets. You can get the tickets when you gamble at their respected casinos. But if you're coming from the Ferry Pier or Airport you can use this service, provided you know the nearest casino to your place of stay.

 

The plan was to ride the free shuttle bus from Grand Lisboa to the Ferry Pier and then hop on another free bus ride to Venetian. However, it was ruined as the staff asked us for the tickets. Dang!

So, we waited for the bus. Do note that the bus fares in Macau are fixed at MOP$2.50, $3.20, $4.20 and $5 and there will be no bus conductor to give you change, so use the exact amount. We paid MOP$5 each to go to Venetian. HK$ is also acceptable.

Among the hotels in Cotai Strip, in front of Venetian

We had fun at Venetian until the wee hours of the morning, all enjoying our last night in the city as the next day, we would depart to different destination. I would continue my journey to China, Fieke and Bjorn would fly to Bangkok while Michal would be going to Hong Kong.

Macau Sightseeing

Upon arriving in Macau, I took taxi to Auguster's Lodge. I didn't book a room since there was a possibility that I was gonna spend the night at Hong Kong. So I just tried my luck, hoping that they had available room or bed that night. Kalau tak, terpaksa la bayar mahal sikit duduk hotel..

Unfortunately the room and beds were fully occupied but the good thing was, the owner of the hostel let me sleep at the common area and he charged me only half the rate of the bed. I paid only HKD120 for 2 nights. Here in this hostel was were I met Bjorn, Fieke and Michal. Bjorn was my 'roommate' as he was also sleeping at the common area. Auguster's Lodge is a small family-run hostel, a shop-lot renovated into 3 rooms and the common area is in the middle. All the backpackers have to cross the area to go to their room, so both Bjorn and I couldn't really sleep until all the people sleep! That night we met Fieke and Michal, who was also solo travelers. With no plans whatsoever, the 4 of us agreed to go sightseeing together the next day.

 In Macau, don't forget to try the famous Portuguese egg tart and the bubble tea.

We spent the morning in Senado Square to have our breakfast, which was only 5 minutes walk from the hostel.

The Square is a popular venue for public events or celebrations in Macau. From there, it was only a short walk to Ruins of St Paul's, Macau's most famous landmark.

This ruins was actually a cathedral back then. Built around 1600, it was among the biggest one in Asia during the time. Unfortunately, it was burnt down later on, but then restored and it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 The rear view of the structure

Inside the ruined cathedral

Immediately on the left side of the ruins is the Mount Fortress or Fortaleza do Monte.

The canons are still there..

 

 From the fortress, you get a very good panoramic view of Macau city.

There's also a museum within the fort.

Next, we went to Guia Hill. It's where the famous Guia Fortress is located. From my Internet info, I know there's a cable car to go up there. However, we couldn't find it from the entrance where we were, so we just walked up the hill. Exercise...

On the way up, we found this tunnel. Must be the hiding place at the fortress back then.

The light house in Guia Fortress is the main attraction of the park. A chapel is also located beside the light house.

We walked around the park, and finally found the cable car. No wonder we couldn't find it before, it is located at the other end of the hill. We took a one-way ride going down the hill for MOP2. 

With the handsome Bjorn... ;p but he's only 21

View from the cable car

There's another park down there, but we were too tired to walk around. So, we vandalized the rides. hahaha...

To be continued....

Temporary guardian

My older sister flew to Moscow last Monday for work assignment and will return back to Malaysia only 3 months later. Until then, her cat has to live with us.

It's quite a transition for her since previously she lives alone in the apartment and now she has to meet a lot of cats in and around my house. 

Luckily Jesse is very easy to look after. Tak banyak songeh and so far tak berani keluar rumah lagi. The only problem is that she's afraid of the king of the house..

Budak gemuk ni.

She will hide herself whenever Chubby is in the house. Chubby pon agak curious dengan si Jesse ni. My dad said to me, Jaga Chubby nanti dia merajuk. Ye la tiba-tiba tengok ada Persian cat dalam rumah sure dia rase tercabar. hehehe...

How to make cats befriend each other eh?