I'm writing this post running on roughly two hours of sleep. I leave for the airport soon but after yesterday night/this morning, I couldn't NOT write a blog post about my quick trip to Mainland China. Earlier this week, Violet asked me if I'd like to go to Macau, the "Asian Vegas," with her on Saturday night. She had a friend with a VIP table at a club (biggest understatement of the year) that was celebrating four years of business. I had no plans and wanted a reason to check out Macau (a city famous for its lavish hotels and casinos) so I said sure.
Macau was surprisingly much different from what I imagined. The Asians who deemed it "Asian Vegas" were stretching it a little there, but it was still a fascinating place to explore. The first thing that I discovered is that, Macau is CROWDED. There are so many more people than I imagined. The city itself is fairly small and extremely busy, which is not a great combination. People (namely Mainlanders) cram into the streets and they have no problem rudely shoving you out of the way. We shifted up and down streets taking pictures and sampling some of Macau's famous foods. We tried Portuguese egg tarts and pork buns (both delicious).
The hotels in Macau are all beautiful. There are quite a few and they are shiny and gold and beautiful. But other than that, Macau is a pretty ugly city. It looks very rundown and dirty. The tiny apartment buildings are stained and worn down. We went up to the Ruins of St. Paul and got to get a view of the whole city. The contrast of buildings (even right next to each other) was so strange to see in such a small area.
The ferries port offers free shuttles to the different hotels in Macau because so many people go just to gamble. We explored the Venetian and it was beautiful, but almost too busy to seem like a fancy hotel. There was a mall inside so we walked around the shops and got to see the indoor river that the gondola boats float up and down. I also got carded to get into the casino, which was exciting since you have to be 21. I didn't gamble but it was fun to see all of the people and games set up. The Venetian was huge. The casino was massive and the mall was even bigger. We didn't even get to go into the actual hotel with the rooms.
We did get to explore the Sheraton since Violet's friend was staying there. This hotel is not known to be a ritzier hotel, but the cleanliness and level of service provided demonstrated how amazing the hospitality in Macau hotels is.
Finally, it was time for the reason we came to Macau in the first place-the VIP party. Earlier that day, Violet mentioned 2Chainz was going to be performing. I literally didn't know any of his music at this point but we very quickly turned into middle school girls at a Justin Bieber concert.
We sat front and center in a booth with unlimited champagne and an attendant who made sure that our glasses were never empty. It was an incredible night. We even got invited to 2Chainz exclusive after party by his manager.
Macau was a very interesting place with a fascinating history and is different from any city I have seen. I do have to say that Asians are in for a real surprise if they ever end up in the real Las Vegas!
We ended up leaving Macau at 6:30 AM and arrived at the halls at 8 AM. I had a wonderful 2.5 hours of sleep and now it's off the next adventure: Ho Chi Minh. But first, here is my favorite picture from Macau.
Macau was surprisingly much different from what I imagined. The Asians who deemed it "Asian Vegas" were stretching it a little there, but it was still a fascinating place to explore. The first thing that I discovered is that, Macau is CROWDED. There are so many more people than I imagined. The city itself is fairly small and extremely busy, which is not a great combination. People (namely Mainlanders) cram into the streets and they have no problem rudely shoving you out of the way. We shifted up and down streets taking pictures and sampling some of Macau's famous foods. We tried Portuguese egg tarts and pork buns (both delicious).
The hotels in Macau are all beautiful. There are quite a few and they are shiny and gold and beautiful. But other than that, Macau is a pretty ugly city. It looks very rundown and dirty. The tiny apartment buildings are stained and worn down. We went up to the Ruins of St. Paul and got to get a view of the whole city. The contrast of buildings (even right next to each other) was so strange to see in such a small area.
The ferries port offers free shuttles to the different hotels in Macau because so many people go just to gamble. We explored the Venetian and it was beautiful, but almost too busy to seem like a fancy hotel. There was a mall inside so we walked around the shops and got to see the indoor river that the gondola boats float up and down. I also got carded to get into the casino, which was exciting since you have to be 21. I didn't gamble but it was fun to see all of the people and games set up. The Venetian was huge. The casino was massive and the mall was even bigger. We didn't even get to go into the actual hotel with the rooms.
We did get to explore the Sheraton since Violet's friend was staying there. This hotel is not known to be a ritzier hotel, but the cleanliness and level of service provided demonstrated how amazing the hospitality in Macau hotels is.
Finally, it was time for the reason we came to Macau in the first place-the VIP party. Earlier that day, Violet mentioned 2Chainz was going to be performing. I literally didn't know any of his music at this point but we very quickly turned into middle school girls at a Justin Bieber concert.
We sat front and center in a booth with unlimited champagne and an attendant who made sure that our glasses were never empty. It was an incredible night. We even got invited to 2Chainz exclusive after party by his manager.
Macau was a very interesting place with a fascinating history and is different from any city I have seen. I do have to say that Asians are in for a real surprise if they ever end up in the real Las Vegas!
We ended up leaving Macau at 6:30 AM and arrived at the halls at 8 AM. I had a wonderful 2.5 hours of sleep and now it's off the next adventure: Ho Chi Minh. But first, here is my favorite picture from Macau.
I live being able to find a spot in the city that overlooks everything. There is nothing more humbling than just "taking it all in." I love when I can just look out on a city or place and know that thousands of people live here and thousands of people worked together to create this place. It makes me feel so blessed and thankful to be where I am in life and doing what I am doing.