Hong Kong is actually not on the top of my list for travelling. Having been here during 2008 for our ROM honeymoon, we actually did not have a good impression of this shopping paradise that many Singaporeans loved. We will choose Taiwan over HK anytime. Hehe
This time round however, Piggy suggested that we should visit Macau too since he is there for work and also we will be able to get discounted prives for the rooms at Venetian Macau.
And there, we decided this will be a family trip this year to Hong Kong and Macau for my 28th bday.
Singapore Airlines was having some promotions and thus I was able to get the tickets at 300++ which is only a little more expensive than Jetstar. Moreover, mummy only trusts SQ and thus we will try to accommodate to her if the price variance is acceptable.
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| Flight was empty and thus piglet got a seat too |
We depart on a morning flight at 7.35am and touch down in HKIA at around 11.30am. The plan is to transfer to the ferry from here to Macau.
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| Ferry tickets counter |
As mentioned earlier, mummy usually will not want to take other airlines, so flying straight to Macau with Air Macau is out of the question. Luckily, the ferry transfer seems easy. I was the main planner for the trip, the budget holder, the GPS and the admin all rolled into 1. The other 3 just have to follow me around. But of course, during the planning stage, piggy bro and mum did tell me of their expectations and I have to planned with that in mind.
Once we touched down in HKIA, we proceed to Transfer area E2 where there are various counters selling ferry tickets to different Mainland ports. Here, I brought the ferry tickets to Macau costing us HKD 233 each. We will also have to present our luggage tag receipt that was issued to us during check in at our departure country. They will scan the tag receipts and retrieve the baggage to transfer it to the ferry that we will be taking.
All these can be done without having to go thru the Hong Kong customs and immigration checks. Meaning to say, we will now depart to another country and Hong Kong is just a stopover.
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| Ferry tickets |
If you had cleared the immigration and customs, I think you will not be able to come back to the ferry transfer area and thus will have to go downtown HK to take the ferry to Macau instead.
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| Ferry schedules |
There are 2 ferry companies plying the route to Macau from HKIA and both have different timings. Since we have luggages to check in, we will need to arrive at least an hr before the departure time, those without check in luggage will be able to buy the tix up to 30min before departure.
The nearest departure timing is at 12:00 operated by Turbo jet but we are not able to check in due to time constraint. Instead, I brought the next ferry at 13:15 operated by Chu Kong passenger transport （珠江客运）. Trip to Macau is around 50min.
Chu Kong transportation webpage:
http://www.cksp.com.hk/eng/skypier/timetable/main.html
Turbo Jet webpage:
http://www.turbojet.com.hk/en/routing-sailing-schedule/hk-airport-macau/sailing-schedule-fares.aspx
We only need to check in 30min before departure time and thus we hang out awhile in the transit lounge while I went in search for some coffee as the craving was kicking in.
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| Piggy bro surfing net with free wifi in HKIA |
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| Tired out by the morning flight |
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| Mummy was excited about the trip |
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| And the SGD 6 coffee I brought |
There will be a staff there prompting passengers to check in as per ferry's departing time and we went thru the gates after showing her our ferry tickets.
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| Map of the Sky pier facilities |
Turns out that Sky pier where we are supposed to board our ferry is a distance away and thus we will have to take a short train ride there.
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| Sky train to Skypier |
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| Inside the tunnel |
The pier is pretty empty except for passengers awaiting to board the ferry. There is a 7-11 there and nothing much else. We were observing loading of the passengers' luggages onto the ferry and was told to board shortly.
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| The pier |
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| Ferry that will take us to Macau |
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| Interior of ferry |
Weather was consider gloomly today and thus sea is a bit on the choppy side. Mummy who suffers from sea sickness isnt taking the ferry ride well. She keep maintaining that she is ok, but I had to hold on to her while disembarking as she is walking unsteadily.
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| Mummy look sick here |
We reached Macau's Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal after 50min. The terminal itself seems to be sparsely furnished. Not that they need a very atas terminal but the 1st look of the terminal is not very impressing. This is afterall the 1st gateway to Macau, 1st impressions are usually important. As they state that this is a temporary terminal, I guess they must be builting something more grand somewhere. Oh well..
Customs clearance was relatively easy and we proceed to a small area to wait for our luggage. Its just a counter where the staff will randomly place the luggages. There is no checking in place to ensure you are collecting your own lugagges so must be pretty careful not to let others claim urs.
Lucky for us, I cleared the customs pretty fast and was 1 of the 1st few waiting for our luggages there. Also, we did tie ribbons on the luggages to mark it and I locate them in no time.
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| 1st look of Macau |
Since we are staying at Venetian Macau and the hotel does provide free pick up service (in fact all major hotels do that), we need not have to worry bout how to get to our hotel. You will just have to locate the bus of your hotel and board it, there is no need to show any proof of booking.
So, those who didnt have a booking can also randomly board any bus to get to the hotel before finding your own around Macau.
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| Macau Airport |
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