Holy cow! It's Macau

After a little over two hours and a refreshing catnap onboard a Cebu Pacific flight, we were in Hong Kong to board a turbojet ferry for Macau. “Welcome to Macau,” a banner warmly greeted us as we landed in this unique and dynamic city where East meets West, a harmonious blend of Chinese and Portuguese cultures.

We were part of the media group invited by Cebu Pacific and the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) for a familiarization tour of Macau. The trip was jointly organized by MGTO headed by Bob Zozobrado with Jet Cabuslay, Charina Puno, and Cebu Pacific’s Michelle Pestaño.

Cebu Pacific flies daily from Manila to Macau, leaving at 7:30 a.m. and arriving at 9:30 a.m.; Macau to Manila daily, leaving at 10:15 p.m. and arriving at 12:15 midnight.

We had our first taste of Macau at Vic’s Café where we savored the magnificent sea view and beautiful interiors over baked sea bass, caprese salad, New Zealand ice cream, and jasmine green tea. Ah, life can’t be sweeter than this!

Cool attraction: Macau Show House Ice Gallery, Asia’s first ice sculpture gallery

After a most filling lunch, it was home sweet hotel for us at Four Seasons Hotel located on the Cotai Strip. The combined area of the new Four Seasons building and the Venetian Macau Resort-Hotel makes the luxury complex one of the largest in Asia. It was to be our luxurious home for the next four days.

For those who have not seen Macau’s Four Seasons Hotel, picture this: A lifestyle and entertainment haven featuring a 20-story hotel, a three-story luxury shopping mall, landscaped gardens and terraces, assorted dining places, swimming pools, spacious pool bar.

So Nice, So Venice!

It was a fine day for a little walk down The Venetian, a 3,000-suite integrated resort, around which you’ll find some of the world’s finest boutiques from New York, Paris, and Milan. But for me, the most exciting part of the tour was seeing the replicas of the famous canals and architectural icons of Venice. Imagine getting a marriage proposal (or offering one) while riding a gondola and being serenaded by gondoliers.

By night, Macau is just as magnificent! We climbed up the 338-square-meter-high Macau Tower amid the sparkling lights at Pearl River Delta. The tower was designed by Gordon Moller of New Zealand. Everybody was scared to look down on the floor made of thick mirror, but we did manage to have a group shot taken for posterity. The more adventurous and fearless in the group tried skywalking and bungee jumping. After all that physical activity, we were ready for a robust dinner of the best roasted prawns at Henri’s Maxim Galley Restaurant.

The House of Dancing Water is created by Franco Dragone, the world’s famous showmaker. It is a must-see love story, only at City of Dreams.

Surely a gigantic attraction in Macau is the Macau Giant Panda Pavilion in Coloane Village, where we visited the St. Francis Xavier Church. Behind the 1928 baroque-style church stands a monument celebrating the people’s victory over the pirates in 1910.

For more of the Macanese life, lifestyle, and a bit of history, we visited Taipa village, which houses a museum called Home of the Islands. But the one thing we all enjoyed was the pasalubong shopping at the Tai Pa market, where you can find the Lord Stow’s bakery (which we also have in Manila; I’m sure you’re familiar with those eggstra delicious egg tarts).

Back at our hotel, Four Seasons marketing director Julius Santos hosted lunch for us at Belcancao Restaurant. If the surname Santos sounds Filipino, it’s because Julius is Pinoy, tracing his roots to Los Baños, Laguna. After lunch, we were accompanied by Reginia Tam for a visit to the presidential suite of Four Seasons Hotel where the girls in the group were delighted to discover the amenities from L’Occitane.

For a glimpse of ancient Chinese scientific and technological achievements in the fields of astronomy, machinery, ceramics, weaving, and architecture, we visited the Macau Science Center. To cap the day was a 3Dsky show which everyone immensely enjoyed.

Now Showing: MGM Macau

Arguably Macau’s star attraction is MGM Macau, managed by two prominent industry leaders — Pansy Ho, daughter of Stanley Ho, and MGM Resorts International. Built at close to US$1.25 billion and shaped like the rolling swell of the ocean surf, MGM makes waves with its 35-storey hotel tower and 600 rooms.

The ruins of St. Paul’s Church were originally the façade of the church of Mater Dei.

Then it was showtime as we watched the Tree of Prosperity show featuring the Dragon of Fortune as well as the Performance Lake at Wynn Macau with its dancing water jets, dazzling lights, and flames of water. After all the visual spectacle, we got a gustatory treat at the Noble House Chinese Restaurant.

We got a fill of Macanese heritage at the Macau Museum where you can walk through photographs, videos, and models depicting the Macanese customs and traditions. For the best view of the city and the islands, go up to the Mount Fortress from where the courageous natives defended the city from the invading Dutch in 1624. There are also the ruins of St. Paul Church built in the 17th century by the Italian Jesuits. It was destroyed by fire in 1835 and only its façade stands today. Also still there is the Na Tcha Temple, a section of the old city walls, St. Dominic’s Church, and the Lou Kaw Mansion Cathedral built in 1622.

A happening place for events and celebrations is the Senado Square, surrounded by pastel-colored neo-classical buildings.

Oodles of Noodles

And where do you find probably the best noodles in Macau? Go to Wong Chi Kei noodle shop, famous for Cantonese noodles. They served us a bracing bowl of wonton noodles in oyster sauce.

Much to everyone’s delight, our Macau visit, as you have read thus far, was peppered with visits to some of Macau’s best restaurants. Apart from those I’ve already mentioned, there was Dumbo Portuguese Restaurant where we had the very mouthwatering Portuguese fish.

For a sensory overload, we had the thrill of our lives watching Cirque du Soleil’s latest 90-minute mega production Zaia. FYI, this romantic play is about a young girl who journeys into space in a voyage of self-discovery amid a spectacle of dance, movement, and acrobatics.

Replicas of the famous canals and architectural icons of Venice at The Venetian

So much to see, eat and enjoy in Macau, so little time! We capped our brief but sweet visit to Macau with a visit to the Macau Grand Prix. This brings us memories of our own Arsenio “Dodjie” Laurel who took home the trophy in 1962 and 1963. He died in 1967 while attempting to win his third Macau Grand Prix. He used the Brabham sports car, now on display in the museum. Adjacent to the Grand Prix exhibit is the wine museum. Also on the itinerary was the 16th- century A-Ma Temple with its beautiful tiled roofs and spectacular views from the upper gardens. Then on to more food tripping at The Eight restaurant at Grand Lisboa Hotel, where we had a dim sum lunch of steamed river shrimp dumplings shaped like a fish.

And do you know what the coolest attraction in Macau is? Of course, it’s the Show House Ice Gallery, where you can experience -8-degree weather. Cool, indeed, is Asia’s first ice sculpture by a Chinese artist at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf.

For our last-day tour, we visited the Grand Hyatt Hotel in the City of Dreams, an integrated entertainment resort located in the heart of Cotai. Grand Hyatt has the largest event spaces in Macau, with its 15 function rooms and 791 guest rooms. There, we watched Dragon’s Treasure, a multimedia experience in a dome-shaped theater that takes guests on a spectacular water journey through the magical kingdoms of the Jade Dragon. And finally, there was The House of Dancing Water, created by famous showmaker Franco Dragone. Taking center stage is a pool that holds 3.7 million gallons of water, equivalent to five Olympic-size swimming pools. With the dazzling costumes and special effects, this is surely a must-see show. For our last supper, er, final dinner, we went to Litoral Café in Taipa.

Wow! Holy cow! So this is Macau!

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The Macau Tower, where you can view the Pearl River Delta by day or the city lights by night

Cebu Pacific flies daily from Manila to Macau, leaving at 7:30 a.m. and arriving at 9:30 a.m.; Macau to Manila daily, leaving at 10:15 p.m. and arriving at 12:15 midnight. Cebu Pacific also flies from Clark to Macau and vice versa four times weekly (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) for the lowest year-round Lite Fare of P2,599. For inquiries and reservations, visit www.cebupacific.com, http://funtours.cebupaci-fic.com, call hotlines 02-7020-888, 032-230-8888; Facebook and Twitter: Cebu Pacific Air.