Macau the $60 Tour

Victor has found a scheduled 2 hour tour of Macau from Avis, for about $40 for the two of us and we head back to the Ferry terminal. There is nobody at the Avis desk, but we are a half hour early. Many people try to sell us their very special tour.

We wait.
And we wait.
We wait until one more charming person tries to sell us their tour and decide to go for it.

We get a private driver in a mini van who knows some English and the tour is to last for 2 hours as he takes us from destination to destination for views and photographs. We are given some instructions of what to do and say if we get stopped by Macau police. Victor thinks this if funny and hopes we do have a police adventure.

So off we go.... First our not-a-tour-guide driver takes us off to the statue, which is in front of the Lebanese restaurant, which we have already seen. Then we head to this tower that you can bungee jump off of. We have already seen it and aren't going to bungee jump. Then we head over to the main temple on the island. We have been here too. I now realize that we have "done" most of Macau. We start pointing out things we would like to see from our guide book and most of them are walked to from Senato Square.

We are laughing at our selves again.

Our driver takes us to the other islands, Taipa and Coloane to show us the immense Las Vegas styled casinos going in, 3,000 room hotel and a floating casino. These are both US companies. Macau is planning on some big growth! Again, these are both places we have seen from our taxi ride to hell. Finally our not-a-tour-guide driver takes us to the top of a hill with a lovely church and grounds that we had not seen and had not previously read about. I did get some pictures, will add later.

He took us back to Senato Square so that we could walk to the other places and I paid him the full agreed amount and a generous tip as he was very funny. After he drove off Victor pointed out we were only with him for an hour of our agreed 2 hours. I need to get me a roll-ex!

This experience was reminiscent of getting a foot massage by a "lady of the night"

Macau taxi ride to hell, and back!

Excited over our excellent little hotel on this casino island, we are ready to explore but will start with a trip to lunch. Victor has read the book and selected an area for dining. We head down to the front desk and try to explain where we want to go. It isn't until quite a bit later that we realize that speaking English is not the same as knowing the language. The helpful desk person writes down where we think we have pointed out to her, calls us a taxi and off we go...sure that we will be there in a few minutes as we are quite hungry.

Our driver takes us over the bridge to the next island, Taipa. I think this is odd, certain that Victor has selected something a bit closer to home. We start to get that tingling feeling that all is not quite right. The drive continues through this island and I realize we are on yet another bridge to yet another island, Coloane. Good lord, where are we going.

I finally kick Victor who speaks up and the driver indicates this is right and keeps going. Still further and we have left all commerce behind. There aren't even houses any more. Now I speak up. The driver gets out his phone and calls someone. They speak to Victor. It turns out the driver called the hotel. The driver continues to drive, why doesn't he pull over?

We now drive by a hotel but are still going further and further way. The price getting higher and higher. Victor explains where we wanted to go and gal from the hotel front desk says she thought he just wanted a restaurant. At the end of the road is a restaurant. Where ever this place is it is surely as far as one can go on Macau without going to China.

The driver won't stop, he is taking us to the fabled restaurant.

This is getting scary.

I have decided that I will not get out of the taxi at the end of nowhere. We tell him to take us back. He continues to follow the road, but I realize now it is making a loop. When we are finally back in the center of Taipa town Victor tells him we are getting out. This seems bold, but right.

We pay the full fare without fuss and walk around the block grateful we haven't been kidnapped and sent away to some Chinese brothel for the rest of our lives. We find a grocery and buy a bottle of wine. Victor decides we should get on a bus to get back to Macau peninsula. I figure it can't be worse than getting in a taxi. The buses tend to go where people go. So on we get on and for a less than a dollar for the two of us we get across this island, back to Macau and the bus drops us off exactly where Victor wanted to go in the first place, Senado Square, about 5 minutes from the hotel. Imagine that.