Macau with Toddler

This had been sitting as a draft for almost 5 months. 

The next day, we had a quick breakfast and packed our bags to check out of the hotel in HK. We left a couple of suitcases at my aunts house, as we did not want to lug it around to Macau. We took a double decker bus, which stopped  conveniently just outside the hotel. R loved the bus ride and we reached the Macau ferry ride in a few minutes. The octopus card for the transportation was very convenient ! We purchased the ferry tickets and tried to find an elevator for the stroller and gave up as there were no signs for it. After we reached the gate and were assigned seats, one of the officers there, helped us by taking us to a service elevator. The staff were very helpful and helped us board the ferry. The seats were very comfortable and quite different from the ferry in Seattle. The ferry ride was very bumpy and the sea outside was very choppy. I was very nervous and pretty sure I would throw up any minute. Even V and R looked a little uncomfortable. Thankfully, the ride became smooth after about 10 minutes. We reached Macau in an hour and immigration was super easy. We exchanged some currency to the local MOP and boarded the free shuttle bus to the venetian hotel.

We saw many casinos on the way and some of them looked very impressive. We finally reached the hotel and the friendly staff immediately assisted us with the baggage. When you are traveling with a toddler, this is so helpful ! We checked-in and were given a suite in the 27th floor. Our room was identical to the suite at the venetian in Vegas, except that the shower was not as good as the one on Vegas. Even the hotel was quite similar, all the murals were a poor imitation and did not match the real splendor of Vegas. We grabbed something to eat in the food court and took a stroll along the canal. The Zee TV awards were being held on the next day at the Cotai arena and we went to the arena in hopes of seeing some Bollywood stars. We saw some  TV celebrities and many enthusiastic fans. R had lots of fun running around everywhere in the huge, empty lobbies of the hotel. Finally we were tired of running behind him and decided to have dinner. While we walked towards our suite, I spotted a group of bodyguards and 2 people inside. On closer notice, lo and behold, it was Shahid Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor !! OMG !! I could not believe it. V and R had already gone past them,and I quickly went upto them and asked for a photograph. One of the bodyguards sternly replied that they were running late for practice. Immediately, Shahid told me that it was ok and I could take a picture with them. Then I gave the camera to the bodyguard and went near them. Ranbir then told me to come and stand between the 2 of them. Wow ! Both of them were so sweet and humble, I was completely star struck ! V and R managed to come back and sneak into the picture frame just in time. We thanked them for the photo and they went away. I stood stunned for sometime and could not believe that I met them.

We had a nice dinner at a Portuguese restaurant and celebrated our wedding anniversary. After dinner, we walked back to the shops for a stroll and met the legendary, Jeetendra. After that, R played a lot and we had a good time chasing after him. Finally, all of us were exhausted and decided to call it a day. Thankfully starbucks was on the way to the suite and we picked up some chocolate milk for R. They had some difference flavors of tea and coffee that I had not seen in Seattle.

Next day, we woke up early, as we had a sightseeing tour booked from the hotel which was leaving at 9am. We ordered room service breakfast and it was delicious. We set off on the tour and saw many sights of Macau and its portuguese history. We went to A-Ma temple, ruins of St Pauls, Senado Square, Macau tower, St Dominic's church and the Taipa Houses Museum. All the places were very interesting and we stopped to eat some famous 'egg tarts' from a bakery in Senado Sqaure. As it was the Chinese new year 2 days later, every place had a special decoration for the celebration. Not to forget the many dragons everywhere to commemorate the year of the dragon. We enjoyed the city and tour immensely.

We came back to the hotel by 1pm and went to a Japanese restaurant along the canal and had an excellent meal. We went back to the room and decided to take a dip in the swimming pool. There was a very nice Jacuzzi, which was an excellent way to relax after the busy morning.  Refreshed, we all went back to the room and R feel asleep after all the excitement. The Zee TV show was starting in a couple of hours and I went down to see the red carpet event. There were many stars and finally SRK showed up, causing a lot of excitement. Then I went back to the room to help R get dressed and told them about the red carpet.

The show did not start on time and in fact even the entry was not ready. I was quite annoyed by this and complained to the staff. The staff told me they were helpless as the main stars had not yet arrived. Finally an hour later, we could enter the theater and waited for some more time before SRK finally started the show.  He was entertaining but looked older in real life. There was a lot of teasing of Vidya Balan and her weight, which I thought was in very bad taste. Shahid's dance was superb and Ranbir's was very entertaining. R had woken up and was a little restless. Since the show started late, it went on way past 11pm and R was very cranky by now. Finally we had to leave and missed the last two awards.

The next day, we got ready and checked out of the hotel. We boarded a different ferry and left to HK. This ride was worse the earlier one and was choppy throughout. I was so happy when my feet touched the ground. We went to my aunt's house for a late lunch and then left to the airport. They had a very convenient check in system at the train station, where we could check in the bags and then board the train to the airport. We flew EVA for the first time and had a very roomy seat on the upper deck. They even had storage bins in the side by the seat. The toys they gave were very interesting and even I wanted to play with them.  I was pleasantly surprised at the excellent service, food etc.

Our 3 day halt was very memorable indeed.