I always had a hot cup of Starbucks in my hands in Hong Kong / Macau because it warmed my hands and face

Featuring the S$10 coat I bought in Hong Kong before taking the ferry to Macau

For reasons unknown to us, Chelsea and I assumed that Macau was an offshore island to Hong Kong — much like Sentosa is to Singapore. That couldn't be further from the truth as we later discovered that Macau uses their own currencies (although they do accept Hong Kong dollars occasioanlly too, especially at touristy areas); Macau has their own airport; and Macau is HUGE.


After alighting from our ferry ride, we were horrified to learn that we were completely lost, and we didn't have connection either since our wifi device worked solely in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, we followed our gut feelings and planned our itinerary on the go. Left with no choice, Chelsea and I went the old school method in Macau and sought help from information counters and traditional brochures/maps.

In the end, we hopped on a cab (Uber wasn't popular back in 2016 — not that we had wifi anyway) and told the cab driver to just drop just off at a popular tourist spot. Our cluelessness garnered question marks from the cab driver who questioned where were we from and if all Singaporeans travel in such a weird way LOL.


He dropped us off at Galaxy Macau, one of the grandest hotels in Macau complete with a casino and shopping mall.

Galaxy Macau

Address: Galaxy Macau, Cotai, Macau

There are daily complimentary shuttle bus service from Macau Ferry Terminal and other hotels too, if you're hotel hopping in Macau.





Galaxy Macau had a green screen photobooth, which Chelsea and I obviously utilised.




Since neither Chelsea nor I reached the legal gambling age (we were 20) and we weren't into luxury shopping, we didn't have much to do. After taking photos at Galaxy Macau, we decided to hop on the free shuttle bus to find Ruins of St. Paul's — the only tourist attraction we knew in Macau wth hahahha.


Thankfully, Galaxy Macau's staff were extremely hospitable even when we weren't guests of the hotel, and they guided us to the correct shuttle bus.






On our way to Ruins of St. Paul's, we passed by Rua de Sau Paulo, a street filled with Macau street snacks, international brands and souvenir shops.




Got an eggtart here because I'm a sucker for toruist traps LOL. Was delicious though. I mean, how can you visit Macau without trying one of their piping hot eggtarts?

Ruins of St. Paul's was filled with tourists, even on a weekday. To be honest, despite my love for historical mounuments, I didn't find Ruins of St. Paul's particularly grand or magnificent. It was good to see the intricate designs up close but that's about it. I'm sorry, no hate here, but I don't see the hype.

Koi Kei Bakery

Eating egg tarts in front of Ruins of St. Paul's — can't get more Macau than this.

You can see how crazy it was that I was in such thin layers (and subsequently removing them for photos) when you compare me to the windbreakers other tourists were wearing.

Behind the scenes though...

The church was destroyed in 1835 by a fire and this facade is the only reminder of St. Paul's Church. St. Paul's Church used to be one of Asia's biggest church and its ruins are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Behind Ruins of St. Paul's

We made a small turn into an alley alongside Ruins of St. Paul's and found a picturesque spot. That's my favourite thing about Macau — the streets reminds me of Europe since its colonial influence was as recent as in 1999.