It started after our Christmas party at Sze Kai's house. We rushed home to catch the precious 2 hours of sleep before dragging our tired, but excited bodies out of our beds. We parked our car at Ah Poh's Tanan Merah house and hired a cab to take us to Changi Airport Budget Terminal.
My brother and I couldn't help but laugh at Budget Terminal's slogan - Enjoy the Difference! Oh yes, we loved the slow moving queue, the lack of shopping outlets and the grossly overpriced and awful food. Telling us to enjoy the difference sounded like a sneering remark to rub it all in.
That's Darren trying very hard to 'enjoy the difference'...
Here's a picture of my Mom & Dad. Daddy looks constipated.
For the first time in my life, I'm actually glad that I'm born with short legs. The non-existent legroom was stifling.
Upon arrival at Macau, we were greeted by friendly airport staff, the superbly cool temperatures and the dry air. If there was anything I loved most about Macau, it would be their weather.
After clearing the customs at Macau, we headed for the free shuttle service to The Venetian. Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, and, like Hong Kong, benefits from the principle of "one country, two systems".
The Venetian Macao is a Renaissance Venice-themed luxury hotel and casino resort in Macau, China owned by the Las Vegas Sands corporation.
The Venetian casino is currently the largest in the world at 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2).
Feeling hungry because Tiger Airways did not serve meals, we headed for the food courts.
My first meal in Macau was bought from Fatburger, an award-winning fast-food restaurant that mostly operates in the US and Canada.
I enjoyed their onion rings especially. They were genuine onion rings, unlike the artificially manufactured ones in Burger King.
Since we arrived at Macau in the morning, we decided to spend more time shopping at The Venetian.
Following that, we headed for Macau Fisherman's Wharf. It was a disappointing theme park which contains many retail shops, restaurants and bars.
That's the Friendship Bridge that links up Taipa and Macau.
We visited the towering but graceful statue of Kun Iam (Kuan Yin) next. This piece of art, like many others in Macau, is a cross between European and Chinese cultures. Many reviews and tour guides I read online commented that he/she looked like Mary.
An less commonly known and interesting fact about Kuan Yin: He was originally a male bodhisattva. However, he was depicted in a feminine manner over time so that the Buddhist faith can be more inclusive. Buddhism used to be exclusively for males only and women were frowned upon as objects of temptation.
On the brink of exhaustion, we headed for the Pizza Hut Outlet beside the Kun Iam landmark, where we shared Portuguese chicken rice, Pizza Hut's signature fried chicken wings, and a supreme pizza.
With our tummies filled and our legs rested, we headed for Macau Cultural Centre. The adjoining building, the Museum of Art, boasts collections of China Coast paintings by George Chinnery, Smirnoff, Borget and other 19th century artists.
Modern art wasn't something my brother appreciated. He was laughing at this exhibit, where the performing artist drew the Japanese flag using his buttocks. He was trying to make a point about the decline of a sense of loyalty and respect to the state among the Japanese youths today.
The architecture of Sands casino was really impressive.
In the Cultural Centre, we saw an array of magnificent handover gifts to Macau. The golden lotus was a gift from the People's Republic of China.
This piece of nine golden dancing lions was a gift from the province of Hebei.
This bronze drums held up by 4 cranes was a gift from the province of Guizhou.
This mansion carved out from wood was a gift from Shan Xi.
The double dragons from the province of Zhejiang represents yellow river and Macau is represented by the rising pearl.
The nine jade dragons from the province of Henan is 1999cm long, 1100cm wide, 800cm tall and weights 500kg.
Highly satisfied by the visuals in the Cultural Centre, we headed for the Sands casino. The original plan was to do some shopping there, but we were directed to the Venetian by the information counter. The entire complex was devoted to gambling only! Not a single retail outlet.
With mixed feelings of disappointment and gladness that we couldn't shop at the Sands, we retired into our rooms at Casa Real Hotel. Coincidentally or not, their slogan was "We Make the Difference!"
That's my elated brother and Adam from the Mythbusters. He was so excited because cable TV was available.
Clearly, they made the difference indeed. I loved the facilities.
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