DAY 53
Week 8
KOWLOON (Hong Kong, CHN) to COTAI (Macau, CHN)
Monday August 28th, 2017
TODAYS MILEAGE – 53 miles or 85 kilometres
TRIP MILEAGE – 37,067 miles or 59,654 kilometres
I got up before dawn to find that the winds have abated considerably from yesterday, but sporadic rain squalls had me checking the "TurboJET Ferry Company" website for weather advisories and/or service disruptions. I was hoping for it to be all plain sailing over to the "Las Vegas of the Orient"
I was scheduled for the 10:30 service and arrived early enough to score a seat on the 9AM Hong Kong - Macau ferry crossing. As I boarded, it was drizzling rain outside, so I elected to settle into my window seat with the "South China Morning Post". On page 2, I read with interest that yesterday there was 677 cancelled or delayed (3 hours or more) flights, in the 10-hour period from 5AM, at "Hong Kong International Airport".
As I was reading this, the ferry Captain comes over the PA system to inform us all to "buckle up as that the ride is going to get bumpy" and they're "anticipating 8 to 10 foot ocean swells during the crossing". Not 5 minutes later, it felt like the roller coaster ride just kicked off a symphony of people laughing at the grass, tossing they're cookies or driving the porcelain bus.
Unlike quite a few of the other ferry passengers, I left the 70-minute crossing feeling fresh as a daisy ..... Yippee ki-oh mo-fo's 
I caught the free shuttle bus from the "Macau Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal" to my accommodations at the "City Of Dreams" complex in "Cotai" and it was evident during the 20 minute ride, just how devastating Typhoon Hato was when it touched down 5 days ago.
After I got squared away at the Hard Rock Hotel (which was rebranding as the "The Countdown"), I walked across the road to sample the "Fontanta Buffet" at the "Wynn Palace", then bummed around Cotai on the free shuttle buses, just taking in all sights before heading up to the "Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Carmo" (Our Lady Of Carmel) parish to find a beer and a late dinner.
I was able to sniff out a brilliant back street dive bar - "Prem1er", that has micro-brewed pints for 25 "Macanese Patacas" or "Chinese Yuan" or "Hong Kong Dollars" (under $5.00AUD), where I parked up for a couple of hours to undertake some serious quality control testing. After I had my fill, and at the recommendation of the barmaid, I decided walk two blocks up the road to dine at a local Argentinian steak house & pizzeria - "El Gaucho Macau".
Once seated and at the suggestion of the waitress, who I later found out was the owner, I settled on the "Milanesa El Gaucho" and would have to to say that it was one of the best crumbed beef schnitzels that I've ever had. It was melt in your mouth tender, moist, flavourful, non-greasy … oh … and did I mention tender??? It was accompanied by one of the best mashed spuds I've wrapped my laughing gear around.To wash it all down, they knocked me up a jug of sangria vino blanco that simply danced on my tongue - brilliant meal all round!!!
Just a small measure of how good these people are, they gave me a 10% discount on my entire meal due to the two typhoons in 4 days and advised that I could either keep the discount or donate it to the local pet welfare station. No brainer as to where I put the discount – score 1 for the pets.
I got back to my hotel around midnight and in a quite moment of reflection, I looked back on today and thought that it just goes to show that exploring does really pay off in lasting memories at times .
• KOWLOON ~ Ferry Terminal (Hong Kong, CHN)
• SÉ ~ Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal (Macau, CHN)
• COTAI ~ Exploring The City (Macau, CHN)
• COTAI ~ City Of Dreams (Macau, CHN)
• NOSSA SENHORA DO CARMO ~ Hunter/Gatherer (Macau, CHN)