A 3-a.m. ‘idea’ takes you to Macau
I used to daydream all day and stare out the window where my mind showed me the world on a magic carpet ride. Yeah, it didn’t get me anywhere.
But working at a startup, I grew into a person of ideas. My imaginations took me from Chile’s Atacama Desert, the dryest place on earth, all the way to the humid Macquarie Island of Australia in seconds. But a Sunday’s 3-a.m. idea actually put me on a turbo jet to Macau seven hours later. Oh. For your information.
A thought is: I will go to Macau someday.
An idea is: I will leave at 10 a.m. and get my butt on the boat an hour later.
Nothing was really planned out. Everything was new. I was not prepared. But the best travels are on the whim like life.
The counter at Shenzhen’s Shekou Ferry Terminal only took cash. Of course, I only had balance in my WeChat Pay. The ATM would not take my MasterCard.
But help always comes from an unexpected source with awesome sunglasses who didn’t understand a word of my English, but was super cool about giving me his cash in exchange of Wechat Pay.
Then, Voila! The iconic Macau’s burning sunlight ray touched my skin red.
There I was!
From St. Paul’s Ruin, I worked my way down to Patio de Chon Sau, St. Dominic’s Church and Senado Square. The ruin is a good starting point especially on a hot summer day because it is way up the hill.
My drink was magnet in my hand and my long strolling rolled by like magic.
A lot walked down my memory lane where I bumped into the younger me.
She went to a good school and thought her life would start when she graduated which she finally did, only to feel like her life was full of ‘almosts.’
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So she did something a little out of the ordinary from her peers. She left a good paying job and started to work at a tinny tiny company which was the definition of CHAOS (at first). She didn’t even know what questions to ask then.
Here, she learned that being scared (for too long) was not okay and it gets her nowhere. (Boogie Man is only in your thoughts, remember?)
Someone else will never get the job done. So by taking action after telling herself, “Screw it! I’m doing it!!!!” she got a mile further, even though it always felt impromptu.
She had to learn this along with her coworkers for the product and service to be complete and it is getting there now.
Then she became me who books a ticket to random places the second I have enough ka-ching, who isn’t afraid to talk to new people and who can say life is fun (76 pct of the time).
She was a person whose world was inside her head and now I realize the real world is also exciting.
Like travelling the world.
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P.S.
- Try the Portugal dishes at Dom Galo. I ordered the Portugese style steak and fried rice. The steak was juicy and the fried rice did not have a typical taste. Oh. They have really good, pillowy bread.
- St. Paul’s Ruin is quite up the hill. Get a Uber. Get off there and walk your way down to Senado Square.
- The internet will insist for you to go to Venetian Hotel in the Taipa area to test your luck. But if you’re near the St. Paul’s Ruins, no need to bother crossing the bridge to Taipa area. MGM’s casino is also a work of beauty.
- Just walk. Get lost. Beer in hand makes the journey better. Everyone carries bottle openers in their bags all the time, right?
- The stores usually accept credit cards if you spend more than 200 MOP.
- Many buy the jerkies and egg tarts. The line creates a great wall so good luck.
