Weekend in Macau - Sunday

Just finishing up the rest of our Macau trip here, on Sunday we woke up and headed to the hotel's lavish breakfast buffet spread.  After eating al fresco the kids ran off to play on their outdoor swing and slide set and then to run around on the grass.

Lola and Michael played "the floor is lava" with the innumerable pillows in the hotel room, then we all headed down to the pool to enjoy the ambient weather.

Then all too soon it was time to check out - the boys loved pushing the rolling suitcases around...

We went to Studio City to check out their indoor playroom, one of the newest things to open in Macau and just one of the many things that has changed since our last visit.

While the kids enjoyed that Michael and I went for a stroll through The Londoner, he lost 1000 dollars at the roulette table, and we went to get a drink at the St. Regis Bar.

We ate dinner at Din Tai Fung in Studio City, then got a private transfer directly from there home, just stopping briefly along the strip to pick up our bags at The Four Seasons.  The private transfer is expensive because the license required to drive across the HZMB (Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau bridge) is expensive, and there currently is a pretty limited quota for the number of private vehicles.  I believe the license also requires the cooperation of 3 areas, Macau, Zhuhai and Hong Kong (all part of the Greater Bay Area initiatives that are starting to be reflected in this region) but with 7 of us and for the convenience it was a no brainer.  It was also a really interesting trip and I'm delighted we got the chance to take a (very smooth and very quiet) ride on the world's longest bridge.  On the entire ride, we were the only private passenger vehicle car that we saw.  The roads were nearly empty, but for a few big shuttle/tour buses.  What was really interesting to me was the bright flashes from the camera at various points throughout the bridge - it made me a bit uncomfortable to know we were being tracked and recorded so frequently, though I didn't really know for what purpose the snapshots served.  

Another thing I hasn't appreciated for such a long bridge was that of course it would have to go up sufficient in height at various places so that boats could pass through.  That's probably also why a portion of it is a tunnel, just to allow a break where ships and other vehicles to be able to get through!

To cross the Macau border, Michael, Siti and Lyn had to exit the vehicle and clear immigration controls on foot.  The kids and I were able to clear in the vehicle drive through channel, because we are permanent residents/Hong Kong passport holders.  When we crossed the bridge and the tunnel, we were then all able to cross the Hong Kong border by staying in the car.  The trip door to door took us nearly 2 hours.