Day 03 Macau Two Temples and a Chapel

This is the last day of our trip in Macau. After this, we will be heading to Hong Kong. The main agenda of the day is to meet up with my brother's friends from Macau. Of course the most appropriate place to meet them would be none other than a restaurant for breakfast. My brother's friends have recommended Jin Yue restaurant for dim sum (Top). Yippie, another dim sum treat for me.

Since the food was not ordered by us, I just happily sat there and ate whatever that came in my way. Some are easy to recognise, like char siew bao and har gaw (1st bottom) while others are not as easy (2nd bottom).

 

It was a nice catch up session for my brother and get-to-know session for the rest. After the sumptuous meal, we took a group photo (1st bottom). We left the restaurant and at the entrance, I managed to catch the view of Guia Fort and lighthouse (2nd bottom) which is another tourists favourite. From this far, it was only the size of my smallest finger so try to look harder in the photo =).   

 

Before we depart, one of my brother's friend Ah Hang has offered to bring us around in his car eventhough he has an interview to attend later in the day! What a great privilege for us. The first place we went to is the Chapel of Our Lady of Penha built right on the top of Penha Hill (1st bottom). The hill is also the address for many prestigious residents including tycoon Stanley Ho. While its facade is not as impressive as The Church of My Lady Carmel, it makes up with a commanding view of Macau old quarters on its left (2nd bottom) and Cotai Strip on its right (3rd bottom), an advantage that the chapel has due to its elevation. From the open space, I was able to get the full view of the Macau Tower as well. 

The next stop, which is not too far away from here is the A-Ma temple (媽閣廟) (1st bottom). This is probably the most important temple in Macau as it is closely related to the very first people who have landed in Macau and possibly how the name "Ma" of Macau was derived. The temple itself is not very big and is moderately congested when we were there (2nd bottom).

The temple was built at the turn of the 1st millennium, so this makes it more than a 1000 years old! Clearly many restoration has been done since then. The glossy coat of red paint was probably done very recently (1st bottom).  This is boat model on display right in front of the temple (2nd bottom).

Our last stop is at the Temple of Lotus/Lin Fung Temple (蓮峰廟) so Ah Hang dropped us down and bid farewell (1st bottom). Lin Fung Temple is not on the radar of most tourists so I only saw a trickle of them strolling into the temple. To me this is actually the beauty of the place because you will instantly fall in love with its serenity. Passing through its main door is an open courtyard that is lined with trees and large incense burners (2nd bottom).        

Lin Fung temple is intricate in its architecture and is not any younger than the A-Ma temple. Although less popular, it is by no means any less spectacular. I prayed in the temple that is dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy before leaving (Bottom).

For the very first time, we took a public transport in Macau back to our hotel. Once we arrived, we checked out of the hotel and headed towards the pier. The experience has been great and rewarding and now, I'm already looking forward to the next destination. Hong Kong, here we come!

Would be nice if....I have more time to visit Island of Cotai