**Iris' Castle of Happiness ^_^: Bloggers Trip to MACAU

As shared in my pre-trip entry, this trip to MACAU is supposed to give me a total different experience as it will be the first time for me to travel to MACAU with a group of bloggers. :) Being inspired by them, I decided to blog about my trip (usually I will be very lazy to do it as I have to write post-trip report for official submission and I have enough of writing. haha...) Anyway, I shall keep it simple by giving day by day update on what we did.

On departure day, our Tiger Airways flight was due to depart at about 10.25am and I have asked the bloggers to check-in at about 8.25am and to meet me at the boarding gate at about 9.30am. After my flight check-in, my body was aching and I was feeling very tired. My eye lids were heavy and I felt that my eyes were a bit swollen. I guessed these were the after effects of not sleeping well or rather not sleeping at all the night before. But as I shared in my post trip entry, once I wore my MGTO t-shirt, I know I have to be professional and be able to brace through any situation with a smile.

After the flight check-in, I decided to go into the main area earlier as it was the last opportunity for me to explore the terminal and depart from this terminal. Budget Terminal had ceased operations as of 23 Sep and will be making way for the new Terminal 4. I had been travelling to MACAU from Budget Terminal for the past 3 years and I am certainly going to miss it (though the infrastructure is simple as compared to other terminals). Here's a photo I captured before heading to the board gate:

Strolling slowly to the boarding gate to meet up with the rest and to start the adventures in MACAU! The PR rep from Tiger Airways met up with us and we decided to take a group photo before departure. When the request was asked, we heard many unwilling responses "oh no, I didn't put on make-up! So unglam looking! So shag looking" haha... oh well, though without make-up and with the panda eyes, all of them still look good la... :)

After which, we were off to MACAU for surprising moments! :)

Flight to MACAU was good as I slept throughout the journey (what's new! thats usually what I do and especially when I didn't sleep well the night before). Upon arrival, we were transferred to Grand Lapa Hotel for check-in. It was my 2nd time staying in this hotel. Personally I quite like the hotel. While the hotel building itself is relatively old, the decoration at the lobby, lift lobby and cafe are elegant and classic. The in-room decoration is simplier as compared but it gives people a cosy feeling.

nice & cosy room... :)

lovely view from my hotel room at 17th floor

After a short rest in the hotel, I met up with the group and brought them to Macau Tower for dinner and to enjoy the 24th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest. Along our way to Macau Tower, I was giving some simple introduction about MACAU and pointed out a Kun Iam Statue which clearly display the East meets West elements of MACAU. Yeah, it is a statue of Kun Iam with westernised features. Being a Westerner, the scupltor of this statue did not know how the real Kun Iam looks like. Hence, he designed the statue of Kun Iam who has features that are similar to Mother Mary. Interesting indeed. :)

Finally we arrived at Macau Tower. The sales rep from Macau Tower brought us around for a quick view. Having been to Macau Tower for numerous times, honestly I am no longer fascinated by the tower itself. I am more interested about my delegates' reaction when they are taking the lift up to 59th & 61th storey and their reactions towards the see-through glass panels on the floor and their reactions towards dare-devils playing the bungee jump. All these reactions are unique, precious and definitely varies from person to person. Without much doubts, there were someone within the group who did not feel comfortable walking on the see-through glass panels and someone who sat down and refused to move. The bloggers were also fascinated by the panaromic view of MACAU and parts of Zhuhai. When we inspected the outdoor observation deck, they even had a chance to witness the bungee jump in action. Guess it iwas a fruitful trip for them in terms of photo taking. When we proceed to Cafe 360, instead of going for the food immediately, most of them started to take photos of the wide variety of food. Until when they finally cannot resist the temptation, they decided to put down their cameras and held on to their fork & knife and FEAST!

Group photo of the 10 famed bloggers @ Macau Tower

The see-through glass panels which can hold weights up to 200 tonnes.. so it is 100% safe standing on it. Try it when you are at Macau Tower.

before I feast (my 1st meal for the day!!!), I decided to take an illusion shot of the M&M Bridge!

After dinner, the bloggers left the restaurant unwillingly as they were enjoying the dinner so much. They said that the variety was great and there were so many selections of international food. Even the dessert selections were marvelous and they felt so pampered. Unfortunately in order to be on time for the 9pm fireworks display, we had to leave! Sorry guys! We joined the judges and MGTO guests at the VIP section specially set aside for MGTO guests. Seated down, we decided to chit chat among ourselves while waiting for the fireworks. & of course how can we missed out in taking photos of the tower, the surroundings and the seafront areas.

this photo of M&M Bridge was captured by my iPhone 4. how amazing...

where i was seated, i took a photo of the tower from bottom up

Fireworks Display Contest started at 9pm sharp when all the GOHs went on stage to announce the opening. First team to start: Korea. 2nd team: Thailand (first time participation). Personally I like the fireworks display by Team Korea. However, Team Thailand was able to incorporate many interesting elements into their display although the interval from section to section was a bit too long. Winner of the 24th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest will be announced on 1 Oct.

My video of Team Korea's Fireworks Display

My video of Team Thailand's Fireworks Display

After a tiring yet fruitful day, we went back to hotel for a good night sleep and be prepared for an exciting Race Day on Day 2! Upon going into my room, I was greeted by this little surprise.. Thanks, Grand Lapa Hotel!