The Cube

See the title of this post? I'll be upfront - I went to Nepal and didn't do any trekking. I felt kind of being judged for visiting Nepal and didn't hike. Especially when anyone knew that I flew to Nepal for a week from Australia, which wasn't a short flight. 

I am saving my annual leave for a longer time off work later of the year but I was told by my manager that I should cut down my annual leave earlier of the year before being told to be put on some annual leave management plan. Annual leave management plan means randomly take a day off every week till the annual leave allocation are reduced to an acceptable level based on the company policy. 

I had a look at the calendar and thought I can take the days off before or after the Good Friday - Easter Sunday long weekend. I haven't been to Nepal and I saw a good timing flight to Kathmandu, so this week long holiday happened. 

As a Malaysian (as well as citizens for many countries except India citizens), I needed a visa for entry to Nepal. Malaysians qualified for visa on arrival but to avoid any hassle on leaving the country or when entering Nepal. I chose to get a visa before my travel. There is a Consulate General of Nepal in Melbourne but on my visit, I was told to apply for an e-visa to avoid another visit as the person in charge of processing visa was out for lunch. 

I was asked to show a copy of my visa to Nepal on checking in at the Melbourne Airport so I was glad I have applied for it prior to my travel. Flight was with Sichuan Airlines which would get me to Kathmandu in the afternoon of Good Friday, maximising my time in Nepal. The return flight to Australia included a 8-hour transit in Chengdu. 

I withdrew cash from ATMs this trip. Unfortunately all ATMs seemed to charge a fee, ranging from NPR 500 to NPR 700. The ATMs I encountered that charged NPR500 were Global IME Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. 

There is a Standard Chartered Bank ATM amongst a row of ATM machines just next to the exit from the airport. After passing airport security check, walk straight on and through a passageway and go walk down the staircase. 

There is a sim card booth just opposite the last security check and you would probably see many people queueing there. I didn't have any cash at that time so I walked towards the passageway. There were 2 ATMs along the way but there were more ATMs further up (see above). 

I went to the Ncell booth and got the Tourist Plan B (main balance NPR 50, 50 minutes local calls, 10GB and valid for 7 days) costing NPR 500. I forgot to bring passport sized photos even though I have read that I would need them for sim card registration as well as for Kathmandu Square and Bhaktapur entrance tickets extension. As I didn't have any photos on me, Ncell took a picture of me using their mobile phone. 

The prepaid taxi stand is just across from Ncell booth and I was quoted NPR 850 to the guesthouse I've booked in Thamel. I read that if one walk out of the airport to the main road (about 5 minutes walk), the taxi fare might be cheaper around NPR 500-700. I went with the prepaid taxi and the price quoted seemed reasonable and my haggling skill is non-existence so I might pay the same amount anyway. 

There was a man who stood around the prepaid taxi stand (not the person who manned the counter). He walked me to a taxi and said that he will get someone to go with me Thamel to introduce me to his tour company. I declined his offer but someone still got in the taxi, sitting next to the driver. Interestingly, then a policeman spoke to this person and he got off the taxi. I am still unsure what verbal exchanged happened then.

28/03, Day 00 - Overnight flight from Melbourne

29/03, Day 01 - Patan. Overnight in Kathmandu* (Mount Annapurna Guest House)

30/03, Day 02 - Panuati to Namobuddha hike. Overnight in Kathmandu*

31/03, Day 03 - Fly to Pokhara. Overnight in Sarangkot* (Sarangkot Hotel New Galaxy)

01/04, Day 04 - Pokhara* (Harry Guest House & Restaurant)

02/04, Day 05 - Bus to Bandipur* (Bandipur Samira Homestay)

03/04, Day 06 - Bus back to Kathmandu*

04/04, Day 07 - Kathmandu*

05/04, Day 08 - Bhaktapur* (Hotel Bhaktapur Inn)

06/04, Day 09 - Flight out of Kathmandu, transit in Chengdu

07/04, Day 10 - Arrived back in Melbourne

We reached Macau in the evening, unexpectedly it was quite tricky to find dinner at around 8 PM by the time we got to the hotel. We had an afternoon flight out from Macau Airport, so that gave us 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners and 3 lunches. We had a late breakfast on day 2 and skipped lunch. On the last day, we did take away from a small shop for lunch and ate at the airport. 

Overall, we enjoyed our meals in Macau. Total cost were for 4 adults and 2 kids. 

We didn't visit the store in Hong Kong but had a late breakfast here in Macau. I had a basic luncheon meat egg instant noodles. We also shared the steamed milk dessert. From memory, we had the steamed double layer milk and the other ginger milk. Total MOP 378. 

We wanted to try a different pork chop bun, plus this was near to the hotel and the initial shop we said is only a takeaway store which we got for lunch. We ordered Ovaltine crispy toast and peanut butter pork chop polo bun. This cannot be daily food. Even when I read the menu I could feel that it is cholesterol inducing. Total MOP 178.

There are a few branches

We wanted crab congee and found this eatery. We didn't know they were popular when we went especially since it was a late lunch and the shop was fairly empty. The noodles were made with traditional bamboo noodle pressing techniques and melded with fresh duck eggs. Total MOP 484. 

26 R. de Nossa Sra. do Amparo, Macao

We were lucky to find this shop for dinner. Most of the shops seemed to have stopped dinner service by the time we got to the hotel and dropped our luggage. The owner is a Portuguese who has been living in Macau for many years. He noticed that we wanted to try all the food so he served them as 'petiscos'. Total MOP 274. 

This was a fairly small shop and there were no empty table when we got there. The service was very prompt though. There is a menu right outside the shop and the owner came out, gave a piece of paper and pen to my sister and asked her to write down our orders. He knows his stuff because among all of us, sis' command of Chinese is the best. We got a steamed, fried and pan-fried dumplings - one of each and deep fried mini mantou. Total MOP 125.
 

This was our last dinner in Macau. Total MOP 382.

MacaoR. de Camilo Pessanha, 28號, 號地下

This was initially our choice for breakfast but on arrival we noticed it was only a takeaway store. So after breakfast, we came to takeaway. I borrowed these photos from my sis' FB. We spent all our cash here which wasn't a lot left after saving what we needed for the bus fares. 

There are a few branches but we got this from Taipa Village. This was inhaled very promptly. MOP 109 for a box of six. 

There are a few branches as well. On our walks we saw a bakery and wanted a snack and got 2 egg tart and 1 coconut tart. What we didn't know was that this bakery is famous for Pastel de Chaves, yes, dumb mistake given the literal name but I didn't notice any Chinese signboard. The tarts we got were tasty though. Total MOP 30. 

28號 R. dos Ervanarios, Macao

We came out of the Food Truck Company and saw dessert in coconut yoghurt. Total MOP 95.

On arrival at the Outer Terminal, we waited and took a hotel free shuttle to get us to our hotel. 

Macau is consist of Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane. Connecting Taipa and Coloane is Cotai, an area of reclaimed land containing of the newer casinos and resorts. We based ourselves in Macau Peninsula and took a bus (MOP 6 per person) to Taipa on second day. I was the only one who had been to Macau, and that was more than 15 years ago.

We stayed at Caravel Hotel which is near Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16. Getting around Macau Peninsula was by foot. I enjoyed the walks through smaller laneways before hitting the much more crowded touristy area. 

Leading up to the temple are sections of the old city walls, built as early as 1569. The walls were constructed with incorporation of local techniques and materials, especially a solid compound named chunambo. It is an elaborated mixture of clay, soil, sand, rice straw, crushed rocks and oyster shells compacted in successive layers. 

 

The Ruins of St. Paul's refer to the facade that was originally the Church of Mater Dei built in 1602-1640 and the ruins of St. Paul's College, which was adjacent to the church. Both structure were destroyed in 1835 due to a fire. 

Mount Fortress is located on top of Mount Hill, 52 metres above sea level and covers a trapezoid area of approximately 8,000 square metres. 

We stopped for lunch and resumed our walk at the St. Lazarus District. 

It was said that in 1566, Bishop Melchior Carneiro came to Macau and arrived at the St. Lazarus district. This district was considered an out of town back then and many lepers were exiled from town to here. He established a leper hospital and built the St. Lazarus' Church dedicated to Our Lady of Hope next to the hospital to give the patients somewhere to pray. The Portuguese name of the church is Igreja de São Lázaro. It was said that the word “Lázaro” has two meanings. The first was related to the story of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” in the Bible. The other story was because "Lázaro" also means "lepers" in Portuguese. Hence St. Lazarus District is also known as the "Leprosy Quarter". 

We then we rounded back to the Senado Square. 

Mum was curious over the big hotel resorts/casinos in Macau so we headed to Taipa the next day. First stop was the Taipa Village area before The Venetian as the latter is indoor. We started from Tin Hau Temple and turned right into the Taipa Village area and finished at Art Space. 

The Venetian is within walking distance and it felt like it was nearer walking from Taipa Village to The Venetian than inside The Venetian.