With the restart of sailings between Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan and Taipa yesterday, Macau welcomed its first group of 130 Hong Kong visitors at 8:45 a.m. at the Taipa Ferry Terminal in Pac On, and passengers interviewed by local reporters said they found the resumption of the ferry service convenient, with one of them describing the easing of COVID-19 travelling restrictions between Hong Kong and Macau as the “best policy by the two governments in the past 170 years”. He did not elaborate.
(Macau began to grant casino concessions in 1849, i.e., 173 years ago)
Chan, a male visitor, who said he would return to Hong Kong at about 5 p.m. yesterday, told local reporters in the morning that he came to Macau for work and also for sightseeing, adding that he was feeling nostalgic about the “familiar memories” of coming to Macau by ferry. Chan pointed out that the sailings were “very convenient” for him as he did not have to catch the “Golden Bus” to Macau anymore for his work, which he found inconvenient and a long trip for him. This time, Chan said, he had no plan to go to the mainland via Macau later in the day; instead, he would visit his friends here after work. Chan said he hoped that more sailings would be added during the Chinese New Year (CNY), as well as the ferry route between Hong Kong and Macau’s Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal resuming by then.
Another male Hong Kong visitor, surnamed Wong, said that he had not been to Macau for three years, adding that he had yet to decide on his first stop in Macau, but he missed the dishes of minced pork rice from a restaurant at Rotunda de Carlos da Maia (commonly known as “Three Lamps”) a lot. Wong also said that he did not know how to get there on public transport as he had not been to Macau for three years. Wong pointed out that although the resumption of ferry routes brought him convenience for travelling to Macau, he also hoped that the sailings to the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal could be resumed in due course as it is closer to Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (known as San Ma Lou in Cantonese).
About 50 locals get 1st ferry to HK
Meanwhile, the first ferry from Macau to Hong Kong departed at 9 a.m. yesterday, with about 50 people on board, among whom three passengers interviewed by local reporters said they planned a one-day round trip to Hong Kong.
Nuno Brandão, who has been in Macau for around four years and works for the Light Rail Transit project, said that he would enjoy a day out in Hong Kong for the first time after about three years of remaining in Macau. Brandão was taking a rapid antigen test (RAT) kit with him as he was not sure whether Macau would require cross-border travellers to undergo an RAT when returning home.
A couple, holding both Macau and Hong Kong ID cards surnamed Vong, said that they were leaving for a “special” one-day trip to Hong Kong yesterday to renew their Hong Kong ID cards and go shopping. Both said they would return to Macau at 4 p.m., insisting that they were not worried about the COVID-19 pandemic but were quick to add that they would also be careful about it.
Starting yesterday, visitors from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan are no longer required to present a negative nucleic acid test (NAT) result when entering Macau.
According to the websites of TurboJET and Cotai Water Jet, their ferry services had been suspended since February 4, 2020.
About 1,500 Macau-HK ferry tickets sold: DSAMA chief
Meanwhile, Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) Port Control Department Chief Chu Chan Wai said during a press briefing at the Taipa Ferry Terminal yesterday that as of Saturday about 1,500 tickets had been pre-purchased for the ferry services between Taipa and Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island.
Ferry passengers from Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan terminal arrive at the Taipa Ferry Terminal in Pac On at about 8:45 a.m. yesterday.
– Photo: Yuki Lei
