Feelin' Like I'm on the Outside... Inside!!!

There is nothing like the outdoors... pinching a tent in a sand, cooking your food on a fire that you made and just embracing the warmth (and coolness) of nature. But I must admit, sometimes, you keep looking for that extra somethin'. Somethin' that will make you go WOW, somethin' that will make you marvel at the ingenuity of man. The second floor of the Venetian Hotel in Macau offered just that.

Venetian Macau is a hotel and casino resort but I did not go there to gamble but just to see the Renaissance Venice themed architectural designs of the hotel interiors.

The casino is on the first floor, you need to go to the second floor to see this awesome place. The ceiling is designed and lighted in a way that resembles the sky. So you will really have the feeling that you are outdoors. The ceiling is complete with replica of clouds and lighting are strategically placed at the corners to really lit up the ceiling.

The whole floor is a complete theme park complete with a gondola and water canal (San Luca) where boatman will treat you for a ride while belting 'O Sole Mio'.

The lower part of buildings there serve as stalls for high-end designer brands (read: expensive) while the upper portion were made really to delight and amuse the crowd-shoppers-tourists with its grand architecture - a replica of the water-city of Venice, Italy. And here is a fun fact: If you spend just 5 minutes in each of the 350 Grand Canal Shoppes, it would take you over 29 hours to shop them all.

The whole place is termed " Streetmosphere" and as you stroll along the cobblestone walkways, you will be constantly surprised by street performers like giant stilt walkers, vocalists, musicians, visual artists and living statues, dressed in authentic and elaborate Venetian costumes.

Another amazing thing about the place is that it is a melting pot of all nationalities and colors. You can see groups of Chinese, Koreans and Japanese tourists as well as Americans, Europeans, Latinos and Africans. Of course, there are lots of Filipinos on the area as well and most of them working there. So after, wandering around the place, you can just sit there and relax go people watching.

Venetian Macao is modeled after its sister casino resort – the The Venetian in Las Vegas – and is the largest single structure hotel building in Asia and the fourth-largest building in the world by area of 980K m2. The hotel itself has 40 storeys and is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

So, if you are looking for an outdoor adventure in an indoor setting, (err, I think I am exaggerating a little bit here). Ok, let me rephrase that to, if you are looking to have a feel of the outside while you are in the inside... then this place will definitely satisfy you.

More of Macau on my next posts.