In between sky and water there has to be ice and fire. At least that was how it did seem on the second half of the third day of a Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) sponsored trip to the former Portuguese territory.
A different side of Macau. A frozen replica of the A-Ma Temple at the CotaiExpo.
The afternoon had started high in the sky with lunch at Sky 21, and before we found ourselves immersed in the lychee wood fire of the Jade Dragon for a quick dinner before the spectacle of The House of Dancing Water, there was still time to be led by Venetian canals, and to explore the frozen world that with temperatures of minus eight degrees Celcius, certainly seemed far removed from the heat of the Macanese summer.
The passage to the frozen world took us by the canals of Venice brought to Macau by the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel.
We even had an accordionist to entertain us along the way.
The frozen world was that of Ice World 2012, this year’s edition of highly popular display of ice carvings which was at the tail end of a four month run that ended on 16 September 2012, held at CotaiExpo within the Venetian Macao. For this edition, the 18,000 square foot ice hall was divided into ten zones with the works of 50 of the best ice sculptors on display. Among the eye-catching ice sculptures were replicas of many recognisable landmarks included several large scale ones that included Tiananmen, the A-Ma Temple, the Petronas Towers, and even Singapore’s tourism symbol, the Merlion.
At the entrance to the frozen world in which temperatures are maintained at -8 degrees C.
An ice sculpture of Tiananmen.
The recognisable Merlion.
Sculpture at the entrance.
Another sculpture at the entrance.
Pandas close to the entrance.
There were also several interesting sculptures, which being the year of the dragon, included several that incorporated the mythical beast such as a Dragon Boat and a Double Dragon Slide. It was on the slide where several of us were able to revisit our lost childhoods and where one did find out that ice wasn’t as slippery as one might have imagined (Ai Sakura got stuck on the slide not just once but in all three of her attempts to slide).
Dragons made an appearance.
Down the slide I went …
Someone did manage getting stuck on the slide.
Other notable sculptures were a 100 metre Magic Ice Maze, which amazingly, was constructed out of 1,000 blocks of coloured ice; and a piano that could actually be played! The four month run of what was the second edition of the ice sculpture exhibition attracted some 176,000 visitors … and certainly is another surprise packed into the 29 square kilometres that is Macau. Tickets to Ice World 2012 were sponsored by The Venetian Macao.
The Magic Ice Maze.
The ice piano that could be played on.
More photographs
All photographs in this post were taken using a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 which Panasonic Singapore kindly lent to all ten bloggers for the trip to Macau. The trip was made possible by the kind sponsorship of MGTO which included a three night stay at the Grand Lapa Macau, and also Tiger Airways who sponsored the two way flights.
Links to being put on ice:
Macau Government Tourist Office
Tiger Airways
The Venetian Macao
CotaiExpo
Note: this is a repost of my post on the omy.sg My Macau Experience 2012 site which sees 10 bloggers share experiences of their visit to Macau. Readers will get a chance to vote for their favourite My Macau Experience 2012 blogger and stand a chance to win $1000 worth of Macau travel vouchers. Voting has started (on 28 September 2012) and ends on 15 October 2012. Votes can be cast on a daily basis at the My Macau Experience 2012 Voting page.
The Long and Winding Road 
Leave a Reply