High Times in Macau
Buffets and bungy jumps
High Times in Macau
Buffets, bungy jumps and more
The Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre is 338 metres (1,109ft) from ground level to its highest point. It is the tallest building in Macau. At around three-quarters of the way up, there is a revolving restaurant, to which a vertigo-inducing glass-fronted lift will launch you in just under a minute.
If that is not high enough, you’ll need to strap on a harness, go outside, and climb the rest for yourself. A thought that, for me, makes standing in the lift watching random bits of the tower flash by, as the ground recedes rapidly below, seem infinitely preferable.
After the lift, there is the reward of a buffet lunch. It’s an impressive spread with a good range of both Asian and Western dishes to choose from, as well as enough desserts to keep the kids quiet for half an hour. And the view out of the window is quite spectacular.
The Skywalk and the lunch buffet
The constantly changing panorama keeps the cameras clicking. It takes about 90 minutes for the restaurant to pass through a full revolution, and, on a clear day, there are fine views across Macau, Zhuhai, and the Pearl River Delta. However, when you go off to browse for your next course, it is a good idea to leave something easily identifiable on your table. The food is laid out around the tower’s central core, which doesn’t rotate, so when you return, your table will not be where you left it, and the scenery will be different.
I found it a slightly surreal experience, but not quite as surreal as seeing a group of legs shuffling along a narrow ledge just above, outside. This is the Skywalk, another of the tower’s activities aimed at those for whom a well-curated buffet just isn’t exciting enough. There are no guardrails, but the participants are attached to the building via an overhead rope and harness, so falling isn’t an option.
Bungy jump, even more thrilling that the lift
On the other hand, falling is the whole point of the world’s second-highest bungy jump. It was the highest when it opened in 2006. The jump starts at 233 metres and sees you plummeting earthwards at around 200 kilometres an hour until the bungy reaches full stretch at just 30 metres above the ground. After a substantial recoil, you will be gently lowered, hopefully with your buffet lunch still where you put it, to terra firma.
I took the lift down.
360 Cafe, for lunch, afternoon tea, or dinner
Skypark, for Tower Climb, Skywalk and Bungy Jump
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