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Asia's First Gigantic Sample Sale?

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Why oh why didn't we stay in Macau an extra week? It's this miniscule former Portuguese colony that gets the honor of hosting a weekend full of ridiculous discount shopping in what is being billed as "Asia's First Billion Dollar Brand Sale."

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Tags: Hong Kong Field Trip / Macau Travel / Ferry Travel / Hong Kong / Macau / → All Tags

How to Get to Macau in High Roller Style

Although we aren't exactly high rollers, we do a thing or two now about the best ways to reach Macau from Hong Kong without getting stuck in the bilge of a fishing trawler. If you're fortunate enough to have more than a few days in HK, a daytrip to Macau is almost mandatory, as it's over in the former Portuguese territory that blackjack is a religion and duty-free comes cheapest.

The most baller of Macau visitors will opt for the SkyShuttle 15-minute helicopter service, which operates on the roof of the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in the Sheung Wan district. At a pricey 2400 HKD, or $309 USD each way ($25 less if you go on a weekday), the chopper remains a transportation option only for the low on time and high on cash group.

Since we didn't have a date with lady luck, we opted to take the most popular route on the Turbojet catamaran ferry, which begins and ends in exactly the same place as the helicopter, except that it costs only $18 USD each way ($15 on weekdays) and takes closer to 40 minutes to make the crossing. The snazzy red rocket also has a VIP class, but we can't fathom splurging on it when the trip is less than an hour.

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Tags: World's Wildest Bungee Jumps / Bungee-Jumps-Map / Bungee Jumping / World Records / → All Tags

The Highest Jump On Record Is All Concrete

If you're going to bungee jump, you might as well do it properly and launch yourself off the world's tallest. The Guinness World Record chaps say that Macau Tower is officially the world's highest commercial bungee jump at 233 meters (nearly 765 feet). OK, that's pretty high.

We first heard about this jump when the Amazing Race All-Stars stopped by Macau. They did the Sky-Jump though, which slows you down before you land and isn't quite as spine-jerking as the bungee.

Bored cubicle occupants can get their share of the thrills by switching on the Live Bungee Web Cam. It streams jumps in real time from Macau Tower--time zone dependent, of course.

Related Stories:
· Macau Tower [Official Site]
· Amazing Race All-Stars: The Tyrant Makes Charla Jump [Jaunted]
· Macau Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: creativechasm]

Tags: Airlines / Asia Travel / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / Viva Macau / → All Tags

Asian LCCs: Twin Viva Macau Planes Become Quadruplets

Macau's teeny tiny Viva Macau is doubling its fleet, which means it's adding two planes. With the new pair, Viva will add to its current destinations in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Australia as well launching routes to India, Russia and the Middle East.

Viva Macau is actually one of the larger airlines in the Chinese SAR. That's because the government grants sole use of the airspace to Air Macau, which then leases the space to other carriers.

Viva Macau is still struggling to remain financially solvent, but executives hope booming tourism to the region--casinos and beaches draw droves of visitors--will help put the company in the black. We've seen the sudden deaths of too many US-based LCCs this year. Hopefully, for its sake, Macau is isolated geographically and financially from the rest of the world.

Related Stories:
· Macau Doubles Fleet, Staff [Macau Hub]
· Viva Macau is a Winner [Jaunted]

[Photo: tango-sierra]

Tags: Low Cost Carriers / LCCs / Viva Macau / → All Tags

Viva Macau is a Winner

A relative new-comer to the budget airline market in Asia, Viva Macau is, as you'd expect, based in Macau, one of those it's-China-but-not-really spots on the south coast of the country. Viva Macau comes with the promising slogan "Simply Different" and it must be doing something right: It recently won a New Airline of the Year award from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Viva Macau flies from Macau to Jakarta, the Maldives and Sydney and has plans to expand to other long haul destinations including North America and Europe. In case you can't stand the thought of sitting in budget economy with no frills for the long haul, they also offer a Premium Class of ticket at a very non-budget price.

Related Stories:
· Viva Macau [Official Site]
· Viva Macau Awarded New Airline of 2007 [Daily News]
· Macau Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Tango-Sierra]

Tags: Amazing-Race-11 / Amazing-Race-All-Stars / Chasing Racers / Television Travel / → All Tags

Amazing Race All-Stars: The Tyrant Makes Charla Jump

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Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race All Stars mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below, and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out, and around on the map - with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

Last week, Phil was nice enough to keep Eric and Danielle in the race. But would the lovers be able to make up a huge time deficit to stay in the chase? And after using a yield two weeks ago, would the Beauty Queens get paid back in kind? The karma comes heavy as the teams race out of Hong Kong, ever closer to that $1 million prize. Who's one step closer to claiming it? Let's find out.

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