Slow boat to Macau?

Submitted by Bails on Mon, 05/09/2016 - 22:27

I have a dim and distant (childhood)recollection of an 'over-night' boat to Macau from Hong Kong.

I wonder whether anyone can recall this? I seem to think you boarded the boat in the evening, on a quite large passenger boat/ferry and arrived in the early morning in Macau.

Given the distance to Macau, it does seem rather unlikely? It must have travelled extremely slowly!
 

Any thoughts?

Tags

Hi there,

I took one of these to Macau back in the late 1980's.  I think that was the Nam Shan, one of the last.  Boarded the ferry before midnight whlie it sailed very slowly in the small hours.  Had a nap for a couple of hours and then disembarked around 0500 hrs for morning tea in the old district.

T

I share this memory too.  Passengers were allowed to sleep in till about 5 or 6am before going onshore.  I remember taking the 11pm ferry and doing the same too.  The activity before that was usually having supper at the nearby 大笪地 open-air night market.  

T, having morning tea in the old district after getting off must be quite enjoyable.  Our usual routine in those days was to get onboard on Sunday night, get off on Monday morning, go home, eat something if appetite permitted and then rush off to school. 

breskvar

Yes, there definitely was an overnight ferry to Macau.  In 1958, probably in June, I took the overnight ferry.  A cabin would probably have been available but, not having much money, I slept (2nd class) on a large upholstered seat built right round  the curved front of a lounge that overlooked the bows.  The ferry left Hong Kong in the evening and, with so little shipping in that area, the demarcation between the blue waters of Hong Kong and the muddy yellow water coming down the Pearl(?) river from Canton was very noticeable, but I'm not sure whether I saw this in the late evening or early the next morning.  Whatever, the ferry certainly took its time.  It arrived ar the old wharf on the West side of Macau early in the morning. Unfortunately I cannot recall,the name of the ferry.  Andrew

I have a strong feeling that the night ferry on which I travelled to Macau in 1958 was the Tai Loy - that curved lounge on the front of the superstructure looks very familiar. Andrew