It was not as cold as I expected Macau would be. It was late November and while the air had a certain nip to it, I really didn’t have to bother with a jacket. Garbed in my usual black shirt and gray trek pants, we scoured the alleyways of the city. For what? We didn’t know either.

MORNING WALK ALONG THE STREETS OF MACAU

While we’ve had our share of Macau’s UNESCO World Heritage Site and Rua da Felicidade during our trip, we wanted more. We wanted to see what other parts of the city looked like, however mundane they turn out to be. What we wanted was to see Macau as the locals see them.

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Lights glittered at the gates leading to the Sai Van Lake Square as the iconic Macau Tower loomed overhead. We just came from the City of Dreams, reserving our tickets for the next day’s showing of the House of Dancing Water. With no meals yet, except those we had when we crossed Hong Kong to Macau via TurboJET, we decided to drop by at the Macau Food Festival where a feast undoubtedly awaited us.

THE MACAU TOWER, ON OUR WAY TO THE CITY OF DREAMS AND DURING THE FOOD FESTIVAL

We actually have no idea about the event until the concierge from Metropole Hotel told us about it as we were about to leave. Don’t forget to drop by the food festival, he said. What food festival? We stopped on our tracks and asked a few more questions before walking out to the nearby stop where our free bus ride to the City of Dreams awaited.

Bleary-eyed and endlessly yawning, we lumbered like zombies and climbed the steps to the famous Ruins of St. Paul, or what remains of its hollow façade. What was usually a place for crowds of cellphone and camera-toting selfie-addicts was now totally deserted. Which was not surprising, the sun had just risen and most tourists were still happily sleeping on their comfy hotel beds. We own the morning--heck, we woke up at the ungodly hour of six in the morning just to have this place all to our own.

MACAU WORLD HERITAGE TOUR WHAT’S INSIDE? • Senado Square, Leal Senado, Holy House Of Mercy • St. Dominic Church & Square, Kuan Tai Temple • Ruins Of St. Paul's, Company Of Jesus Square, Na Tcha Temple • Fortaleza Do Monte, Guia Chapel & Lighthouse

THE SELFIE CAPITAL OF MACAU

Macau held no magic for me until I actually set foot on it and started exploring its alleys. What I thought to be a place of casinos turned out to be, surprisingly, one steeped in history and culture. I knew it has St. Paul’s Ruins, a popular Macanese icon, but I thought it is all it ever has. Boy, was I wrong.

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Oh wait, you’re in the wrong room, the general manager of the hotel told us as he personally escorted us to what was gonna be our home for two nights while in Macau. I was more surprised that he actually escorted us to our room rather than being in the wrong room, there was actually no problem with the room we were given, only that he said it was too small. Too small? After lodging in Hong Kong for several days, this was huge. He then led us to another door, knocked before proceeded on opening it, and tadaaaahhh! Our room was so large you could play golf inside.

METROPOLE HOTEL MACAU’S MODERN LOBBY INTERIORS

A TYPICAL ELEVATOR LOBBY

It was our first day in Macau and my first time to actually set foot on this part of China. After disembarking from our one-hour foodfest inside TurboJET from Hong Kong to Macau, we were greeted by who else, Filipinos asking us if we already have a hotel or tours. We graciously declined and were soon careening through the wide roads of Macau, feeling like Grand Prix racers, who at the time were also zooming across selected roads in the city, and were at Metropole Hotel in no time.

► SEE: MACAU UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE TOUR