Malacca, Melaka, 马六甲!

So I had been yearning for a short trip (again) after 3 months, but it’s really hard to plan for a trip nowadays. In the first place, finding people to go is hard enough; different interest in location, timing issue and of course $$$ as well =/

Then I was approached with the idea of a Malacca trip and I must say that everything was just impromptu from then on. Made decision; booked coach and hotel – all within the same day when the idea struck…haha! 爽快 definitely beats indecisiveness or last-minute change of mind~

Although I was not exactly interested in Malacca (since it’s mainly for heritage and food), I didn’t mind going as I have not been there before and I just wanttttt a getawayyyyyyyyyy! So with that, I shall begin my first Malacca trip experience! (:

24 June 2010 (Friday)

Waiting for the coach at 7.30am!

The coach ride took about 4-5 hours and thankfully, there was no jam! Phew~

Spent the journey trying to sleep, but as usual, only managed to sleep a bit =/
Luckily I preloaded a movie in my iPinky!

The 4-5 hours didn’t feel thattttt unbearable for me, because soon the coach reached Malacca! Dropped off at the hotel – Aldy Hotel and it’s at a very good location; near to the 2 shopping malls and the famous Jonker Street!

Checked in and off for A&W lunch! Famisheddddd by then~

Actually only this waffle (half of it) belongs to me, plus a fries which came later~
Cause I wanna save my stomach for other stuff as well…hehe.

Shopped around the mall – Dataran Pahlawan and the clothes are not as attractive as JB (as in the prices…haha!) Not much sales around, so I was quite empty-handed =/

Chanced upon this durian dessert stall though!

So many different kinds of durian desserts! Omggggg~~~

Tried the Durian King which is durian pomelo and it’s so niceeeeee! Though I still don’t like pomelo because it’s bitter! :S

On the way to the other mall~
Spotted these horses on the street; so cool!

Old school train~

And the huge plane!

This is the old school fire engine, but it’s quite ugly =/

There are only 2 big malls in that area and this is the other one – Mahkota Parade. It’s smaller than Dataran I think~

I still prefer Dataran Pahlawan because Mahkota is mainly those mainstream shops like malls in Singapore, so the chances of picking up cheap clothes are even lesser =/

This shop may interest my brother though -_-

Spotted this KL Gangster movie poster and I wonder if it’s a comedy…LOL.

It’s tested and proven that I shop better when I’m alone, cause I bought stuff after that! Hehe. Went back to Dataran Pahlawan thinking that it’s another mall but it’s not! =/

So I shopped around again and chanced upon a few shops that I missed out and also other parts of the mall. Bought a top and a bottom; very pathetic amount of loots but it’s better than nothing! (:

Bought gifts for my brother and (super) belated birthday gift for TCC as well!

Although it’s like the biggest mall there, Dataran is rather small as compared to Sungei Wang or Times Square. Perhaps only 1/4 of it or even less. So I even went to ask the receptionist to make sure that I did not miss out any parts or other malls…LOL.

So happy to see the swing on the way back to hotel! xD

The famous attraction spot – Stadyhus (Dutch Square)~
Obviously I did not take this; it’s a postcard…hehe.

This is my version – Stadyhus at night! (:

Rested for a while before heading to the night market!

You can see many colourful trishaws around, waiting to bring the tourists around~

Queen Victoria's Fountain

And here is the famous Jonker Walk where the night market is! (I seriously think Singapore should have night market too!!!)

The street is filled with stalls selling clothes, accessories, gifts and food of course! (:
3 more hairbands added to my collection upon reaching! Haha!

I did some research prior this trip and knew that there is 冰糖葫芦 in Malacca! Ta-duh~!

There are 2 stalls actually, but I chose this because it has all strawberries one! Hehe.

But it’s a bit different from what I had in Taiwan because the malt candy smell is rather strong. Nonetheless, I still love 冰糖葫芦! So far I don’t think I’ve seen it anywhere in Singapore D:

The crowded night market! (:

Tried this mini Portuguese egg tart as well! So cute~!

And the curry fish balls/pork balls is dope!

Jonker Walk is known as 鸡场街 (chicken field street) in Mandarin because it used to be a market selling chickens!

And in the middle of the street, there is performance for the folks as well (:

A bit like our getai in Singapore~

Bought carrot cake wrapped in newspaper from the street stall because everyone was buying! But it wasn’t as nice as I had expected~

Even has got stall selling cute hamsters!

Squirrels as well! Omg.

After a round of eating, it’s time to share the love by buying some Malacca goodies back! And I am, at the most popular shop selling Malacca delicacies!

Welcome to 三水公 三叔公! xD

As usual, this is the part where I spent the most because I bought lots of stuff back for my brother…hehe. Bought some for my colleagues and as gifts as well! (:

There weren’t much gifts to buy there anyway; mainly heritage stuff and useless souvenirs which I think most people have had enough of =/

Back to hotel and watched Ice Age 3 for the third or fourth time!
Never fail to make me laugh!

Then tried to sleep after that but every time I almost fell asleep, something would wake me up -_____- So as expected, migraine attack the next day! x.x

25 June 2011 (Saturday)

Time for hotel breakfast~!

It is located at the ground level of the hotel and it’s a bar at night (:

It’s not the buffet style kind of breakfast but I kinda prefer this actually. Probably because all the hotel buffet breakfast I had so far are not that nice =/

The big breakfast!

Off to explore! (:

Like our Fort Canning Park, Malacca has its Malacca Fort~

Cannons!

Spot me! xD

So awkward, not knowing what pose to make…haha!

With the big cannon~

And like the Singapore River, this is their Malacca River!

They have the ferry to bring tourists around the area as well~

Back here again to experience the day time Jonker Street, as well as find the good food that I researched about…hehe.

One of them is this Chung Wah Chicken Rice Ball stall and you know it has got to be popular; just look at the queue! It wasn’t even lunch time yet! =/

Joined the queue (despite just having the big breakfast) before it got longer and longer~
According to my research, it’s usually sold out by 3-4pm, so gotta be an early bird!

Interior of the shop~

The shop space is rather small, which explains the queue as well…

But I believe the taste is definitely also the reason for the queue to be worthwhile (:

So small and cute! xD

It’s not my first time having chicken rice balls, but it’s definitely my first time trying the authentic chicken rice balls! The one I tried in Singapore was sooooo normal~

I kinda like it even though I expected it to be better, since everyone raved about it. But as compared to Singapore’s, this is much better and unique!

The rice is sticky inside and it has this pandan fragrance~
Just doesn’t taste like normal chicken rice (:

Spotted this Tart & Tart Bakery from the chicken rice stall and realised that it’s also one of the places which I found during my research! (It’s right behind the coffeeshop~)

And from what you can infer from the name, this shop sells a variety of tarts, from sweet to savoury!

So many that I didn’t know which to choose!

I was expecting mini tarts so that I can try different kinds, but they are all the normal tart size. So I decided to ask the staff for the most popular one, and she recommended this cheese tart~

I bought it despite not being a fan of cheese, and then I know why it’s popular. All I can say is cheesecake lovers will definitely like this! (:

Next stop was another popular dessert cum laksa place – Jonker 88!

It was even featured in 美食大三通 by the way!

Still don’t believe that it’s popular? Look at the queue after about 1 hour! Haha! You really need to be an early bird when it comes to good food xD

Chendol~

Too bad I’m not a fan of chendol or any other coconut milk stuff, so I kinda lose out when it comes to experiencing the Peranakan flavours in Malacca~

Explored other streets beside Jonker and there weren’t much actually. Most of the shops were closed probably because it’s a Saturday =/

Came by the Malacca River again (:

Life feels so simple to be living by the river! Haha!

Back to Jonker Street to get my durian puffs, which is also another must-try that I noted down! Just that I was waiting for the food in my stomach to get digested before trying…hehe.

Looks pretty! And you can already see the durian filling oozing out~

Unlike the durian puff at Four Seasons, this is the cream kind instead of real durian. But it’s awesome!!! ❤

The Malay Sultanate Water Wheel from across the river~

Spot the ship in the far!

Soooooo big~

Back to hotel and attempted to rest for a while due to the splitting headache, but it was quite a failed attempt. So I headed out again to explore on my own!

I really feel so much more freedom when doing things on my own (especially shopping!) because I can spend as much time as I want to browse, to choose, and to make decision (which usually takes quite long)!

No pressure from others waiting for you, nor will there any negative remarks or complaints that you don’t wanna hear. Somehow it’s also faster because you know which are the shops to skip (:

Went back to Dataran Pahlawan as I saw this really cuteeeee pair of socks the previous day but did not get it because it’s not cheap for a pair of socks. But I know I just have to get it in the end!

MAD CUTE RIGHT!!!

I even made the shopkeeper open all 3 sets to mix and match till I get the most perfect pair…haha!
Bee suit is the next! xD

I’ve always said that I wanna dress my baby into a bee next time (if I ever have one) and now I think I’m having the chance soon! HAHA! (Nope, I’m not pregnant! -.-”)

Walked around the mall again because I was still not convinced that it’s that small! LOL. I even walked to and fro different parts, trying to find the Carrefour because that’s the only part I missed from the map, but I realised it has closed down -_____-

View from the mall~

Decided to explore new places as well since there weren’t many other places to go. Malacca is mainly for sightseeing and the food, so other than Jonker Street and the malls, that’s about it =/

Explored this market place but somehow, I was the only Chinese there! For a moment I was like, “Oops! Is this some restricted-to-Muslim kind of places???” LOL. But actually I think it’s because they sell mainly the traditional stuff there~

Oh the traffic is quite a killer there and you’ll have a hard time crossing the streets -.- And if you think this is a jam, no, they are just cars parked in the middle of the carpark =/

Visited 1 of the tourist attractions – Menara Taming Sari though it doesn’t really interest me. It’s just like the Sky Tower in Sentosa which you can have a panoramic view of the place~
(It’s too high to be captured in 1 shot, but I realised the 2 pictures can be joined together somehow…haha!)

The Queen Victoria’s Fountain in the day (:

And the famous Christ Church Melaka as well~

Got a tourist to take this for me! Hehe.

And this is the clock tower, which is also located at the Stadyhus~

I just love the Malacca River!

Went back to Jonker Street‘s side because I was attempting to find the bean curd place that is recommended, but it was quite a failed attempt x.x

Stalls setting up for the night market~

Explored the roof of the hotel and it looks sooooo eerie!!!

Can you spot something there?! Omg!

Okay before the hotel sues me for defamation, I better make it clear that it’s just me pretending to be Sadako (again)…haha!

The jacuzzi at the roof looks pretty cool though!
Just that I always wonder how clean the water is, since it’s free to use for all who stays in the hotel :S

View from the roof!

Every time you see the Malacca River, you know what’s coming up next – Jonker Street (again)! Haha! Because it’s just after the river…hehe.

Back to the night market again because there really ain’t many places to visit unless you have a car =/
I miss the 冰糖葫芦 anyway! Haha!

This time round I tried from the other stall, which I think is the more authentic one because it’s exactly like what I had in Taiwan; the hard candy kind! ❤

Tried this durian crispy roll and durian spring roll as well although I wasn’t interested at first.
The idea of fried durian stuff just sounds rather disgusting to me =/

But it turned out that warm durian in the spring roll doesn’t taste too bad and the cold durian crispy roll is a little like durian ice-cream kind. Seems like anything with durian just wouldn’t go wrong…haha!

Mochi with red bean/green bean/sesame filling! It’s so nice that I even bought 1 box back for my brother, though it still tastes better when it’s fresh and soft! (:

Finished the night market earlier this time round and back to the hotel for an attempt to sleep at 10 plus! Haha! Cause I know I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep immediately, so I needed that 1-2 hours of “buffer time” to try to fall asleep xD

I guess it kinda works because although I don’t really know what time I finally fell asleep, I woke up the next day feeling much more energised!

26 June 2011 (Sunday)

Hotel breakfast again and I wanted hot Milo~
But I didn’t know if I can find it anywhere, so I ordered this overpriced hot chocolate instead =/

Attempted to find the bean curd place again (because I really wanna try the authentic Gula Melaka bean curd!) and even asked the polis police for direction… But after much exploration, I got to know from this noodle stall auntie that it’s quite far away D:

Back to Jonker Street once again for the last walk and to get my durian puffs as well…hehe. How I wish I could buy them back~

Goodbye Malacca River (:

Taken while waiting for the coach~

And finally back home!
It’s times like these that I start missing home, especially my bed! Haha!

Nonetheless, it’s still a pretty nice getaway especially when I’d tried so many delicacies!
But I think 2D1N seems enough for those who are not interested in sightseeing. Just be sure to go during Friday or weekend because that’s when the night market is open! (:

A short video of Malacca (day and night)! Enjoy~!

(via picsandquotes.com)