Me and my dear embarked on our first solo Malaysia trip. Solo as our previous foreign outings always have a large bunch of singapore bikers bringing me around, hence no fear of lost or bike breakdown or whatever...
The destination - Melaka. A small town in West Malaysia, known for it's touristy environment, Dutch/Portugese/Peranankan heritage and home of gula melaka, reknowned chendol and stuff nonya. All the photos here.
Before that, some preparaton required, namely
- what to do - www.melaka.net, www.singaporebikes.com
- what to eat - www.melaka.net
- where to stay - Hotel Puri, BaBa House, Riveria Bay, Aldy Hotel, Hotel Equitorial
- how to go! - From Hotel Equitorial website, From Hotel Puri website, using the Malaysia map that I have, and lastly invaluable advice from my biker kakis: 'exit Ayer Keroh, follow the Pusat Bandar sign!'
Day 1
Set off 8 PM from AMK. Went to Tuas and took the 2nd link. A quick pump at GP Esso, and off we go at average speed of 110-130 km/h. Fuel stop at Machap and Pagoh (though they were a precaution more than a necessity). Exit Ayer Keroh (no. 231) and followed the Pusat Bandar sign to Melaka. The roads from here onwards were all lit and traffic was actually quite brisk at 1130 pm. Reach hotel Puri and checked in! Drink tea, bathed, watch some cartoon then sleep...
Day 2
Woke up at 7+, had breakfast at Hotel Puri. For some reason ShuHann keeps popping into my mind, cos he's the only person I know that complain or rather expect some greatness from hotel's breakfast... Anyway, it was a buffet spread of fried mee, pancakes, wedges, bread and baked beans.
We then took a short tour of the hotel. The hotel is huge, although the front is only the width of a typical shophouse, It's long enough to house a basketball court! There are some nice antique and quaint furniture, but I'm most impressed by the swallows in the hotel. They were all busy, heads hidden in their nest and spitting saliva...yes, we saw bird's nest in the making!
Then we make our way on foot to the historical sight of Melaka. With places like A Famosa (cannons), Dutch buildings (all painted red!), some churches etc... However, all these were pretty...small scale, not as impressive as I though. Heck even Fort Siloso is slightly more interesting!
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| The famous Jonker street in early daytime. On weekends the roads are closed and there'll be a night market. |
St Paul's church. Pretty much old walls, stone carvings and a one handed Mr Paul. |
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| One handed Paul. Or is it Francis Xavier? |
Nope, those are not tombstones. No idea what they are. Old version of bill boards perhaps? |
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| View from the church, It's on top of a small hill... |
Guitar toting old man. Maybe it's the good acoustic? |
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| Red walls, as mentioned... |
Don't know why is this here, but you don't find this in Singapore! |
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| Dutch maritime musuem I think, disguised as a big ship. |
A Famosa - doesn't look as delicious as it sounds... Supposedly very old. |
Ah well, since it wasn't very interesting, we took a number of self-portraits for entertainment....
After this morning 'sun tan and stroll', we went back to Hotel Puri to check out (because they have no room for us this day) and transferred to opposite BaBa House. It was cheaper by RM 30, and it shows in the faulty WC, not so updated decor, CMI toilet (the toilet paper is located underneath the shower head! Use your blain use your blain!) and only 4 local channels on TV. But then location is just as good as Hotel Puri and we were not fussy as (and here he pops into my mind again) ShuHann...
For the afternoon itinerary, we decide to give our legs some rest and took the bike out. But first, lunch at Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball Restaurant.
er...whoever is going to Melaka, please try other stalls, like Chung Hwa just next to Hoe Kee... Because this spread (though filling and taste quite good) cost an exhorbitant RM31!! FISH!
THen we got lost a bit trying to find Bukit Cina, which we found out to our dismay is just a chinese cemetary on top of a hill. Yes more climbing! And we got further lost as we try to find Portugese Square, only to find that the square is actually a pub/restaurant/seafood place (something like Marina South) admist a true Portugese town...which only operate at night! At 2 pm, under the freaking hot sun, we decided to proceed to Makhota Parade, the biggest shopping mall in Melaka.
Well perhaps big in Melaka, but having experience MBK, The Mall in Korat or even the new Marina Centre, the Makhota isn't any fascinating. But I did purchase a model of MV Agusta SPR and...one box of underwear. Still, it's worth a visit and may take up to 2+ hours of your time, if given more attention. My dear isn't really a shopper though :-)
And it's bloody hot! Look at the tan on Jo's shoulder, although we're just in the sun for less than 4 hours!
So we decide to head back to the cool (but sparse) hotel room, with ice cold chendol to wash away the heat. Fell sleep after that..... Awoke at 7+ and head for the night market at Jonker's street
Once again, Melaka failed to amaze me...literally. Perhaps going to night markets in Thailand isn't a good way to get introduced to other night markets. Finished it in 20 minutes, went for dinner at this (from hotel's recommendation) restaurant called Ole Sayang along Jln Melaka Raya. It serves baba/nonya dishes. Taste good, but nothing spectacular. Although (thankfully) it's cheaper than the freaking chicken rice!
After dinner, decide to go back to hotel (it's really warm leh) and watch Shi Zi Lu Kou with a bottle of Heinekken!
Day 3
Next morning, checked out and came back to Singapore uneventfully (hotel breakfast quite pathetic though...). Though the trip may seem uninteresting and short of attractions to see, there are actually some spots which were planned but cancelled due to timing or weather. Maybe next time perhaps?
- Gedong hot spring (KNN so hot still go hot spring?)
- Umbai grilled fish (along road to Muar, 1 hr away!)
- A Famosa water theme park
- Beaches? Scenic place?
- Tesco and other shopping mall?
- Portugese Square at the right time
- Red light district? Nightspots? hehe...always interested in this..to look see only lah!
- More food tasting! Along Jln Melaka has many restaurants. Not to mention the weird stuff in Jonker area. Satay celap, pineapple tarts, more chendol, Baba and Nonya stuff...
Where to next? Genting? KL? Penang?
