I had discussed with Akak to go on a trip to Melaka before I left for Europe. We had settled on last weekend as it’s currently school hols and it was also Abah’s birthday on Sunday. However, as Abah wanted to have some small ceremony done for his birthday on Saturday evening at the local mini mosque, we had to rearrange the trip to a day earlier.
Before braving the nasty Friday evening jam, we went for dinner at De Palma Hotel. Abah decided not to go to Melaka as my brother was coming from Johore so he drove separately to the hotel. We finally left the hotel at almost 10 and took the Ampang-Hulu Langat route before joining LEKAS highway. The traffic was heavy, I dare say it rivalled the festive season traffic. We finally reached Melaka at close to 1 am but spent considerable time locating our hotel in Little India – blame the one-way streets! My bro-in-law parked the vehicle at a nearby car-park and we immediately checked in for the evening.
After morning prayers on Saturday, I went for a morning walk. My nephew, el niño, came along and we walked along the river to the nearby Dutch Square, up the hill to St Paul’s and then back to the hotel. It was still deserted at 7.30 am and if you want to take pictures at the Dutch Square, this is the best time to do so. We went to search for breakfast after 8 am and then returned to the hotel to check out.
After checking out and loading the vehicle with our luggage, we walked by the river to the Maritime Museum. We wanted to go on a boat ride and the ticket counter is near the museum. The fare is RM10 for adults with MyKad and RM5 for children below 12. Foreigners pay RM15 per adult. The boat ride lasted around 45 minutes and we passed villages and the buildings at the waterfront. Some of the buildings have been painted to resemble the colours of Malaysia – and by this I mean the fruit, the local dessert, the different cultures… I enjoyed the boat ride.
It had gotten quite hot and humid by the time we finished the boat ride. We walked to Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street) and then turn to Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Walk). By then there were already a lot of people descending on the little narrow streets of the city. I do wonder how the city copes with its visitors and I do hope that the environmental impact of these visitors (including myself) is minimal. Or that the city and its good people are at least prepared to deal with it.
We sought advice from some tourist police on where to get the best asam pedas dish and walked to nearby Medan Samudera. There are some stalls at the food court on the first floor from which you can enjoy the local Malaccan cuisine.
We then walked back to the car-park and left. There was a long almighty traffic stretching all the way to the highway on the opposite side of the road, all trying to enter the city! I had in fact made one such trip myself during the March school hols (big mistake as I spent an additional hour on the highway to Melaka) so I know it’s not a good idea to go to Melaka during the day on a school hols weekend. I mean we left late at night and still encountered heavy traffic ourselves but nowhere anywhere as bad as that Saturday afternoon.
I can still see myself doing another trip to Melaka.
Before braving the nasty Friday evening jam, we went for dinner at De Palma Hotel. Abah decided not to go to Melaka as my brother was coming from Johore so he drove separately to the hotel. We finally left the hotel at almost 10 and took the Ampang-Hulu Langat route before joining LEKAS highway. The traffic was heavy, I dare say it rivalled the festive season traffic. We finally reached Melaka at close to 1 am but spent considerable time locating our hotel in Little India – blame the one-way streets! My bro-in-law parked the vehicle at a nearby car-park and we immediately checked in for the evening.
After morning prayers on Saturday, I went for a morning walk. My nephew, el niño, came along and we walked along the river to the nearby Dutch Square, up the hill to St Paul’s and then back to the hotel. It was still deserted at 7.30 am and if you want to take pictures at the Dutch Square, this is the best time to do so. We went to search for breakfast after 8 am and then returned to the hotel to check out.
After checking out and loading the vehicle with our luggage, we walked by the river to the Maritime Museum. We wanted to go on a boat ride and the ticket counter is near the museum. The fare is RM10 for adults with MyKad and RM5 for children below 12. Foreigners pay RM15 per adult. The boat ride lasted around 45 minutes and we passed villages and the buildings at the waterfront. Some of the buildings have been painted to resemble the colours of Malaysia – and by this I mean the fruit, the local dessert, the different cultures… I enjoyed the boat ride.
It had gotten quite hot and humid by the time we finished the boat ride. We walked to Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street) and then turn to Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Walk). By then there were already a lot of people descending on the little narrow streets of the city. I do wonder how the city copes with its visitors and I do hope that the environmental impact of these visitors (including myself) is minimal. Or that the city and its good people are at least prepared to deal with it.
We sought advice from some tourist police on where to get the best asam pedas dish and walked to nearby Medan Samudera. There are some stalls at the food court on the first floor from which you can enjoy the local Malaccan cuisine.
We then walked back to the car-park and left. There was a long almighty traffic stretching all the way to the highway on the opposite side of the road, all trying to enter the city! I had in fact made one such trip myself during the March school hols (big mistake as I spent an additional hour on the highway to Melaka) so I know it’s not a good idea to go to Melaka during the day on a school hols weekend. I mean we left late at night and still encountered heavy traffic ourselves but nowhere anywhere as bad as that Saturday afternoon.
I can still see myself doing another trip to Melaka.
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