melaka day trip

i am back! and i have totally enjoyed the trip although the excitement of the trip seemed to go downhill as the days passed. the first day was the best because there was just so much to see and do in melaka. and oh, walked we did, till our legs were sore, clothes soaked with buckets of sweat and stomach filled with scrumptious food.

my journey started at 1a.m. when i boarded the bus in tm. managed to get a little sleep in the bus although it was uncomfortable. we reached melaka before 5a.m. but we did not get out of the highway. official time reaching the city centre was 7.30a.m. dun ask me why we had to set out that early to melaka. i was only one of the paid customers on board. but oh-boy, was i glad i did my homework before leaving and i had my printed map along. i played guide to a group of 22 who decided to follow me (the other group consisted of 2 adults and 14 teens).

weather was perfect albeit a bit too hot. the sun was bright and there were only some clouds in the sky. luckily i brought my umbrella along. haha....sediakan payung sebelum hujan.

this was my transport to melaka...nooo...not the BIG one. the grey on at the bottom. haha...the bus was parked here the whole day and we actually passed the bus twice in our rounds of the city. i did not realise melaka city is this small. well, it makes it perfect for walking tours. the tourism dept should have a walking tour map of the city.

we did not go to the maritime museum because it was not open when we were there. it was only opened at 9a.m. so we decided to go photo taking before the places got crowded.

Maritime Museum is constructed after 'Flora De La Mar', the Portuguese ship that sank off the Coast of Malacca on its way to Portugal. With its hull laden with invaluable treasures seized from Malacca, the ship was doomed from existence had it not for the efforts to Malacca's heritage. At the museum, visitor can get a closer look at Malacca from the famed Malay Sultanate of the 14th century to the Portuguese era, the Dutch era and the British era. There are exhibits of foreign ships that had once called at the port of Malacca during the height of its maritime hegemony.
we walked towards the stadhuys and on the way we passed this fort. i think this was discovered not long ago when they were doing digging work for the quayside project. it was located strategically next to melaka river.

they have also built this water mill (??) next to the fort. it replicate those used in ancient time.

aah...the beautiful clock tower and whatsitsname fountain on a beautiful sunny morning.

The Stadthuys (1650) was the official residence of the Dutch Governor. It now houses the Historic Museum and Ethnography Museum which has many traditional bridal costumes and relics on display. Nearby, one will also find the Christ Church built in 1753, another fine example of the Dutch architecture

i remember reading somewhere the name of the fountain, but i really can't remember which page. it is gorgeous.

The Christ Church was built in 1753 by the Dutch to commemorate a century of their rule. It still stands today in Malacca city, a landmark of fine Dutch architecture.

from stadhuys we made our way up st paul's hill. it was so quiet and pristine as we were the only group there. aaah...to be in the midst of history and the past.

On top of St. Paul's Hill is the St. Paul's Church, once the prayer house of the Portuguese Catholics, then turned into burial ground for their noble dead by the Dutch. The tombstones have Latin and Portuguese inscriptions on them. St. Francis Xavier was buried here in 1553 before his body was moved to Goa in India.

then it was downhill to this recognisable landmark of the city: a'famosa. love how the colour of the brick is reflected in the sun.

After the Portuguese captured Melaka, they built a fortress to defend themselves. The fortress, called A'Famosa suffered severe destruction during the Dutch invasion. What's left today is just the entrance walls, still well preserved till today

and the day was still early. it was not even 9a.m.!!! we decided to sit around this area while waiting for the next attraction to open at 9. everyone was glad for the recess and time to wipe away all the sweats while quenching our thirst.

admission price is rm2 for adult. i managed to get discount for our group and we only paid rm1 each...psss....i got free entrance. hehehe...

A replica of the Melaka Sultanate palace was reconstructed at the foot of St. Paul's Hill. The design is based on the description of the palace from the sixteenth-century 'Malay Annals,' or 'Sejarah Melayu.' It is the only building of its kind in Malaysia, and it provides a rare glimpse of the ancient Malay kingdom that once flourished here. The palace houses the Malacca Cultural Museum, which includes many artifacts of that kingdom.

the palace is more impressive on the outside actually. inside, it was not as impressive and i thought the curator (??) did quite a shoddy job. they had mannequins in traditional customes, but the fabric used was not of real top-notch quality one. you can see frayed seams and colours fading on them. what a shame.

some of the exhibits inside. it was cool in the building- air-cond and fans. we were reluctant to go out but we finished exploring in 40 mins. we managed to linger till 10a.m.

next stop: menara taming sari.

yes, you have to pay to enter the revolving platform. the published rate is rm20 for adult. i think they only charge rm10 for malaysian and you have to show your id. me? i had discounts again. haha...the group paid rm7.20 each while my ticket was rm8. phew!

eye on malaysia from the top of the tower. with the tower providing all the bird's eye view, who need the wheel?

we enjoyed the ride and it was not bad for the price we paid. for rm20, no way.

Officially opened for business on the 18th of April 2008, Menara Taming Sari is the first and only gyro tower in Malaysia so far. Measuring 110 metres in height, its revolving structure offers a 360-degree panoramic view of Malacca town and beyond.
Located in the popular district of Bandar Hilir on Jalan Merdeka, only 3 minutes’ walk from Mahkota Parade Shopping Complex and Dataran Pahlawan Megamall, the tower is named after the Taming Sari keris, a mythical weapon said to possess mystical powers belonging to the legendary Malay warrior, Hang Tuah. Even the structure’s design follows the shape of the keris, with the peak of the tower resembling the its hilt.
Built using advanced Swiss technology, the tower’s structure is reportedly tough enough to withstand earthquakes measuring up to 10 on the Richter scale. Able to accommodate 80 people per viewing session, which lasts about 7 minutes, the glass cabin hypnotically revolves as it rises from the ground to the top of the tower.

then it was food time. everyone was very hungry due to the dawn-breakfast. where did i bring them? gosh, i had a food list in hand and i managed to go to 3 out of the 5 i had listed. consider that good because we only started food hunting for lunch.

okok...all the food will come in the next post. they deserve their own post....yummy....wait ya....

since we were around the old part of the city, we walked walked walked around jonker and jln tun tan cheng lock admiring all the intricate baba-nyonya heritage style buildings.

the diversity makes it so unique. each lot is different from the one before but unfortunately not all are well-preserved. we wondered if some were even occupied. what a pity.

we went into a malaccan house selling all sorts of antiques. i was hoping to visit baba-nyonya heritage museum but waaa.....it was closed!!! the external building is beautiful though. sigh!

by this time, our clothes were really soaked. luckily those with me followed my every step. my legs were in as much pain as theirs. luckily i had my running shoes on.

we decided then for another rest. it was time for a cruise of the melaka river. price- rm10 per person. no discount. hmmhh!!!!

the cruise is 45 mins long...yeah....45 mins of getting the butt on a seat. some even slept in the boat. who wouldn't? with the sound of the engine and the lull of the breeze. i wanted to as well, but i had to stay awake for the rest of the group.

i was slightly disappointed by the ride. there was actually nothing much to see. well no rubbish either but the stink is still there. i did not know the name of the places we passed by because there was no board or whatever information. no audio or video information on the boat too. we knew we saw a lot of water geckos (??) along the river. more need to be done to make this cruise a must-do in melaka.

then we headed to one of the new malls in front of the independence memorial to buy some food and drinks before the time to get back on the bus came.

at 4, time to go...phew! what a long day. we checked in at garden city service apartments, about 3 mins by bus. we booked 2 3-room apartment and it was quite comfortable.

we came out again at 6.30 after some of them freshened up. i did not even bother taking a bath! i had no change of fresh clothes. i only bought enough for 3 days. haha...just washed my face. after all, we are going to get sticky and wet again looking for my dinner haunt. why bother.

for dinner, my group has become smaller. the rest decided to be at mahkota parade while i walked yet again to look for food. there were only 11 including yours truly for dinner. those who followed me in the morning could not walk anymore. sigh...so lousy. but those who followed, grumbled while we asked for directions and kept complaining when we were going to reach, etc. but when we reached, all was forgotten and we had the best meal of the day. they bragged to those who did not go about what they had missed. no pain, no gain i guess.

yawn, i will continue tomorrow.

*the descriptions in brown are from melaka.net and www.malacca.ws