Birthday Wonderland

I could still remember the excitement I feel every time it dawns on me that my birthday is nearing. I am always looking forward to it back then. Birthdays meant the whole world to me for not only does it offer me the spotlight for the whole day but it also gives me a feeling of being an inch closer to my dreams. Adulthood equates to an arena of possibilities. A bucket full of dreams. And that was where I want to dip my whole body in but obviously could not.

Adulthood. A big word. A wide world. My frustration as a kid. A distant reality. A place that could only be reached through time and waiting.

Alas, a few years and so, I am now here.

I have now made the first baby steps to adulthood’s steep, crooked and endless staircase.

Birthdays still stir my emotions but not anymore in the same way as that when I was a kid. The excitement is now gone and had now been replaced by a sense of urgency. Urgency to reach now for those dreams that were once distant realities. Urgency to now get moving for the time and place where I am now in is obviously the ideal time and place to actualize those dreams.

Birthdays, instead, are now like a painful and shrilly alarm of an alarm clock. What you could only do is press the snooze button and steal a couple minutes of sleep for stopping it, especially if you still could not muster enough strength to get up,  means suicide. Prolonging and impeding is all that you could do, for you yourself would not want, in any way, to be sucked all your life by the promising but lowly comfort of your comfort zone.

Birthdays now act as a reminder that the clock is a-ticking. That everything is now moving forward and moving fast. I hope I will find the courage to stop pressing the snooze button and just do what I have and want to do with my life soon. Soon, before the next alarm starts ringing again.

How to Spend your Afternoon in Melaka

Different is good. New is great. We always get so giddy everytime we get to set our foot in a foreign place. It is as if we will never run out of things to do, places to see, foods to eat, locals to meet, knick-knacks to buy, if pocket money would permit it but of course.

There are a lot of ways to enjoy a new place, a new town. But here is how we got to spend the rest of our day (see previous post) in the charming city of Malacca.

Hotel Hunting

Since we initially planned to stay in the city for the night, finding a reasonably priced but nice hotel topped our to-do list.

Jonker Street is teeming with shops and restaurants that would surely keep anyone occupied and energized for the rest of the day. Aside from this, Jonker Street is situated just a walk away from most of the tourist thronged attractions within the city. With all of these in mind, we made it a point to find a hotel close to it.

Adjacent to Jonker Street is Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock which houses The Baba House. Upon setting our foot inside the hotel, it is already noticeable from the lobby alone how deeply embellished with intricate designs the hardwood furniture found all over the hotel are.

photo credit. http://www.asiarooms.com/

Aside from their spacious and clean rooms, what I like most about the hotel is their very accommodating crew. We were greeted by a receptionist who is helpful and inquisitive enough in asking about what we need to make our stay with them more pleasurable and convenient. She was also the one who booked for us a cab which took us to Melaka Sentral at 7 in the morning the following day as cabs, according to her, could not normally be seen yet at that time of the day. Aside from this, she also asked the person in charge of the restaurant to come early the next day to prepare a little meal for us before we check out.

A night in their standard room with superior twin beds cost us just RM 128. All the rooms are fully equipped with air-conditioning, IDD telephones, color TVs, coffee/tea making facilities and WiFi connection.

Since I am more than contented with their service, I highly recommend The Baba House for your next Malacca getaway.

Indulge in History Goodness

I applaud the effort that the Malaccan government has given in preserving the limited artifacts left of their rich history which are now being showcased in the abundant number of museums found within the city. I only got the chance to visit two museums, specifically the Stadthuys which now houses the History and Ethnography Museum and the Malacca Malayan Sultanate Palace Museum found at the foot of St. Paul’s Hill but those visits got me an inch closer towards their colorful story.

If there is a particular museum in Malacca that you should not miss, that would surely be the one in Stadthuys. Beginning with the establishment of Malacca until those remaining years leading to their independence from those consecutive colonial rules, Stadthuys let you indulge bit by bit and step by step in all the things and events that had transpired throughout those years.

It also gives you a worthy glimpse of the history and the different aspects of the culture, such as wedding ceremonies, of the various ethnic groups that make up the whole of Malacca Society which includes the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Peranakan, Chitty and Eurasians.

The ticket costs RM 5 each.

After completing Stadthuys, head on to Jalan Istana to see the replica of the Malacca Sultanate Palace.

Would you believe that the original Malayan Sultanate Palace which is three times bigger than this replica found in Malacca did not use a single nail in its construction? I could not imagine how is that so seeing how complex the design of the palace is from the outside but it is true!

The museum showcases structures and photos of a few of the grand Sultanate palaces of Malaysia as well as the life and lifestyle of some of the past Sultans. It also presents how the rooms and halls of the palace are being used back in those days.

The ticket cost RM 2 each.

I have this ever growing penchant for anything that comes from the past. I love museums for it gives me the feeling of being transported back in time. Both the museums I have went into are interesting. If only I have the luxury of time to go in and visit all the museums and read all the writings printed and put to accompany the photos and preserved items placed behind glass in their walls, hallways and rooms, I would have done so. You could easily get charmed and hooked by just reading their stories and if you are not mindful of your time, you could probably unknowingly spend most your day going in and out of their museums.

Enjoy the Panoramic View of the City and Cool Breeze at St. Paul’s Hill

It is nice to take a short break after indulging yourself in Malacca’s history goodness. Run along to St Paul’s Hill to catch a good view of the city from atop after you had imbibed the rich and extravagant life of the past Sultans caused by the intricate detailing and presentation done by the people behind the construction of the Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum.

St. Paul Church was built by Duarte Coelho, a Portuguese captain, and was initially named as “Nosa Senhora” or Our Lady of The Hill during their rule.

As Melaka had been colonized and taken over by the Dutch, the use of the church had also been changed. For quite some time, it served as a temporary praying place by the Dutch while their church, now known as Christ Church, is being constructed.

After it has been completed, the Dutch then turned this church as a graveyard and burial ground which explains the presence of tombstones and cages around the place.

Shop and hoard in Jonker Street

Do not wait for the sun to set down before going to Jonker Street. The shops found along the street close down as early as 7 in the evening. So, better eat your dinner and do your shopping before it is too late!

Take a River Cruise

What’s the best way to top off your journey? Take a river cruise and see the whole of Malacca once again in a different light.

After which, you could either go to Melaka Raya or Jonker Walk to have a drink or two and socialize or…

lie and sleep in your hotel room to rest off your wanderlust feet for the next day and dream the night away.

Difference and Similarity

Everything could be done in a lot of ways.

There are a lot of different ways to cry, to eat an ice cream, to jump, to read a book, to write an essay, to laugh but nonetheless, however different or unique of a way you might have done all of those, the bottom line is that you still cried, ate, jumped, read, wrote and laughed.

So, are we all the same? Could be but not quite.

A whole bunch of people might have seen what you saw, done what you did, heard what you heard, read what you read but nobody could ever see it, hear it, do it and comprehend it in the same way that you do.

And that’s one of the many reasons why I adore this world.

We are all the same banana but just with quirks.

Melaka: Morning Trishaw Ride within the City

I slowly opened my eyes to help it adjust to the surrounding’s brightness. It was already morning when I woke up. The sun had already risen.

As I lie there on the bench in the train station with my eyes open, it took me a moment to realize where I am. I immediately stood, woke my mom and my brother up after realizing that we are in Tampin and we have a bus to catch up and a place waiting to be explored.


It was a very quiet 20-minute walk from KTM’s railway station to the Tampin bus station. Aside from the bulk of vehicles that were passing by on the streets, a very few number of people on the sidewalk was all that I have seen.

Upon arriving at the bus station, we chose hands down the Tai Lye bus over the Salira one. The Salira bus was so rusty that it would give you an impression that it would not be long until it would eventually break down.

The bus ride cost us just RM 4.30 each but cost us a lot of time than expected! It took us approximately 1.5 hour to get to Melaka Sentral. A shockingly looong ride but it still bought us some time to relax before the day truly starts!

Upon setting our feet in Melaka Sentral, we immediately made our way into finding a taxi that would take us to Malacca’s center of attractions. I know how traumatic of an experience it is to sometimes ride a taxi in the Philippines but you do not have to worry of being priced unreasonably here in Malaysia even though the taxis here are not metered for the amount that the taxi drivers will ask from you is government-set. And besides, taking a taxi is still the best way to get to where you want to go if you are pressed for time.

Melaka Sentral, by the way, is the largest public transportation terminal in Malacca City and still a few minute ride from its main attractions. Finding a taxi to take you there is not really a tedious thing to do since taxi stands are present in the peripheral of the bus stations.

The taxi ride took us 15 minutes to get to the heart of the Malacca town and cost us just RM 15.
We were dropped off by uncle in Dutch Square, also called Red Square as the buildings surrounding the area are all painted in red.
  To start off, the buildings in the square used to be painted in white during the Dutch regime. It was only until the British colonial rule when the buildings were repainted to red; an order given by the British governor during those times.

The Red Square reflects the Dutch influence on Melaka. This lovely square is also a good point to start your journey as it already houses a lot of the many must-see attractions within the city which includes the Christ Church, Stadthuys, Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain, Tan Beng See Clock Tower and the Youth Museum.


Christ Church, which is an 18th century Protestant Church, is also known today as the oldest functioning Protestant Church in Malaysia. Like any other buildings that the Dutch constructed, this church was also built to satisfy their own needs to pray. Later on though, as the British took over Malacca, the British converted the Protestant Church into an Anglican Church. The bell and the weathercock found on top of the church were already added by them.
The Stadthuys was originally built as the residence of Dutch governors and Deputy governors alike. It now houses the History and Ethnography Museum of Melaka.  
Although we later found out that the attractions are just a short walk from each other, a visit in Malacca would not still be complete without a trishaw ride. With vibrant and fun-filled colours and ornamentals enveloping and engulfing the whole of each trishaws, these rides will surely be hard to miss.

A trishaw rented for a single hour used to tour you to other city attractions would cost you RM 40 and could accommodate 2 people each.

The trishaw ride brings you first to the place where River Cruise and the Maritime Museum are located.
We got to see the Eye on Malaysia from here. It was temporarily closed when we went there.
 
The second stop of the trishaw ride brings you to St. Paul’s hill which houses this small gate and Malay Sultanate Palace on the bottom of it, Dutch graveyard found in the middle of the hill and St. Paul’s Church on top of it.
One of the most visited sites here in Malacca is this gate, Porta de Santiago, which once served as a gateway from the outside world to the mighty fortress of A Famosa. A Famosa once hold the grandeur during the Portuguese rule but eventually lost its splendour after it has been passed from one colonial rule to another; to the Dutch and finally to the British. The fort nearly reached its total demise when the English government ordered for its destruction but because of the intervention of Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, and his penchant for history, this small gate was spared from devastation.
 
Since we mainly used the trishaw to see the location of all the attractions there are so that we could just go back and savour all of it later in the afternoon, we still had some time left before the hour allotted for us ends. To maximize what we had paid for the ride, we instead asked uncle to bring us to a place where we could satisfy our hunger.


During the ride back though, we noticed that we can only see a very few number of people walking in the streets. We asked uncle how is that so given that it is already 11 in the morning. Most of the cities that I had been to are already busy during this time of the day but this particular city does not seem to go with the flow. He said that it is because they only have a fairly small number of people living in this city. Checking their statistics, the population of Malacca Town is just bordering around 455, 300 people as of 2007.

Uncle led us to the infamous Jonker Walk teeming with stores cum homes of the owners of these stores placed side by side with each other. The stores owners are just starting to open and put up their stores when we arrive there; an indication of how luxurious and good their lives are.

Jonker Walk along Jalan Hang Jebat Street is a heaven for antique, shop and food lovers alike. During weekend nights, including that of Fridays, this particular street becomes very busy and lively as Jonker Walk converts into a pedestrian mall or night market.  

Restoran Famosa Chicken Rice Ball, along Jonker Walk, caught our undivided attention as the exteriors and interiors of it, which could also be seen from the outside since it is open for fresh air, are painted in bloody red. Although the restaurant offers the usual dishes of chicken rice and the like, an interesting alternative for your rice are the chicken rice balls! There’s nothing special about it really aside from the fact that the rice are molded into balls.


Their very diverse cuisine is another thing to look out for when you are in Malacca. You could have a choose among Malay, Chinese, Nyonya (which incorporates Chinese ingredients with Malay spices), Portuguese and Indian (Chitty) food.
 
A meal would not be complete without tasting their yummy Cendol. This shaved-ice dessert maybe a nationwide favorite but Malacca claims to have the best Cendol in the country. This might go back to the fact that Malacca had once been the palm sugar capital of the region; palm sugar serves as the dessert’s base ingredient.

Our morning in Malacca ended upon going out of the restaurant feeling obviously fuller than before.

So far, so good.