Emotionally Advised

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

hello

** Warning: Be Prepared for a Duper Long post ! **

it's my update on:
last saturday (november 3rd)

2 Days 1 Nite

FREE & EASY trip to Malacca !! :D

Malacca's Map

my parents and I reached Singapore- Johor Express terminal ard 7+pm, where the Bus gonna leave at 8am.

our sitting was at the LAST row of the bus. LOL

the bus trip was freaking lOoong .. 4+ hours ! zzz
so we reached Mahkota hotel ard 2pm (-_-)

let's take a peek of the the In-View

The whole hotel was basically very similar to concept of a chalet.

view taken from my unit's balcony

tada~~

very apartment/chalet-like right? haha~

see? the bedroom is over there!! .. check out my matching curtains~! :P

and the kitchen is over there !! LOL

random

Place of Interest:

--Porta de Santiago --(A Famosa Fortress)

The Porta de Santiago is one of the four main gates of the A Famosa fortress. It was built by the Portuguese in 1512 under the command of Alfonso de Albuquerque, the leader of the Portuguese army that seized Malacca in 1511.

For almost 150 years, this magnificent fort had successfully protected the Portuguese position in Melaka, until it was overrun by the Dutch. It was damaged during the attack, but the Dutch later repaired and renamed it VOC with an embossed emblem. But unfortunately what is left until today is nothing more than a gateway called Porta de Santiago.

spotted those trishaw in the photo below? haha.. so different compared to singapore's right ?!
these are the Melaka Trishaws ... somehow are modernized decoration on old transportation. Hahaz~

Trishaw, also known as tricycle rickshaw is undeniably one of the unique attractions in Melaka. From what I’ve been told, most of the tourists will be amazed on the efforts of decoration put on the trishaws in Melaka. They're all decorated with lotsa florals and bells and some other colorful decorations + blazing with LOUD music. lol

Porta de Santiago

During the age of Dutch occupation in Melaka, the Porta de Santiago was not only renamed to VOC, but reconstructed to bear the coat of arms of the Dutch East India Company as well. Until today, the company crest is still significantly seen on the gateway.
So practically all the visitors coming to Melaka will have a visit to the Porta de Santiago. This gateway is such a significant symbol in Melaka that ur traveling trip to Melaka is never considered worthy without complemented with a visit to Porta de Santiago.

After all, Porta de Santiago has accompanied the historic Melaka throughout its glorious days, to the time when the Sultanate cosmopolitan empire faded its status, following up by foreign colonization in Malaya, till today that Melaka has been part of the independent nation Malaysia for tens of years.

Haha where's the location of The Porta de Santiago, you must be asking me..

well, it's situated at the foot of St. Paul’s Hill of Bandar Hilir, and directly facing the Dataran Pahlawan Megamall :)

okie dokie~ Let's climb up to the top to visit another attraction!

-- St. Paul’s Church --

At the Porta de Santiago of A Famosa Fortress, looking up to the summit of the hill, you could easily spot the sights of ruins surrounded by thick bricks. The ruins known as St. Paul’s Church situation at the summit of St. Paul’s Hill, which is another valuable heritage structure found in Melaka. The St. Paul’s Church is easily accessible via a stairway on the gentle slope of St. Paul’s Hill.

The St. Paul’s Church of Melaka was originally a Portuguese chapel built by Duarte Coelho in 1521, in gratitude to Our Lady of Grace for a miraculous escape from an attack on his ship by a fleet in the South China Sea. This chapel was known as Chapel of the Mother of God or Our Lady of the Hill

did you see the many tombstones in the photo below?

why issit so?

Well in 1641, the Dutch took over Melaka from the Portuguese, renamed the chapel to St. Paul’s Church, and used it as their praying place until they completed the construction of their own church - Christ Church.

That's why when the Christ Church was established, St. Paul’s Church became a Dutch graveyard with monumental tombstones scattered around.

I walk this empty street .. On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone ..

Birdie's Eye Views When I was heading down the slope of stairways from St. Paul’s Church of Melaka

see! I caught a shot of the trishaw again.

haha.. cute ain't it?

Next, Shopping Attraction:

-- Dataran Pahlawan Megamall --

Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall is a new retail, entertainment & gourmet centre located at the core of Melaka's heritage area - Bandar Hilir, directly opposite the famous Porta de Santiago fortress.

It is built on the field called Padang Pahlawan, the place where Malaysia's Father of Independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman, made his official historic announcement about the success of gaining independence for Malaya from the British government.The Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall project is the largest shopping mall in the state.

location?? : Opposite Mahkota Parade ( which is another shopping centre across Mahkota hotel which i stayed in. hahaz~)

So far, there’s nothing much attractive for photoshooting at Dataran Pahlawan yet coz it was just NEWLY OPENED not long ago. hahaz

The photo below was actually the re-furnished of Malaysia’s Vision 2020 Time Capsule. The main hibiscus-like Time Capsule remains its physical appearance as it was before. However, there’s an addition of fountain and wall sculptures now.

and btw the wall sculpture is Sculpture of multiracial Malaysia and also Sculpture of Zheng He (Cheng Ho) , a famous Chinese mariner.

yay~ I bought a chocolate chip Waffle IceCream at Dairy King.

oiishi ! .. no.. i should say: ''Sedap!''

huahuahua~ ;)

Next attraction:

-- Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat) --

Jonker Street, Jonker Walk or Jalan Hang Jebat .... these names are actually referring to the same narrow street located in Melaka Chinatown which is so called melaka's Pasar Malam opening from around 6.00pm to 12.00 midnight.

Jonker Street, houses some of the Melaka’s oldest dwellings or houses dating back to the 17th century, is also informally known as the antique street. The antique shops here are featuring artifacts from different periods of colonial rule – Portuguese, Dutch, and British.

Some of the local residents who own a house in Jonker Street, are also participating in this activity by converting the house into a premise, such as food stall, which allows visitors to enjoy the delicacies while gaining a chance to have a first hand experience on the unique architectural design.

for dinner that day, we went to Nancy Kitchen along Jonker Walk :D

singapore has one Nancy Kitchen too... if i didnt remember wrongly. hahaz~

so Nancy Kitchen sells purely Nonya Food.. 80% all spicy.

and usually for Nonya restaurants .. they are always the concept of a 'Home cooking style'.. a small restuarant room with not many sits and tables, walls hanging with Nonya Baba's photos and cultural decorations + everything are small plates, and very homey !

(-_-) i don't really like spicy stuffs .. but i still enjoy all the damn spicy dishes la.. was quite nice :)

Dishes We ordered:

Balacan KangKong, Rendang Chicken, Prawn CurryStew with Pineapples, Fish Maw Meatball soup, OtahOtah, Chendol for dessert :D

Besides, some of the Chinese clan and dialect associations are also organizing activities in their respective buildings during weekends for visitors. These activities include dancing classes, Chinese classical instrumental shows, and karaoke sessions. In order to encourage touristy activities being held at Jonker Street, a permanent stage is also built at the end of the street for performances.

i squeezed through the crowd.. and saw folks dancing line dance. haha !

The Jonker Street is not only known for its cultural attractions and unique building architectures, but delicious foods and local delicacies as well. Being day or night, Jonker Street or Jonker Walk, the street is full of a number of shops and cafes selling a wide variety of foods and beverages.

before we turn left to the alley heading to 'Nancy Kitchen' ... you will see 'The Geographer Cafe' which was located at the middle of the street is especially known among the foreign visitors, for its happening live bands on Friday and weekend nights. Besides, there’s also a shop called Jonker Dessert located diagonally opposite the Geographer Cafe, which is known for its Baba Nyonya delicacies.

okie this was one of the mobile stall which i spotted .. caught my attention along Jonker walk.

Chye Tao Kueh ! aka Radish Cake aka Kuih Lobak.

the queue of people buying it was DUPER long ! ... and you can simply just smelt the radish cake fragrant from a far distance!! soooo sedap ! :D

and as i continue to walk along... there's some other fried radish cake stalls nearby too. no queue at all. LMAO!

spotted a comedy wushu performance as we were walking outta Jonker walk.

tat man or should I call 'master'.. performed to show how strong he is.

but the main purpose of the performance lead to..... asking people to buy his medicated Oil.

erm.. ahha as the performance ended.. the crowd.... all gone with the wind. haha.. ain't it like typical singaporeans? LOL !

oh yes... there's some singing competition held for residents on the central stage of Jonker walk that time too. Interesting and fruitful!

ahhaz~ i stood there watching the competition for quite a while... erm.. the female competitior at that moment sang RainieYang's "暧昧". totally offkey like anything.

I'm serious. Even I have the confidence saying this: " ALL the Solo competitors (including those who was already Out during the audition round for NYP's Orion or Voiceout.. Everyone can win her. hahaha)

during the night.. my parents all slept in their room le.

me? WAHAH.. standard. lie in living room watch Telly till late midnight. huahuahua~

but malacca's telly channel not much to choose la .... yikes~ boring !

no singapore channel ... 2 local malay channel, 1 ESPN, 1 China's 凤凰卫士中文台(most of the time all news reporting. boo), 1 Japan Channel ( renick sure will love it (-.-'') ), 1 Disney Channel

so end up, unexpectedly.. I watched Disney Channel. LOL!

not bad. haha..so many cartoons for 24hrs! I watched quite a number + cartoon Movie "The Bugs Life"..... hahaha~ good thing was that there's no Power Ranger .. if not i off tv. heh !

Sunday (November 4th) Day2

buffet in Mahkota Hotel's Cafe ! yayness~ ^^

but compared to the breakfast buffet I had during HaiNan's trip.. Mahkota has lesser food varieties. I can't find my Salad Bar, my yoghurt, my dimsum station. haha~~

well duh ! coz that time at HaiNan.. i was staying in Resort. Resort usually have vry nice services.. As if you're in Hawaii. marvelous man :D

danish and pasteries for me ! :)

my ultimate cornflakes !

after our hearty breakfast, we headed off to jalanjalan ! (don't worry we didnt lost our way. hee)

see! The building you see in the photo below was Dataran Pahlawan Megamall.

my parents were way ahead of me as I was examining and taking this shot.
Hmm I think this suppose to be a well or something.

but i thought it was cool with that 'Church-Cross-alike' metal stuff.( or issit actually so?) ..

ahha~ nevertheless... cool stuff.

Place of Attraction:

--Muzium UMNO Melaka--

well we didnt really went into the musuem. hahaz only visited those artifacts displays along the whole place.

I felt so tiny all of a sudden. lol

I hope the plane model which I took photo with.. was A380 Air Bus. haha !

why's the train blocking our way ! :(

byebye peeps! I'm boarding this Train heading to Neverland :P

If I lie here.. if I just lie here

would you lie with me... and just forget the world?

haha.. if you would. you're nuts ! for the next moment .. you'll be rundown by the train and dead like a wood log.

I spotted Tourism Polices on duties.. riding on Horses instead of their police cars! ain't it cool? :D

Place of Interest:

-- Christ Church Melaka --

The red-coloured Christ Church was built during the Dutch occupation, began construction in 1741 and completed in 1753. The Christ Church is recognized as the oldest functioning Protestant church in Malaysia. Yes, it is still being used today!
During the age of British occupation, the Christ Church was once converted for Anglican use.

Until today, the Christ Church is solidly maintained as undamaged, and the ceiling rafters are still remaining strong as when it was first built.
Worth a note, that the brass Bible inscribed with the first verse of St. John in Dutch, old tombstones inscribed with Armenian script incorporated into the floor, and a picture of ‘Last Supper’ in glazed tiles are also found in the Christ Church! :D

omg.. I realised one of Malacca's hip trend now is Spongesbob.. coz whereever I went... be it shopping malls or tourist attractions ... those TOONES of yellow spongies can be found everywhere! zzz

I was looking at Patrick .. I thought of mossy suddenly :)

you know why you see windmill in malacca?

because Dutch took over here for a period of time in the past.. therefore this windmill represented dutchmen! :)

mom and I

I thought I was in dutch for a moment.

B-E-A-U-TIFUL :D

Place of Interest:

-- St. Francis Xavier Church --

The construction of Gothic-towered St. Francis Xavier’s Church was initiated by a French priest, Father Farve in 1849. This church, dominated the skyline of the old-town of Melaka, is dedicated to St. Francis Xavier (Apostle of the East), the pioneering Catholic missionary of Southeast Asia in the 16th century. For a very long time, it was the largest church built by the MEP (Paris Foreign Missionary) in the Malay Peninsula.

Until today, it is still serving as a functioning Catholic church, holding regular mass services. However, as the church has been around for more than a century, it is leaning a bit towards the right.

Place of Interest:

-- Meleka River --

Melaka will never be gifted with the glorious history in the past without the existence of Melaka River (Malacca River). It signifies the emergence of Malay Sultanate of Melaka, it marks the beginning and ending of each war, it was one of the main factors attracted foreign colonization, and it was the place where Melaka began. Through hundreds of years of fading memories, the history remaining a fact, while Melaka River was changing its role from a busy major port along the spice-route to tourism spot which tells the story. Interestingly, the Melaka River once was dubbed as “Venice of The East” by European seafarers who are out in search of new conquests in East of India.

Meleka River

mom and I

shot taken along the road.

this way to Muzium >>>>

and... this way to the Stadhuys too! >>>>

'The Stadhuys' is another place of interest too. It's also the RedHouse just next to Christ Church Melaka ( if you're not sure which one.. scroll back .. it's the building with the clock)

Dutch Square, also known as The Stadthuys, was once a centre of the Dutch administration in Melaka and housed the quarters of its governors and officers. This red building was built between 1641 and 1660 on the ruins of a Portuguese fort, by using bricks imported from Zecland, and is believed to be the oldest Dutch building in the East.

beetle Nut tree

Cafes along the street

view of Melaka River + St. Francis Xavier Church

looks alil' like Chinatown isn't it?

some ulu ulu buddhist Temple

LOL! I walked pass this colorfully painted house.. and It caught my attention.

on lefthand side of the house was painted "Give Piss a Chance"

middle wall was painted "PEACE fool" with the picture of a finger bandaged.

and right wall was painted "Tattoo.... and this person's contact number".. i tink it's trying to say.. those who wanna do tattoo can contact that particular person who left his/her number on the wall.haha