Weekend trip to Melaka

Melaka River - simply mesmerizing

Family room at My Friends Guest House

Two days ago, I went on a weekend trip to Melaka with my sister, Anjanette and cousins, Enid, Edna and Joyce. Took a bus with my sis from Larkin bus station and arrived at Melaka Sentral in about 2 hours plus. Our main focus was at Jonker Street so we booked a family room at My Friends Guest House. It was actually the Hakka Association building and was located on Jalan Kubu, which was around 5-minutes' walking distance from Jonker Street. Took us awhile to find the place by asking around and using maps. It was worth it anyway because we got a cheap rate and the place was decent and clean. They also had parking space within the building and a water cooler! That means free water refill! Wouldn't mind staying there again. It was also especially nice to have all 5 of us in the same room so we could bond. :)

My sis and I reached earlier so we decided to walk around. She has been to Melaka a few times before so she showed me around the place. The Melaka River was a real beauty with the wall art of the buildings and the cruise. We walked along it for a short distance before going to Jonker Street. We then rented bicycles there and pedalled to the big water wheel and then to the forts. It was nice to touch the huge bricks and feel something so historical. We also took the stairs up St.Paul's Hill and the fort up there was amazing plus a lovely view.

Part of the view from St Paul's hill

There were also many talented musicians, artists and stall owners earning their living there. We had fun taking pictures and my sis even got me a jump shot. :D After that, we went to the Melaka Sulatanate Palace museum and park. That place brought my history lessons to life! Loved the real life models and different costumes of the Malaysian states. It just felt so surreal to be in a place the royals once lived in centuries ago.

Cycling was especially fun where I followed my sis as she brought me around and oh, to move faster than walking and have the wind in your face! :))
Also got sunburnt but that is just plainly because I got too lazy to apply sunblock. Know better next time!

Maritime museum

Jonker Street was packed with tourists and we did not get to eat the Hainanese chicken rice balls at Chung Wah, which had a super long queue but we went to Hoe Kee, as recommended by Enid, the next day, which had a shorter queue. Even though they ran out of rice balls, we ate normal chicken rice and my, the chicken was tasty! Some people might mind that it was oily but I think it affects how it tastes in some ways. 

Jonker and its good food, we tried a cendol but it wasn't palatable to us. Need to research on cendols!

More good food and long queues at the Ban Lee Siang satay chelup on Saturday night. It was a steamboat style meal and they charge by number of sticks. It was definitely worth the wait and I really like the gravy. There was also a good variety of food to 'chelup'. Funny how this meal helped us find out that my sister and I were the ones who ate 'kerangs'. Our cousins didn't like the smell of it. 

Satay chelup

Saturday night at Jonker Street was packed as the stalls for the night market sprang up and the whole place was filled. I am so glad we went back there. We bought food and souvenirs and I noticed the coconut stalls had a good crowd! It was also nice that the stalls were mostly open even till 11.30 pm!

That night, we were kind of tired but my sis bought cards earlier in the day so she and Enid insisted we play cards to bond, sleepy or what! My, I am glad we did! It was a vital time of fun and bonding with each other. We played Bluff and the choose-your-animal version of Snap. It was so funny and we laughed so much. I love these sessions.

We had nyonya kuih for breakfast on Sunday. Our cousin brought us to this famous back alley shop called Baba Charlie. It opens 10.30 am to 3 pm every day, except Thurdays (note to self when I go to Melaka again). I was overwhelmed at the amount of kuihs they were making and selling there! It was an incredible variety; some kuihs I have never heard of. We like the Nyonya Chang best as it was a delight to find sweet meat in glutinous rice, Nyonya style. We tapau-ed most of the kuihs and brought them home. Mom loved the apam with dodol inside. :D

Nyonya kuih making. Most of the kuihs sold were in another room.

We then headed for the Upside Down House at Bandar Hilir. It was located at Plaza Mahkota but we ended up going to Mahkota Parade, a shopping mall and it was the wrong place. Plaza Mahkota turned out to be the blocks of shops beside the mall. We found the place in no time, thanks to helpful shopkeepers. Bought tickets and queued to enter. We had lots of fun at the house and the staff were helpful in helping us pose for the best upside down 'illusions' and took the pictures for us. You can see how people get creative and let their ideas come out at this place! 

We then drove to the famous Klebang Original Coconut Shake about 2 km from Bandar Hilir. Another long queue, but worth it! We all enjoyed it very much. The shake was creamy and not too sweet, just nice and priced at only RM2.70 a cup! A must try!

perfect on a hot sunny day

It was a short 2D1N trip but everything was not too far so we covered a lot and I enjoyed it very much. Most of them have been to Melaka before so they generally knew where to go and I got to enjoy all the good things without wasting time at all! The whole mix of culture, food and tourist fun was simply refreshing and made it a wholesome and really enjoyable trip. More importantly, I got to know my cousins better and even though I was a bit shy around them on the first day, not having met them in a long time, we got comfortable fast enough and were laughing away in no time. I really thank God for the awesome weather throughout the whole trip and for everything from safety to our blessed bonding sessions. I will also be eternally grateful to my sis for organizing this trip, knowing how bored I am at home this holidays! I have also learnt from this trip, that queueing is worth it sometimes. After all, the attraction is famous for a reason! I also learnt from my sister that asking for directions is a good thing. The locals were helpful and friendly and their warmth somehow made the trip nicer and more pleasant. A little kindness does make a difference!