It has been a really, really long time since I've been to Melaka. That was when I was still in Primary 6 ( if I'm not wrong ) which was 8 years ago.. It was a school trip and there are not many memories of the trip left in my mind. I've always wanted to revisit Melaka but I did not have the chance to do so until I'm in the university. If you don't know, Melaka is one of the attractive historical tourist sites in Malaysia with many well-preserved buildings that are over 500 years old. Also one of the smallest states in Malaysia, which is situated between Negeri Sembilan and Johor at the Straits of Malacca. Many friends and I had suggested that we go there for a day-trip or so since all of us are free during weekends. Our plan surprisingly worked on the 12th of April 2014 ( our plans rarely work, don't ask me why. ). We've rented another car to accommodate all 11 of us and we left to Melaka after we've sat for our Ethnic Relation test ( yes, a test on a Saturday.. ) and after we had picked up Wei Shan from Taylor's University and Regina from the Subang airport. Thanks to Joon Soon and Jason who were willing to drive all of us to and fro Melaka, which undoubtedly was very exhausting.
With Wei Shan & Regina!
Our first stop was the famous Klebang Original Coconut Shake. We also met up with Wei Jing there who is currently studying in Melaka. The place was crowded and it seemed like a mini ' Pasar Malam ' ( night market ) inside because various types of kuih and food are also sold there besides coconut shakes. Apparently, coconut shake is a must-have when you're in Melaka. Basically, it's just coconut milkshake with a choice of vanilla ice-cream. A good drink to replenish yourself during hot weathers but personally, I don't find it any special. A little overrated I would say.
Food such as nasi lemak, mee siam, karipap and etc. Thanks to Wei Jing for the treat!
The popular coconut shakes.
With Wei Shan and Regina again!
Our next stop was Mahkota Parade which is Melaka's first ever shopping mall. We went to try the Mille Crepes at Nadeje and it was good to me! The Mille Crepes can be compared to the ones in Humble Beginnings. The texture is dense, moist and flavourful. The place was also overpopulated. Seats are very limited and many people queued up for a table. Nadeje also has another branch situated in Kuala Lumpur!
Tiramisu Mille Crepe
Banana Chocolate Mille Crepe
Rum and Raisin Mille Crepe
Original Mille Crepe
Then, it was the not-to-be-missed Jonker Walk! It's actually a night market where you can find a variety of food, necessities, craft shops, paintings and also antiques. I was actually screaming in exhilaration on the inside when I saw the type and amount of food being sold there.. Don't judge. The number of people gradually increased as the night got darker and it was so congested to the extent that everyone had to walk in 'two way traffic' so we could actually move from one place to another. Regardless of that, it was certainly interesting and fun to experience the touristy cultural street.
*Scream*
San Shu Gong is a huge delicacy shop that sells many local products!
We passed by the Malacca River as we walked from Jonker Street to the Stadhuys Building. You can take a cruise with a fee along the river. You'll be able to see many landmarks from the cruise ride and if I'm not wrong, it takes approximately 30 minutes for a ride. The Stadhuys Building was built when Malacca was colonised by the Dutch and it is now preserved as a History Museum. We did not explore much at that place as we were quite famished already. Instead, we took pictures at the fountain in front of Christ Church and we went back to Jonker Walk for dinner.
Group picture!
The guys.
The girls.
We went to Gi Kiat Huay for dinner. It's a small quaint shop with a very well-maintained business that sells many popular Melaka food. The queue was long because of the limited seats but fortunately, the service was fast.
Baba Chendol and Baba Laksa which were superb!
I'm still missing the Baba Cendol which was served with a generous amount of Gula Melaka. Definitely going back to have it again! There are different kinds of Cendol and Laksa served there and you are certainly going to have a tough time deciding on what to order.
We decided to chill at the staircase by the Melaka River after a fulfilling dinner because we did not want to leave yet. We spent for almost 2 hours there, laughing and chit-chatting as always. The weather was cooling at night and it seemed safe to wander around that area too.
Joon Soon, Keith, Regina, Wei Shan and I decided to stay longer than the rest because it was rare for us to have a trip. We might as well make use of the time to explore more of Melaka. So, we decided to go to the beach ( yay! ) to chill again. Before that, I bought a few snacks at Jonker Walk to bring along to the beach because I got hungry again. Yes. I get hungry really fast and I still have no idea if it's a good thing till today. Oh well. And since I was already there, how could I pass up the opportunity to have those mouthwatering-looking food? I even thought that we had insufficient food hunts throughout the trip.
Look how crowded it was.
Portuguese Eggtarts! Favourite.
Siu Mai. Another favourite.
Siew Pau. Ok, every food is my favourite.
It's a pity that I was not able to take pictures of the beach as I left my belongings in the car for safety reasons. Besides, it was pretty dark already and one unappealing thing was, there were rats on the beach..... Nevermind about that. Overall, it was still a satisfying trip as we got to do so many things together. Time seems to go by exceptionally fast when we're having fun, aye? I will absolutely have another trip to Melaka soon and hopefully, the plan works again!
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Coming up next : A Trip to Melbourne - Part 1
