It must have been more than a year since I last visited the historic Malaysian town of Melaka. During the years 2000 to 2005 we often visit Melaka every 3 or 4 months, usually to shop, makan and golf. My friend Bill had an apartment in Kampong Enam, near Gajah Berang, which is about 5 minutes by car to town. We had such good memories staying in the 5th storey apartment then. One of my friends told me that he couldn't sleep well in his own house after he returned from the Melaka apartment, because there were no more mosquitoes buzzing around his ears at night. We also missed the 6pm mass at St Peter's Church, the oldest Catholic church in Malaysia (1710).
So, on 10 Mar 2009, Grace and I took a drive to our favourite hideaway, with my friend KC and wife, starting at 6.30am and reaching the Singapore Immigration Check Point by 7am. Traffic on a week day was a breeze, and the immigration officer who checked our passports even smiled. Like a true blue Singaporean I had filled up my petrol tank the night before, with expensive petrol for fear of being caught with less than 3/4 tank full at the border. My friend Ah Loong who crosses the border twice a week told me he didn't bother about this rule. He goes in 1/4 full and comes back - full tank. "The guards don't check wan - they are too busy looking for escaped terrorist, Mas Selamat, even if you are caught the first time, they'll give you a friendly warning." How comforting - nice guards they are, still, it's better not test their friendliness to the limit.
Going through the new Johore Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex was quite easy although the road to the complex seemed endless. By 7.30am we were already on the Skudai expressway heading towards the North-South Highway. The first stop was Simpang Renggam town to savour the Bak Kut Teh. We managed to find the shop but it was closed for the day. The owner of this shop, seeing us so desperate for Bak Kut Teh breakfast, suggested that we patronise his competitor a few streets away. This we did, and we were not disappointed.
The drive on the N-S Highway was very pleasant as long as we kept to the speed limit of 110 kph, we had been warned of the many speed traps throughout the Highway. True enough when I spotted the warning flashing headlights of on-coming vehicles, I slowed down as it was a signal of a Police speed trap ahead. As we passed through the Police road block a few kilometres later, we felt good when we were waved through while a few other drivers who chose to ignore the warnings were detained.
At about 10.15am, some 3 hours after leaving Johor Bahru, we turned off the Highway at Ayer Keroh into Melaka town. I noticed many new buildings, and improvements to the buzzing town. The historic landmarks were still there, the red Dutch Christ Church, St Pauls' Hill, Mahkota Parade, St Peter's Church, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple and Tan Kim Hock building. The new Dataran Pahlawan mega mall, next to the old St Francis Institution, was already in operation and attracting lots of shoppers.
Our second makan place was the famous beef noodle and Melaka coffee at a coffee shop in Jalan Merdeka. After a quick meal, we drove to St John's Fort and the Portugese settlement. Next, we went to Chinatown in Jalan Bunga Raya and Little India at Jalan Bendahara. A visit to Melaka would not be complete without paying respects to Madam Kings' an old fashioned 4-storey shopping centre, where we bought a few household items. After a slow drive around the town to familiarise ourselves with the traffic flow, we checked into the Equatorial Hotel for a short rest, then we were on our feet again to window shop at the new Pahlawan mega mall which was just next to the hotel.
Time went by quickly, and our stomachs began to complain again - but 5.30pm was still early for dinner, so we decided to take a walk along the banks of the Melaka River. It was a very pleasant walk along the boardwalks amidst the cool fragrant smell of the afternoon breeze. The noxious smell of the old Melaka river was gone, the river now had marine life and plants on its banks. River taxis for tourists ply the length of the river. This was a pleasant change from the smelly mud-filled river of not so long ago.
Melaka has a long Nonya Baba, also known as Peranakan culture, history and tradition shown in its architecture, language and food. One cannot go away without tasting the famous Nonya cuisine. So we dropped by the Bull's Eye restaurant situated near the Renaissance Hotel for a taste of Nonya food. We had a pleasant meal in this little restaurant which had a few old antique pieces, an old typewriter, an electric hair curler and an ancient Singer Sewing Machine.. My friend told me that the Singer Sewing machine was a Russian product not British as I had thought.
Having satisfied the hunger, we now need to satisfy our shopping appetite, and how could we not go to the famous Makhota Parade, the first modern shopping mall built around 1995. By 9.30pm, our body started complaining of tiredness even though our wallets were still half full. Time to head back to the Hotel, but we still need to pass by the Newton food centre and the famous Bee Bee pineapple tart shop for nostalgic updates. Too tired for other night activities we hit the sack to be ready for an early start the next morning.
Next morning at about 8.30am, we drove out for breakfast at the famous local Tim Sum tea house at Jalan Hang Lekir. The old Tanjong Kling Mosque built in 1748 was just opposite this eating house. This old fashioned tim sum tea house was quite well patronised by local Melakans and the "large pau" was juicy and delicious. Jonker street,which is round the corner, is a must for visitors to Melaka. Here you will find many quaint antique and curio shops to browse around. About 100 metres from the tim sum tea house, we walked past the famous Cheng Hoon Teng Chinese temple built in 1645. The ladies shopped for batik and souvenirs while I managed to shoot a few pictures around Jonker Walk, it was very pituresque, with the Chinese New Year decorations spanning the sidewalks. I would have liked to drop by the famous Aik Cheong coffee shop where a large variety of Aik Cheong coffee blends were available, unfortunately it was not open for business at such early hours like 9.30 am.
The scorching heat was starting to get unbearable so we decided to head back to the shopping mall to do our last minute shopping before checking out of the hotel by 12 noon. Grace also had to see her old friend Elan the tailor at Jonker walk.
After checking out - were we ready to leave Melaka for home? no, we couldn't leave Melaka as yet. How could we leave without tasting the famous Hainanese chicken rice balls. After all, we still need to have lunch, so back to Jonker area to eat the Hainanese chicken rice balls. I spoke Hainanese dialect to the boss of the original stall, and we were like long lost brothers after a few words. If I had spoken to him earlier, I am sure he would've given us more balls. So fully satisfied and as the Peranakans would say "sudah Puas Hati dan Kam Guan ", we were ready to leave Melaka town, but we promised that we would be back.
We left Melaka at about 2pm taking the direct road to Muar as an alternative to the Highway. Muar was about an hour by road and the traffic was very good and road conditions had improved tremendously over the last few years. The drive was scenic and stress free. At Muar I drove round the town to get our orientation right before stopping for a bowl of Cheng Tng and Peanut Soup at the street vendor stall. We also stopped at a typical coffee shop to get our afternoon coffee fix. Grace had the famous Muar Otak in mind, but where to find leh? Never fear - always go back to the famous bible quotation from Mathew 7:7 "ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you". So we asked, and we sought and we knocked and lo and behold, we were shown to the Otak door step by a kind Mr Chua in his sparkling Benz. I knew that I could not leave Muar if we did not get the Otaks. Like good neighbours, we dug deep into our wallets for the last ringgits to help the Malaysian economy. We bought about half of the Otak in the freezer, and Jason, the shop owner's son, not only gave us a discount but also a thermal box to fill the otaks in.
Happy with the otak deal, we left the shop - this time for home, as a big storm was brewing in the darkened sky. I decided to take the Highway this time as driving on kampong roads in the heavy rain might not be easy. Within 15 minutes, and on reaching the Highway, the heavens opened up with a big splatter, the heaviest shower I had seen for a long time. Visibility was down to less than 100 metres, even with tail lights on we could hardly make out the blurred object of the vehicle ahead. Having driven in similar conditions before, and with new tyres, I wasn't at all worried as long as I kept at a steady pace and stayed way clear of the vehicle in front. It was stressful driving in the blinding rain, and when I heard the ladies whispering the Hail Marys, I decided to stop at a rest area until the rain stopped. So we waited it out until the rain was reduced to a tiny patter before continuing all the way to the Second Link - Tuas and Home by 7pm.
It was a busy, joyous and eventful 2D 1N escapade to Melaka and we vowed to do it again.
