Love, Hugs and Kisses: WEEKEND IN MELAKA (2nd Round)

We went to Melaka again.. This time Zaid didn't join us because he had classes. Yed, FIGHTING!!

28th March 2009

Me with Jun on our way to Melaka

As usual, we stayed at the A'Famosa Apartment. I shared a room with Zaim. Something I haven't done in a while. The feeling's a bit different now, but it was still cool nonetheless. After we settled in, Zaim and me immediately jumped into the swimming pool. Huda kept taking pictures and I kept turning my face away. She can be so stubborn sometimes.. Sheesh.. Later on she gave up and continued to pester Mama whose on the bed with her beloved Sudoku. But Zaim and me didn't stay in the water for long because we had to get ready for tonight.

Dinner was seafood (staple food in Melaka) at Muara Sungai Duyung. The place was already packed when we got there. We have eaten here once before and as usual the food is CHO UMAI! Mama and Abah got a HUGE picture of them.

With Una after stuffing our faces. Happy!!

Actually we were making our way to Sungai Duyung during Earth Hour. So all we could do was look at other houses with the lights turned off. We consoled ourselves that instead of having Earth Hour, we were actually celebrating Earth Day as the lights in our house were turned off for the entire duration that we were away. So YEAY!

After dinner, we went to the Melaka River Cruise, dubbed by European seafarers as "Venice of the East". It's a cruise designed to let the people enjoy the sights of Malacca at night. The Malacca River used to have a really bad reputation of being really polluted and smelly. But the local government had decided to step up and preserve the river as it holds a lot of historical value. The cruise works like a sort of transporation system too, as there are a few stops where the passengers can get off. For those preferring to stay on the ground, there are also pedestrian walkways constructed along the riverbank.

We saw a lot of interesting sites such as the Morten House and the Eye of Malacca and were entertained by a professional singer on the boat. There was even a karaoke session and we jumped in when the singer was singing a joget song.

When the cruise was over we managed to get a photo with the singer and also a shot of us in front of the entrance. Then, we went back to Alor Gajah and were promptly off to Zzzz Land.

29th March 2009

The next day we quickly packed up and headed to the day's first destination: Melaka Revolving Tower (Menara Taming Sari). It's kinda like a mini version of the KL Tower. It is designed based on the Taming sari keris. It stands at a height of 110 metres and can accommodate up to 66 passengers at a time. We quickly lined up and rented a few binoculars so that we could clearly see the scenery down below. Lucky for us, there wasn't so many people that day, so we only had to wait for the next trip.

Needless to say, it was a photography frenzy when we reached the top. We made quite a few turns before we were lowered down. I read somewhere that the duration is approximately 7 minutes. We took pictures of the Maritime Museum and also the Eyes of Malacca. there were also a few pictures of the nearby swimming pool... When we were safely on the ground, we shopped around the entrance area where they sell all kinds of souvenirs. Me and the other Aimi's got ourselves keychains with our names..

Would've been so perfect if Yed was there...

Our tummies were practically grumbling when we made our way out of the building. So we had a nice lunch at the nearby restaurant.

After we had our lunch, it was park time!!

To let all the lovely food go down, we took a walk in the park and then headed to the famous A'Famosa (which ironically is "The Famous" in Portuguese). Built in 1511, it is one of the oldest surviving remnants of European architecture in Asia. Huda had a brief violin lesson there, which was cute+funny.

Just beside the ruins is the Declaration Complex. We took a few photographs there but didn't go inside. There were also a few museums scattered around the area. We also took some pictures around the Dataran Pahlawan area.

Since we were in a touristy mood, we decided to go to Hang Tuah's and Hang Li Po's well. Don't get the wrong idea. These are two different wells located at two different places. Hang Li Po's well was next to a Chinese temple and there were even a few fruit vendors just outside it's gates. Hang Li Po was the fifth wife of the Sultan Melaka, Mansur Shah. It was built by her followers circa 1459 upon her arrival in Melaka and is said that the well will never dry even during drought.

There was a traditional Malay house next to Hang Tuah's well. As we all know, Hang Tuah is a legendary Malay warrior. Locals believe that those with a pure heart can see the spirit of Hang Tuah in the form of a white crocodile near his well. I didn't get a picture near the well because we were kind of fascinated with the traditional house. But I managed to wash my face with the water taken from the well.