Bandar Bersejarah

Melaka was founded by Parameswara, a prince from the western Indonesia (Sumatera) in the 1400s. Our Sejarah textbook writes when Parameswara was resting under a tree by the river, he witnessed his hunting dog being pushed into the waters by a courageous mousedeer. Parameswara took it as a favourable omen and built an empire here, on the Straits of Malacca.

This is supposedly the Melaka tree Parameswara rested on!
(Phyllanthus emblica)

Our drive into Melaka was spontaneous. I'm glad we did because we had SO much fun! Turkish loved the historical city. He was scammed by the antique shops. I don't like him touching old dusty pots and then unknowingly, caress my face! But yes, Melaka is so colourful and tourist-friendly.

We really had a good time!

I was most tickled by this sign :P

A very expensive wooden cabinet

I pretended.. the gramaphone doesn't work LOL

Melaka is very easy to go about. The major sight-seeing spots are clustered in the center, close to one another by walking distance. We posed around Christ Church, climbed up St.Paul Hill, visited Bukit Cina and heaps of other attractions. The sun above our heads were unbearable but the strong winds from the Straits cooled us down. Turkish repeated a couple of times how much he enjoyed Melaka and hinted we should come again in future.

I've been here before, with my best friends ;)

The view as we ascended St.Paul's

My apologies to Kev and Gabriel, for not meeting up with them. We had little time in town and Mummy's good friend, Auntie Chai Sze had been expecting us for months! I like Jonker Walk, by day and night. It reminded me of last year's summer when the C4 (Sha, Sharon, Tri and myself) strolled along the sidewalks in colourful outfits ;)

My favourite picture throughout the trip!

Laksamana Cheng Ho's petite statue

Mummy and I by the Melaka River

Jonker Walk by night!

Almost everyone we encountered on the street were helpful and polite, be it shopkeepers or passerbys (for direction). Auntie Chai Sze took us to the Portuguese Settlement, which was ridiculously hard to find. We missed the inconspicuous turning twice. Sadly, it wasn't an interesting place to visit. Perhaps on special occasions, it would be different.. like on Christmas or something.

The sign didn't help much, really

Hahahahaaa thank God I wasn't wearing a wig

Someone left this pile at the side

The next day, we headed to Johor Bahru after breakfast! To my birthplace! Yes, I am a Johorean but I never lived there. It was really nice that I got to see my brother again. He crossed over from the island because I left my passport behind LOL

Wheeeeee! Wheel down South :)