Melaka...the time capsule....

I just came back from outstation at that time, and my boss gave me 4 days leave. I went back to my hometown, Melaka, which is about 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur.  So, I planned to have a day all by myself to explore this historical city.

If you want to go around this city without being concern about traffic, go there on weekdays or early morning in the weekend. You don't want to stuck in the traffic there since Melaka always got very crowded during weekend, specially during public & school holiday. 

My first stop was  A’Famosa Fort, which located in the heart of the city. The fort was built by the Portuguese a few hundred years before after Melaka being conquered by them. Then I walked uphill the St. Paul hill to see the whole view of Melaka city. On top of St. Paul's Hill is the St. Paul's Church, once the prayer house of the Portuguese Catholics, then turned into burial ground for their noble dead by the Dutch. The tombstones have Latin and Portuguese inscriptions on them. I spend about an hour there taking pictures, enjoyed the panoramic view of Straits of Melaka while listening to Portuguese descendent playing guitar and sing some Portuguese songs.

The main gate of A'Famosa Fort..most of the fort had been destroyed by the Dutch when they attacked Portuguese.

St. Paul hill

St. Paul church at the top of St. Paul Hill

Inside the St. Paul church

St. Paul viewed from the foot of the hill

Then, I walked downhill to Studhuys building also known as The Red Building by the locals. The building was built in the year 1650 as residence of the Dutch Governors and officers after they managed to force the Portuguese to surrendered Melaka to them. There’s stalls that sell souvenirs and there is also a photo booth if you want to take a photo with iguana and albino python. There’s also Melaka Trishaw lining in front of the building, waiting for customers. Melaka trishaw is special compare to others because of its colorful decoration and their friendly trishaw cycler.

The Studhuys' clock tower

Trishaw line up in front of the studhuys building..ready to be ride.

The red building

Jonker Street at day time

 I stop for a coffee break at Jonker Street and the coffee was so cheap! It cost me only 60 cents per cup and the coffee do taste great! Then I continued my journey exploring the shops along Jonker Street. Jonker Street famous for its night market, where the shop’s owner set up a stall in front of their shop and sell a various types of things, from souvenirs and clothing to homemade candy, dried squids and many types of traditional junk food. Since I was there before the market open, I only managed to take Jonker Street photo in a day time, without the usual crowded and happening market. After do all the shopping, I strolled down the river of Melaka, taking photos and enjoying the scenes.

water mill from Sultanate era

River cruise boats..

view of Melaka River, once was a famous harbour in the world hundred years ago

There are still a lot of places I did not manage to go during that day. Even though I went back to Melaka quite frequent, there are still a lot of new interesting places that I discovered every time I go there.