Mid-Term Break Escapade - Day 1

We just got back from a holiday. A very short escapade which normally landed us in Port Dickson. This time around however, we chose to be a little bit further... to the land of the 5 legendary warriors & of course the tanah tumpah darah to our very own Ms. Hart :-)

One of the many reasons why I suggested Melaka to HB was because of my Yasmin. She has been selected to represent her school for a House Modeling Competition and I thought that exposing her to the many examples of our local traditional houses would give her a clearer picture.

On top of that I am very much taken aback with her BM2 result. As I mentioned before, Yasmin is a good writer. Her love for books is her advantage. Even though her writing in English is better than BM, the way she plots a story is very creative for her age despite the language. Of course her limited BM vocabs & the confusing prefixes/suffixes (imbuhan) can be the culprit in pulling down her marks.

As some of my readers are pretty well aware, BM2 requires students to write essays. There were 3 options given & I had clearly spelled it out to her not to choose letter writing, especially formal letter writing.

In her mid-term exam recently, Option 1 was to write her holiday experience during the previous school break, second was to write a report of an interview & lastly, a formal letter writing. I was so sure that she would choose the 1st option. There are so many things to write about New Zealand. Well... her mom managed in a daily basis of 10 & for her to share hers in a page or two would definitely be a walk in the park.

I was so wrong! She didn't go for the report in Option 2 & neither did she opt for Option 1. Instead... she chose to write the letter!

I really was not sure on how to react when asked for her reason choosing Option 3 not Option 1.

"We were in NZ on school days. Not during the school break. We didn't even go anywhere last school break!" Huh? I of course gave her a piece of my mind afterward.

OK. Back to Melaka. It was really a last minute plan. No initial plans to take them anywhere except around Klang Valley. I was merely trying & luck was on my side. Managed to make a reservation at a regular accommodation I used to frequent in Melaka. The girls couldn't be more excited.

They had a sleepover at a friend's place the night before we left for Melaka. Fetched them up & off we started the journey. Here are the girls in the car with their shades on...

Nadeen has got one too ;-D

The traffic was smooth. My elder girls thought that we were going to the resort with the water theme park & safari. When we didn't take the exit, they were quite disappointed but not to the younger two. A hotel with swimming pool passes their criteria. Hehehe...

Approaching the city, you better decide where you're going...

As for us, we had a loyal friend ;-)

Oooops! We missed this one...

First stop was not other than the A Famosa... (sorry not the resort girls... we do that some other time. OK?)

What a hospitality... Thank you ! Thank you!

The A Famosa exactly like I remembered.

I never noticed geologically, the materials that made up the fortress before... A pretty sight, don't you think?

The climb up to the St. Paul's Church.

The girls were so at ease doing it.

HB with Nadeen & her stroller. Another work out for your October trip I assume? ;-D

Half way the climb, this man welcomed us with his harmonica.

Souvenirs sold on the hilltop.

The only one with a smiling face after the climb & eager to explore...

Looking around the St. Paul's Church.

A pose with a couple of old tombstones (the girls didn't know that... hehehe!)

The church from outside

We saw our hotel from the hilltop.

The climb down... well was not bad after all.

HB decided to check out a museum at Stadthuys. It was our first time despite the few times I had been to this city. What can I say.. It was totally worth it.

Somebody was reading... Now that's a good start! ;-D

We were welcomed by this statue which I believe was Parameswara, the founder of Melaka.

The Portuguese Era

The Dutch Era

The British Era

Not to forget the short Japanese Era before we were ruled again by the Queen.

Striking a pose with the currency used then

A close up of the currency

Melaka in the 15th century.

Weapons used then

Pictorial process in cleaning the keris.

That's not a ball dear...

The girls were amused with Nadeen. She was very much attracted to the mirror or perhaps to herself. Hehehe...

A Dutch Ship

A Malay Wedding

A Chitty Wedding

The Chinese Peranakan chamber

A Traditional Bridal Bed which none of my girls wanted for their wedding.. hahaha!

Hmmm... I should make this for my next project... ;-D

The Melting Pots of Melaka in their traditional costumes.

The kopitiam

Used books stall

Activities at the paddy field

Kelong to catch fish, normally at a river mouth.

Parameswara - artist's impression

The 5 legendary warriors - artist's impression again

Tun Teja - yes another artist's impression

How the story started...

The Melaka tree from which Melaka got its name.

The fruit

HB sure is a fan of a museum... Most of the times he was left far behind. Unlike us speeding to complete the tour. Hehehe!

As we reached the final step of the steep staircase towards the Red Square at Stadthuys, the girls saw a few decorative trishaws & pleaded to hop in. RM10 for one round.

At first HB was reluctant to join us. He was concerned of his super extra weight the driver had to endure.

All of us at the Stadthuys. This historical structure which means town hall in Dutch was built in 1650 as the Governor office.

The clock tower

The walk back to our car. Time to check in the hotel & rest....

We found this train & airplane which used to be at the KL Museum. Right?

We checked in the hotel & had the pool view. The rest I looked forward to, needed a raincheck as I couldn't really tolerate the repetitive enquiry of "Can we go for a swim now....???"

The girls at the wading pool.

The big pool.

Chilling after a swimming race.

The other pool was a full house. We only allowed the elder girls there for only a short time.

After the swim, came dinner time. We were all getting ready to go for an ikan bakar place. The first one showered & changed was making herself busy too. I saw her reaching for a tissue box in my room. Knowing Nadeen, she is not the type to put any small objects in her mouth except for food of course. She was wiping the side table with a piece of tissue paper (that for being too attached to the helper... sigh). I was in the other room combing Balqis's hair when I saw Nadeen in between the 2 rooms, laying a piece of tissue paper on the floor and... started to pray!

This one is not too clear. Was in a rush...

A better shot. Isn't she something? Awww...

All this while the only Ikan Bakar place I used to frequent was in Umbai. The last time HB was there during his Ledang excursion, the place is no longer like it used to be. Wanted to try the one in Duyong. In the trishaw earlier, I asked the driver for the directions. Instead he guided us to a better place near Telok Mas.

Frankly, upon reaching the place, I had doubts over it. There were no other customers but us. HB however, went to have a look & he gave in to the fresh seafood offered. As 3 of our troop members were dozing in the car, HB made the order for us.

We had Barramundi (siakap) in sweet sour sauce. Notice the black sauce? Simply superb to accompany our grill fish.

This calamari was the girls' favourite. I have to agree with them.

Your Melaka trip is incomplete without this Masak Asam Pedas. HB chose fresh water catfish to go with it. It was really an out of the world experience!

My favourite that night... Kupang (moule) Masak Berapi.

They were rather too spicy for the girls, hence HB ordered the ones in sweet sour sauce.

Here is the girls' rating for the foods there...

With these pictures, need I say more? ;-)

The girls were even amazed with my helper. That night they witnessed Sri eating a lot. She even requested for additional rice on her plate. Something she had never done after more than 2 years with us...

So if you are in Melaka don't hesitate to give this restaurant a shot. It was simply worth it! Ooopsss.... Almost forgotten!! you MUST also try the tomyam!! I realised only the locals were there. Not popular yet to outsiders, therefore it was very affordable.

The direction is pretty simple. Head towards Muar or Umbai & be alert of the Henry Gurney School on your right. Take the small lane, just the right of the school entrance gate (the gate is approximately 150 meters from the main road) which will lead you to this place in Telok Mas. You can't help to miss the junction. We did but made a U-turn for it.

The initial plan was to head straight to the hotel. I had earlier told Sri to change both Balqis & Nadeen into their pyjamas. HB anyhow stopped somewhere near the city since the girls were fascinated with the trishaws at night. They made such a pretty sight with the decorative lighting. Sorry though, no pictures to share...

The time showed close to 11pm. The city was still alive! Balqis & Wardah requested to get in the river boat cruise. RM10 for adult & half price for kids. We went for it...

The eager faces to board the boat.

One happy family, an hour before midnight cruising the Melaka River.

It was a good thing that we took the cruise at night. We escaped the soaring temperatures during the day & the glittering lights around us was an awe. I remembered the river used to be filthy & you wouldn't want to get near the water. The Municipal has indeed done a great job in promoting tourism to this historical city. Kudos!

Our advantage cruising at night. If only I brought along a better camera...

New attractions in town. No, that was not the Eye On Malaysia.

The boat stopped for us to view this show.

Kampung Morten was really amazing. Too bad most of the photos of the village were blurry. The Municipal together with the villagers work together to maintain its authenticity.

Yasmin & Wardah in the boat. Guess what? The skirt on Yasmin & the dress on Wardah are amongst my recent needle works... Will blog more about it soon.

* to be continued