Woke up at 1 something in the morning because I slept in the evening (crazy biological clock). Did some packing and shower before heading out for the 7:30 am bus to Putrajaya Sentral. Once we arrived, we took the ERL to Bandar Tasik Selatan and from there we took LRT to Plaza Rakyat to board the express bus from Puduraya to Malacca Sentral. There was actually an easier way, which was to use the bus provided by college that costed a whooping RM70 for a return trip to Malacca. Crazy ain't it? My cost to Malacca including public transport and return bus fare was less than RM45.
I've been to Malacca many years ago but I have never really walked around the old town area. This time I was eager to explore and tried as much food as I can.
Arrived in Malacca at 11 something. We told the city bus driver about our hotel, which was Hotel Puri but ended up being dropped somewhere near the Studthuys. It was drizzling when we crossed the river and searched for the place to have some cendol. It wasn't long before we found the 88 antique shop.
It was my first visit to the shop and I couldn't wait to try the infamous cendol here. We ordered two bowls of Baba Cendol and sat in the central courtyard. The shop looked like a typical old shophouse piled with antiques badly taken care of.
The cendol was very good. The thick brown sugar tasted sweet and aromatic but not too overwhelming. It paired so well with the coconut milk and when eaten together with the grainy shredded ice and smooth cendol, everything just melts into heaven in your mouth. I personally can do without the cendol (how ironic) because the brown sugar alone was enough to make the dessert taste good.
OMG I'm drooling all over this pic now...
After the sweet welcome dessert to Malacca, we tried to find our hotel as we really had no idea where was it. Luckily we stumbled upon it without much of an effort and ended being one of the earliest to arrive.
The hotel was nice and pleasant. The entrance made it look no bigger than an other shophouses in that area but once you enter and walk from one space to another you'll start to wonder if you've gone through a portal into another realm ten times bigger. I personally have nothing to complain about this hotel during my stay, except the air conditional in the room which wasn't cold in the afternoon but became freezing in the early morning.
After checking in, we had an hour for lunch before briefing. I initially wanted to take the Indonesians to Donald and Lily Tan's Nyonya Restaurant but we couldn't find it, so in the end we went to the 88 antique shop again =.=". This time the 9 of us ordered Baba (or Nyonya?) Laksa and Chris ate the Chicken Laksa. I ordered Durian Cendol, Chris wanted Ice Kacang while the rest tried the original cendol.
When we were eating, almost everyone in the shop were coughing (including other customers). It was very funny as one person coughed after another. I didn't know what was wrong since the laksa wasn't that spicy, but still glad that I didn't cough. After I finished my food, suddenly a few coughs escaped my throat O.O.
Me: *rummaging for my sanitizer* Quick, kill the germs before it's too late!
Everyone: o.O"""
Blame the H1N1 warnings everywhere...
After lunch we had a briefing where we were told what to do for our site visit. Then it was time for us to explore the streets and the culture around.
A few shots that I took while searching for my site:
Fire Station
One of the many temples...
Famous Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, the largest outside China?
People filming there
Would love to get in this thing...maybe next time...
Just thought that this particular shop was funny because besides having the same initials, its name sounds similar to Yves Saint Laurent too o.O"
Before we crossed the bridge to the other side, Chris and me went into one Tart & Tart Bakery for some tarts (obviously).
My Peppermint and Kiwi (Mint was better, cause I like mint~...)
Chris' Mocha and Cheese sumthing...
We went further and further and eventually ended up at Taming Sari. We met the Indonesian gang and persuaded them to go for the tower.
It was fun to rotate high in the sky and you can see the whole malacca underneath.
Because I've never been to the new developed side of Malacca, we went to the Dataran Pahlawan after that. Mahkota Parade was too far for our tired legs.
Still lost and undecided on my site. Sad.
It's getting dark by then, so I sat on a bench opposite the Stadthuys and started sketching for my rendering assignment. (This sounds so somber and melancholic but it wasn't :P)
Tummy's grumbling, time for dinner. At first we thought there'll be a night market but as it turned out that there wasn't any night market from Monday to Thursday, we went to an unknown shop for dinner =.=". My food bible didn't help much at that time, most of the shops were closed and everyone was too tired to go any further. Not all good food is in Jonker Street you know.
Skip that awful dinner. Screw that coffee shop.
There was a briefing at night. Everyone was sweaty and tired. I still didn't have a site and I needed a shower.
So we all went back and bathed. Chris (the roommate) was too sleepy and slept but I still have to meet my tutor, another Chris (the evil one) =.=".
We outside the hotel with Kimberly, Emrys, and Aunty Fong and met the other classmates. They told us that they went to St Paul's Church just now (it's almost midnight) and it was CREEEPYYYY!!! We were so excited (maybe only me) and wanted to go too. But then evil Chris appeared out of nowhere (actually it was an alley) and we went to The Geographer's for some night chat.
Nightlife on Malacca was quite nice. Many tourists like to go bars or night cafes for some drinks and entertainment.
At around 1 something we returned to the hotel for some sleep. Still thinking about my site when I went to bed.
End of day one.
