This was our very first trip together. It was planned by both of us together. I really appreciate all that ZhuEn has done, packing, driving around, booking the Nyonya restaurant, and of course, her local expertise. Special mention also to her mum, who packed water for us and lent us her car. Malacca city is littered with UNESCO heritage sites, and you can find evidences of its former glory in every little corner as you explore the city.
24 July 2016, Sunny, Chaah > Malacca
We set off from ZhuEn's house at about 9. She drove me all the way to Malacca. The road trip there was quite amazing: snaking roads in between lovely hills, a sight that you can't find in Singapore, a sight that I really miss. Upon reaching Malacca, we went straight to our first stop: Amy's Nyonya restaurant. We ordered assam fish, coconut milk veggies and otak. I like the way they serve the rice in a traditional nonya basket, very lovely. We had an excellent meal, despite the otak that turned out different from what we expected. Next, we visited A'Famosa fort, one of the heritage sites. Here, ZhuEn mentioned that the old walls make a very nice background for a portrait, hence I took a picture for her. We took many many pictures as we walked around the place. We slowly made the ascend up the hill to find St. Paul's church.
At the top of the hill, we found an amazing view of Malacca city. I took a picture of her eyes (yes, it is possible) because when I stare deep into them, I could see the reflection of everything around her. Simply lovely. After climbing down, ZhuEn convinced me to try to have a ride on the trishaw. I was amazed by how nice it feels to be in a trishaw! We just sat there and feel the wind in our face as we were taken around Malacca to visit the iconic landmarks, which include the water wheel and the first Portuguese ship. The trishaw took us to the shopping mall called Dataran Pahlawan. There, we ordered root beer float from A&W, a classic that every Singaporean will buy whenever they visit neighbouring countries. After that, ZhuEn drove me to the hotel, Bayview Hotel. The hotel looks old on the outside, but the inside is very posh. The room that we stayed in has been recently refurbished, and we really like the room a lot! We took a quick shower, rested for a bit, and set off for Pantai Klebang. There, we tried the famous coconut milkshake. It was extremely refreshing. They blend till the coconut flesh become bits, and together with a vanilla ice cream on top, a refreshingly satisfying drink was made. We then headed to the beach. This was the famous beach that looks like a desert. Admittedly, pictures can be deceiving. The beach only looks like a desert from certain angles, but largely, it looks like a beach with very white sand.
We also visited a nearby bustel, a hipster accommodation made by converting the interior of old buses into livable rooms. We spent the evening strolling along the beach and taking pictures together. It was really a lovely beach walk. ZhuEn then drove me to Jonker Walk. There, we had our dinner at Bistro Year 1673. The ambiance here was really romantic. The lights were dim and there was music playing in the background, a perfect setting for a lovely dinner. The asian food here isn't as good as the western, however. After the amazing dinner, we started our exploration of the Jonker Street night market. The night market was just average. We discovered some interesting shops. Finally, we tired ourselves out walking around and went back to our hotel to rest.
25 July 2016, Cloudy, Malacca > Chaah
We spent the morning visiting the pool in the hotel. The pool reminds me of Batam, it wasn't exactly clean. However, we had a fun time. I was teaching ZhuEn the free style. We really enjoyed ourselves in the pool. For lunch, we went back to Jonker walk. We ate chicken rice balls, but it wasn't the one that all the tourists were queuing for. A few shops before the famous SanShuGong, there is a shop called HeJi chicken rice balls. Here, we had very nice chicken. After lunch, we began our small city exploration!
One of the things that ZhuEn likes is to visit all the small shops along Jonker walk. Bringing her around, I can feel how happy she is. We stopped at places whenever I wanted to take a picture. She would also pull me into shops that she find interesting. We also compared prices to see if things were really worth buying. Our first cafe stop was at Calanthe Art cafe. The interior of the cafe has very interesting designs, however, the coffee failed to impress. I liked the coffee and japanese green tea blend that ZhuEn ordered though. After walking on for a bit more, we also found a local snack shop that sells local products, ran by an old lady. We went in for the chendol. The chendol in Malacca is excellent because the Gula Melaka used here is 100% pure and not sweetened with sugar. We ordered one serving of chendol and we shared with each other. The Gula Melaka is so fragrant, it is really amazing. We also bought a few types of snacks all thanks to the hard selling technique of the aunty here. Ps: The pineapple tarts here are bad although she kept saying they are nicer than the ones in Taiwan. After walking around for a bit, we visited The Daily Fix cafe. Both the atmosphere and the coffee here is nice! I was telling ZhuEn how you can already tell the quality of the cafe by taking a breath when you enter the cafe. The smell of roasting beans greeted us here at The Daily Fix.
ZhuEn really liked the affogato that I chose for her, and she really like coffee now. We really enjoyed ourselves in this cafe, soaking in the moment and enjoying the traditional old setting of the place. Plenty of caffeine kept ZhuEn awake as she drove us back to Labis, then to Chaah while the sun set, making the drive a relaxing night drive and ending our beautiful first trip.
24 July 2016, Sunny, Chaah > Malacca
We set off from ZhuEn's house at about 9. She drove me all the way to Malacca. The road trip there was quite amazing: snaking roads in between lovely hills, a sight that you can't find in Singapore, a sight that I really miss. Upon reaching Malacca, we went straight to our first stop: Amy's Nyonya restaurant. We ordered assam fish, coconut milk veggies and otak. I like the way they serve the rice in a traditional nonya basket, very lovely. We had an excellent meal, despite the otak that turned out different from what we expected. Next, we visited A'Famosa fort, one of the heritage sites. Here, ZhuEn mentioned that the old walls make a very nice background for a portrait, hence I took a picture for her. We took many many pictures as we walked around the place. We slowly made the ascend up the hill to find St. Paul's church.
At the top of the hill, we found an amazing view of Malacca city. I took a picture of her eyes (yes, it is possible) because when I stare deep into them, I could see the reflection of everything around her. Simply lovely. After climbing down, ZhuEn convinced me to try to have a ride on the trishaw. I was amazed by how nice it feels to be in a trishaw! We just sat there and feel the wind in our face as we were taken around Malacca to visit the iconic landmarks, which include the water wheel and the first Portuguese ship. The trishaw took us to the shopping mall called Dataran Pahlawan. There, we ordered root beer float from A&W, a classic that every Singaporean will buy whenever they visit neighbouring countries. After that, ZhuEn drove me to the hotel, Bayview Hotel. The hotel looks old on the outside, but the inside is very posh. The room that we stayed in has been recently refurbished, and we really like the room a lot! We took a quick shower, rested for a bit, and set off for Pantai Klebang. There, we tried the famous coconut milkshake. It was extremely refreshing. They blend till the coconut flesh become bits, and together with a vanilla ice cream on top, a refreshingly satisfying drink was made. We then headed to the beach. This was the famous beach that looks like a desert. Admittedly, pictures can be deceiving. The beach only looks like a desert from certain angles, but largely, it looks like a beach with very white sand.
We also visited a nearby bustel, a hipster accommodation made by converting the interior of old buses into livable rooms. We spent the evening strolling along the beach and taking pictures together. It was really a lovely beach walk. ZhuEn then drove me to Jonker Walk. There, we had our dinner at Bistro Year 1673. The ambiance here was really romantic. The lights were dim and there was music playing in the background, a perfect setting for a lovely dinner. The asian food here isn't as good as the western, however. After the amazing dinner, we started our exploration of the Jonker Street night market. The night market was just average. We discovered some interesting shops. Finally, we tired ourselves out walking around and went back to our hotel to rest.
25 July 2016, Cloudy, Malacca > Chaah
We spent the morning visiting the pool in the hotel. The pool reminds me of Batam, it wasn't exactly clean. However, we had a fun time. I was teaching ZhuEn the free style. We really enjoyed ourselves in the pool. For lunch, we went back to Jonker walk. We ate chicken rice balls, but it wasn't the one that all the tourists were queuing for. A few shops before the famous SanShuGong, there is a shop called HeJi chicken rice balls. Here, we had very nice chicken. After lunch, we began our small city exploration!
One of the things that ZhuEn likes is to visit all the small shops along Jonker walk. Bringing her around, I can feel how happy she is. We stopped at places whenever I wanted to take a picture. She would also pull me into shops that she find interesting. We also compared prices to see if things were really worth buying. Our first cafe stop was at Calanthe Art cafe. The interior of the cafe has very interesting designs, however, the coffee failed to impress. I liked the coffee and japanese green tea blend that ZhuEn ordered though. After walking on for a bit more, we also found a local snack shop that sells local products, ran by an old lady. We went in for the chendol. The chendol in Malacca is excellent because the Gula Melaka used here is 100% pure and not sweetened with sugar. We ordered one serving of chendol and we shared with each other. The Gula Melaka is so fragrant, it is really amazing. We also bought a few types of snacks all thanks to the hard selling technique of the aunty here. Ps: The pineapple tarts here are bad although she kept saying they are nicer than the ones in Taiwan. After walking around for a bit, we visited The Daily Fix cafe. Both the atmosphere and the coffee here is nice! I was telling ZhuEn how you can already tell the quality of the cafe by taking a breath when you enter the cafe. The smell of roasting beans greeted us here at The Daily Fix.
ZhuEn really liked the affogato that I chose for her, and she really like coffee now. We really enjoyed ourselves in this cafe, soaking in the moment and enjoying the traditional old setting of the place. Plenty of caffeine kept ZhuEn awake as she drove us back to Labis, then to Chaah while the sun set, making the drive a relaxing night drive and ending our beautiful first trip.
