Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Kampung Gal in the Historical City

Malacca is my favourite city in Malaysia (so far since I haven't been to all the cities in Malaysia).

It's quiet but interesting. You kind of have this sense of being in a kampung but still happening enough, for me at least. It's rich with history and culture and thriving with development. It's tradition and modern all roll into one place. Wish I could live there.

During the Chinese New Year holidays back in February, I turned tourist and went there for a visit. Yes, for all those who's been following my blog since January, I took Option 1.

Blur? This is Option 1.

I reached R-Mka's house at about 12:30 pm Thursday. Her parents were not home because they went for Haj but all her siblings were there. We just hang around not knowing what to do since all the interesting places will be close in a few hours and it won't be worth going. Constantine just open that day. Even though I told ST I will see it with her, I just can't wait and ask R-Mka if she wanted to watch the movie. Also a Keanu fan, she agreed.

We ate a late lunch and went to Mahkota Parade. Thankfully there were tickets available. Wow! You can never get tickets on opening day in KL.

After the movie, we took a drive along Jonker Street. We were hoping that someone from the Baba Nyonya House was workaholic enough to open the house to visitors a day after CNY. No luck there. But cruising along Jonker Street with no traffic was such a pleasant experience. Since it was also the CNY season, the whole street was decorated with red lanterns. I wanted to get some photos but we thought we can do this tomorrow after the trip to the zoo.

We got back at about 7pm, took a shower and went out again for a seafood dinner with her family. Got back and with nothing left to do we went to sleep. Boy, did I sleep early that night.

I wanted to go to Zoo Melaka but since we're going to pass Taman Mini Malaysia anyway, might as well go there first. The ticket is a surprising RM10 for adults and an additional RM5 if you're bringing in a camera. I could have snucked in the camera but what the hell, I'll consider it as a donation. I know these places need all the funds they can get.

We walked in with Noraniza Idris' songs blasting through the air. The person who checked us in told us that there's going to be a culture dance show at 3pm and 4pm. Neat. But we wanted to go Zoo Melaka so we may not be able to see it.

The place is quite nice. It showcases traditional houses from 12 states in Malaysia. Check out the photos here. 15 minutes in, we started to enjoy the place so much that we decided to skip Zoo Melaka. You know how hot February was and it was so nice to be there. Cool breeze was blowing all around, the trees were rustling, you get to visit different houses, get to lepak in each and everyone of them. And we can even catch the culture show too.

We were there from 11:30am until the show ends at 4pm. I had a very good time there. I love traditional houses and getting to see all the different variations at one place is remarkable. Not only that, they also extended the place to include a Taman Mini Asean where they showcase different types of houses from the Asean region like Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Filipina.

It was a day well spent. And it is even nicer when you spent it with someone who enjoys the place as much as you did.

The next plan was to take a walk at Jonker Street and see if I can get some good shots there, but we were kind of tired. (God! Are we that old?) So, we went back to R-Mka's house and I took a short *gasp* nap. At about 8pm I head back to KL. Back to the hustle and bustle of the city and to the chaotic atmosphere that is my house.

*sigh*

Next Trip
Spend a night at one of the hotels at Jonker Street and Zoo Melaka.

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