Precious Memories: Malacca, Malaysia

Malacca, Malaysia -- February 28, 2016

2016 HAL Volendam Asian Adventure, Day 13

Weather: Moderate breeze, partly sunny, 29C/84F

We anchored off near the city of Malacca around 7:00AM this morning. This was a tender port and I already got in line yesterday and got our tender tickets. They let us pick the time we wanted to go on shore, so I picked tickets for 8:00~8:30 for an early start as usual. After we finished breakfast at the buffet and back in our cabin, we heard the announcement that people with tickets for 8:00~8:30 should get on the tenders. I was surprised by how quickly they started the process.

According to the captain, the port of Malacca had given them a lot of problems when they first called here. The port of Malacca had stopped the tendering process when Volendam was using their own tenders and insisting that they must use the local tenders to transfer passengers. There was the tug of war but at the end HAL gave in. On our sailing, they told us that they were using both the ship tenders and local tenders. They also said that HAL may not come to Malacca any more.

Malacca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the special place it holds in the history of Malaysia. It is one of the most popular destination for tourists from all over the world.

Leaving on the first tender.

This was a local tender.

The tender sailed into the Malacca River...

and docked at the jetty.

The first attraction we saw after getting on shore was this colorful trishaw.

There are many decorated trishaw for hire and they blast out loud music as they ride around town.

I knew that we should be able to walk around town, so we just followed the crowds and walked.

From the jetty we followed the main road (Jalan Pm10), then crossed the street and made a right on the big street (Jalan Merdeka), past the park then turned left to a small street called Jalan Taman. I was using the GPS on my phone.

At the end of the little street at the park, there is a train car there but we did not go in there.

Porta de Santiago

Then we made a right and found Porta de Santiago (A Famosa).

This was built by the Portuguese as a fortress to protect against attacks by the Dutch. There is not much left after all these many years.

This is the remaining gate of the fortress.

Across from the A Famosa gate is the Memorial Pengistytiharan Kemerdekaan, which is the Proclamation of Independence Memorial.

It looks stately and I believe it is a museum.

And on the other side, where the road is blocked sttod the Istana Kesultanan Melaka, The Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum. There was no one at the gate so I assumed it was not opened.

The two cats we met on our way up on the stairs along the watchtower behind the fortress gate.

St. Paul's Church

On top of the hill is the partial remains of St. Paul's Church. It was originally built in 1521, making it the oldest church building in Malaysia and probably Southeast Asia.

In 1952, the statue of St. Francis Xavier was erected in front of the ruins in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of his mission in Malacca. A day after the statue was consecrated, a large tree fell on it and broke off its right arm.

Hey, that's our ship!

History about the ruins of this old church.

Inside of the church.

From there we walked down from the top of St. Paul's Hill back to town.

Hello Kitty, my favorite character!

Christ Church and Dutch Square

The iconic building in Malacca--Christ Church in Dutch Square.

We were too late to get in for their Sunday Service.

Queen Victoria's Fountain

Malacca River right besides Dutch Square

We crossed that bridge to Chinatown.

Crossing the bridge, Dutch Square on the right, Chinatown on the left.

Jonker Street

Entrance to Jonker Street (Chinatown).

Our Australian table mates at the Mariners Brunch on the ship told us about this place where we could have the best chicken rice balls in Malacca. This was where we found it, right at the entrance to Jonker Street. He said, if you see the long line, that's it!

Kedai Kopi Chung Wah

Well, the line was definitely there!

Looking inside as we waited for our turn.

We finally got a table, ordered and received our food.

We ordered the half-chicken that came with 15 rice balls for RM $22.30. That's less than USD $6, not a bad deal at all!

The chicken was super good, flavorful and tender but the rice balls were not to my liking.

I do not like mushy stuff.

I did not eat any of the innards either. A good experience though.

A picture of the road that crosses over the river. The line for the chicken rice balls was getting longer and longer.

Then we went inside this huge store and bought some biscuits, soup mixtures, snacks to bring back home as gifts. Their pumpkin seed biscuits were crisp and delicious. We should have come here last, now we have to tag along the big tote bag of stuff as we walk around town.

As in Phuket and Penang, I just adore these old houses and old-fashion store front.

Colorful buildings on Jonker Street

We saw our tour leader for Kuala Lumpur, on a pretty trishaw.

Inside the World Heritage Park. There are restrooms in the back for a fee.

About the leadership of the Community Hero, Dr. Gan Boon Leong.

"The Father of Bodybuilders in Malaysia"

Ah, here it is, Taste Better! We did not get any durian puff here though. It did not look as neat as the one in Langkawi.

More random shots of Jonker Walk.

Sunday Flea Market, a lot of interesting items.

Jonker 88 is a famous dessert and laksa place on Jonker Street as I have read about it on the internet. We just had to try this out.

Interesting shaved ice (Chendol), quite good.

Laksa, better than the White Coffee place in Kuala Lumpur.

This is a very busy place, even though there was not a line when we were there, as we were finishing our food, many more people came. It is best to find a table first, then go to the back and order your food.

Cheng Hoon Teng (Green Cloud Temple青雲亭) Temple on "Harmony" Street, the street behind Jonker. This is the oldest functioning Chinese temple in Malaysia.

Jalan Tokong is called Harmony Street because it has a Chinese temple, a mosque, and a Hindu temple all on the same street. This is the mosque.

Hindu temple

Cheng Ho's Cultural Museum

As we were getting ready to go back to the ship, MOR really wanted to visit the Cheng Ho's Cultural Museum nearby.

Cheng Ho was an explorer and admiral in the Ming Dynasty who lead expeditions to many foreign countries with a huge fleet to established trades with China. He visited Malacca at least five times during his seven voyages to the 'Western Ocean'. He went as far as Southeast Asia, Indian Ocean, Middle East and Africa. A well-respected figure in Chinese history.

We spent over an hour inside this museum. They showed us a short movie first then we were free to explore the different parts of the 2-story museum on our own. We were the only people inside the museum the whole time we were there. There is so much to see and learn it is a shame that it is not attracting more visitors in such a tourist-busy city. I highly recommend this museum to anyone who is visiting Malacca.

Part of the exhibition of things they brought on their expeditions.

How the inside of the ships looked like.

The front of the museum. The museum is located very close to the bridge actually. Just make a right turn at the corner of the chicken rice place, walk down a little bit and you will see this on your left.

Before going back to the ship, we wanted another chendol (durian) from the big store where we got the biscuits and stuff, (San Shu Gong). So refreshing on a hot day, and their packaging was cute!