Revisiting Melaka - Day Tour on 27 Dec 2010

On the night before, my friend asked if I want to sample some more uniquely Melaka food. Sure – why not? After my yong tau foo surprise, I’m keen to know more.

She took me to her favourite “Hokkien Mee” store at the wet market. The Hokkien Mee in both PJ and KL are fat noodles stir-fried in dark soya sauce; mostly with minimal gravy while the Hokkien Char found in Penang is actually noodles and/or mee hoon served with sambal.

After the noodles, my friend took me to her grandmother’s old place. We took a short cut to the grandmother’s old place – a small alley between two buildings. Melaka is full of short cuts and some have even become main roads.

I think my friend’s childhood is really cool. She and her siblings had a tree house where they used to hide when their mother was after them.

After our nostalgic trip, we did the usual tourist spots and went to the “Red House” aka Stadthuys. I went to the place where Bobby Chinn did black peppered crabs in one of his Asian Food series.

Looking for a public toilet, we found one next to a hotel – 30 cents per entry. Melaka Council privatized the public toilets and one can find numerous such facilities scattered over the main tourist spots.

Further on, we rested for a while at the Garden where it is famous for a cross in a well. The well is covered and the water looks dirty and possibly a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

I was told that the maintenance of the flowers in the garden is outsourced to the private sector. Err… where are the flowers?

While resting in this garden, I saw another privately run public toilet. Here, the entrance fee is 20 cents only.

Nearby is the Melaka’s Revolving Tower. The queue was long and I decided to give it a miss.

The Memorial for the Declaration of Independence was in the vicinity and to me, the highlight was Tunku’s vintage hot-rod. Sadly, someone with itchy fingers had vandalized the car and took off with half of the model name.

Ahhh… a visit or revisit to Melaka is not complete without taking a picture with the A’Famosa in the background; and of course, the macho tourist guide in attendance.

Yesterday was the first anniversary of the death of a friend’s mom. We went to St Francis Xavier’s Church to say a prayer for her soul. The church is lovely, peaceful and serene although it’s next to a busy road.

It was a hectic morning that stretched into early afternoon and tired, we went back for a much needed siesta. Getting old, la.