Cameron, KL & Malacca trip - 20 Feb 07

Have to wake up @ 7am again... We pack our things n went to have our breakfast @ the ballroom cos ytd the tour guide told us tt the hotel has abt 1,200 guests @ the moment. I think it's true cos although there r 6 lifts in the hotel, we wait 4 quite awhile b4 we can take the lift n sometimes when the lift reach our floor, it's full.

Breakfast @ the ballroom

Breakfast

We check out @ 9am n board our bus for our next destination - Malacca.

Hotel lobby Grand season hotel

The journey from KL to Malacca takes abt 1 1/2hr. Our first destination in Malacca is a bee farm near Ayer Keroh. There is a guide in the bee farm who explain to us how the honey was extracted from the bee hives, different types of bees etc....

Bee "hives"Bee cellsBees..... Honey from all over the world
Free sample for testing

We reach Malacca town @ around 12pm. Saw quite a few shops selling chicken rice ball but not open cos CNY. Hmm... next time must come here n try...

Chicken rice ball shop

On the way to the famous Christchurch, we passed by a row of red shophouses. The tour guide told us tt there r 2 folktales as to y the shophouses r red colour. One is b'cos it's built by Chinese n chinese like red colour. The next one is b'cos the Indian always eat betelnut 槟榔 n spit on the houses making the shophouses red colour so the govt is v angry n paint the house red.

Red shophouses Reaching Christ Church

The Christ Church was built in 1753 by the Dutch to commemorate a century of their rule.

@ Christ Church

Trishaws Lamp post (I still prefer Macau lamp post)

The Stadhuys was built in 1650, it was the Dutch administrative centre with a clock tower and painted in bright red. It is museum with displays of traditional bridal costumes and other relics is located inside. But we didn't went in... hmmm.. probably next time.....

StadhuysClock tower

While waiting for the remaining tour group members, my sis n i took photos in 4 different colours.

The tour guide oso told us tt there is a famous chendol stall which is across the road opposite the Stadhuys... too bad... no time to try.

Chendol stall @ the left of the photo

Our next destination is A Famosa. On our way there, took photo of quite a few interesting things tt i saw.

Windmill Bus stopThe roof is quite special

The museum is built in a replica of a Portuguese ship, the 'Flo De La Mar' that sank off the coast of Malacca while on the way to Portugal.

Replica of a Portuguese ship

The A Famosa is the oldest surviving European architecture in Malaysia. Its name means ‘Famous’ in Portuguese and it was built by them in 1511 during the colonisation of Malacca. The English would have demolished the entire structure had it not been for the timely intervention of Stamford Raffles who recognised its historical significance. Once part of a mighty fortress, all that remains is some foundation stones, some cannons and a tiny gate – the Porta de Santiago.

Infront of Porta de Santiago

Inside Porta de Santiago

My sis n I did not climb up the hill as it so terribly hot..... dun wanna get 'chao da'... I think the best time to come is either in the morning or evening.

St Paul hill

The cultural musuem n proclamation of independence memorial r oso located beside the A Famosa.

Cultural Museum Proclamation of independence memorial Cute green umbrella

It's around 12.30pm n the tour guide ask us whether we wanna eat Nonya food so he can make reservation. Initially a lot of the tour members wanna eat Nonya food but the resturant can accomodate us only @ 1.30pm. Somemore everyone wanna return back to S'pore as early as possible. So in the end, the bus drop us @ Mahkota Parade - a shopping centre for lunch.

Mahkota Parade

Mahkota Hawker Centre My lunch

After all of us had our lunch, it's time to go home.... On our way back to Ayer Keroh toll station, we pass by Bukit China. It is situated southeast of Bandar Malacca on a 42-acre hill and is actually carpeted with more than 12,500 graves. What makes this place special is that it is the oldest and largest traditional Chinese cemetery outside China. Some graves can be traced back to more than four centuries ago to the first Chinese immigrants in Malacca. Ironically, this was also the place where the princess, or concubine, Hang Li Poh (a fact still disputed today) settled in, having been sent to Malacca as a mark of friendship with the Malaccan Sultan in 1511.

Quite an interesting name

We reach Yong Peng around 4.30pm and some of the tour members bought some local products. We went to have our tea break cos we are afraid tt we would reach home quite late due to jam @ the customs.

Yong Peng town

Luckily there was no jam at 2nd link and we reached S'pore custom at 7.30pm.2nd link

Finally reach home @ around 8pm. 我的新年就这样过了......

>>Epilogue