A Trip to Malacca – My Journal, Part 3

There were some places of interest in the town of Malacca that we would like to see. Hence, we decided to spend the whole of the second day of our trip in Malacca. The receptionist at the resort helped us booked the transport to take us to town. Transport outside of the resort is not included in the tour package.

I think there was some miscommunication the receptionist and the driver. We were given to understand that the driver will drop us off in town, and then come back to pick us up at a designated time and place. However, on the way to town, the driver was acting as guide. He showed us a couple of other places we didn’t know existed, or rather, places we hadn’t thought of visiting. So, it was all good.

Our driver/guide showed us the Malacca Straits Mosque. And the Portuguese Settlement, and the Portuguese Square. If you are wondering what’s the Portuguese role in Malacca, bear with me, I will come back to that later.

After stopping at these two places for a look and photographs, it was time for lunch. Here, the driver parted company with us after pointing us in the direction of the othe places of interest. I wanted to try some peranakan food, because I have heard so much about it. The group gave in to my request. We went to a peranakan restaurant. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything special about the food. So, I guess we didn’t order the authentic peranakan dishes, or maybe it was just simple me not knowing the difference. After all, I am not a foodie. Anyway….

After lunch, the group split up. Some went for massages, while the rest went for a walk in the malls. We arranged to meet up later to go visit the three places we had intended to see – namely, the A’Famosa Fort, the Christ Church Malacca, and Jonker Street.

After taking in the Christ Church of Malacca, and the A’Fomasa Fort, we proceeded to see what is in Jonker Street. It was early evening but the street was beginning to fill with people. Movement through the street was slow.

Jonker Street is also called the Food Street / Night Market street on Friday and Saturday. There were stalls on both sides of the street, selling food, toys, souvenirs and other fares. Some of the food looked really delicious.

As we were a little pressed for time, we decided that we will just take-away some food, and eat in the villa. We will just buy anything that looks interesting, as we walked through the street. The street was getting steadily busier by the minute. And with so many stalls, so many curiosities, and eight of us, we were constantly looking out to see who is where, and where did who go. It was rather chaotic, and for someone like me who is uncomfortable with crowds, it was madness.

Anyway, we managed to locate and gather everyone together in the end. The transport was already waiting for us. So, with multi bags of cuisine and dishes, and stuff to take home, we filed into the minivan to head back to the villa, which is slightly more than half an hour away.

That was a fair bit of walking in a day. It was all my poor back could take. We were all exhausted and hungry – I was, anyway. So it was good to be back at the villa, and digging into our dinner. There was a fair variety of food. Some were good, some not so spectacular.

After dinner, we relaxed in the hall, and chatted over beers and whiskies. It was then that the idea of another outing was hatched. Tentatively, it was set to be in April/May. With that, we ended the second day of our trip to Malacca.

I will post more on the places of interest later. Too much to put into one post. Meanwhile, here is a preview of the places we visited.

Our first stop of the day - The Melaka Straits Mosque.

The Portuguese Square / Portuguese settlement - our second stop.

Christ Church Melaka - our third stop.

The Fort A'Famosa - our fourth stop.

The Jonker Walk / Street - our final stop.