My stay in Melaka

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Okay. Now is the plan.

1st Progress

This trip objective was to impress my girlfriend, moreover, it is Christmas eve!

I want a two days one night trip, of course, lodging will be on the eve, in the town center. Some research on the budget hotels tells me that Hotel Puri is worth a stay. For anyone who wants to know the rate, you could visit on the website.

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http://www.hotelpuri.com/room_rates.html

To reduce the time loss getting on the public transports here and there, I think driving is the best option. What it takes is only some petrols, tolls, car servicing, mantainance and a nice car wash (give others a clean impression is my mission~!) Some research tells me that all that will cost me around RM 150++ for the whole trip. That does not cost much, i think.

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2nd Progress

Done with all the lodging and transport details, now shall be the interesting part - Visiting (A small voice from my girlfriend, "Shopping~!").

I have been to the town many times. So this time I would plan for beaches. Pulau Besar (Big Island of Melaka, not the Johor's) should be a good choice since it is far away from the town center, but not too far. That calls for a day.

Pulau Besar, only access is to get to Anjung Batu Jetty. The ferry from the jetty to Pulau Besar cost RM11.00 per person per trip, and depart every 1 hour. Well,I think I might want to be there early, not to miss the ferry...(1 hour to wait for the next...)

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http://www.emp.com.my/ferryschedule.pdf

Taking a relaxing walk and sunbathing should be a good idea in Pulau Besar, I think, but not to miss other things in the town center, it is best to return in the evening and take a quick shower. Dinners in the best place in town, Jonker walk. Plenty of pubs and restaurants, that where the first idea comes. But, anyway, it should be fantastic to take some night scene photos. Hopefully, there will be some Christmas celebration...

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To be continued...

24 Dec '06

Morning, we make a slow and safe journey towards the exciting place. We were very happy to find that the hotel is in the center of the town, convenient enough for moving around. The lobby is breath-taking, a giant christmas tree with presents (not for me?) stand gracefully in the center of the hall. To the end of the lobby is the entrance to the cosy little restaurant, where they serve breakfast. The room were just perfect (slight bigger than I taught) and romantic...or should I say, it is romance in the air.

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We pop out to the street to find some local food. We walk along Jonker Street, and hardly can choose what to eat, because there are food stall every corner of the street. We manage to make up our mind to try Asam-Laksa, a very traditional dish from the Baba-Nyonya period. Also the Cendol makes me want to get another round.

Since we are full, we stroll along the street to find something interesting to buy. Then, it seems that the old design of these building catch my attention better than the cheap stuff in the shops. I went around with my camera, while she starts picking up her shopping addict.

The streets seems to be a little crowded in the evening, when we decided to take a rest in the hotel. A quick nap, and cold bath, refreshing!

We then went to the street again to look for some pubs to hangout. But, the christmas mood makes me want to stroll for some interesting. There were even much more to see during the night! People are singing and dancing on the stage, as well as in the pubs and cafe. We are quite impressed that these guys are not going for the Malaysian Idol audition?

Anyway, evening nap makes me hungry. We went to a nice open-air restaurant, and start ordering (well, I don't remember what I ordered...). The place is fantastic, but quite noisy because the singing band turn the volume way to the max. We enjoyed ourselves when a band of choir start singing christmas song (and thats when the restaurant noticed they are too noisy?)

25 Dec '06

It is Christmas! without the snow. We wake up quite late, and we taught of just to enjoy our time in the town, so we cancel the trip to Pulau Besar. No big deal. We have our breakfast in the cosy little cafe in the hotel. They serve american breakfast. Nothing special, but I like the chef doing his omelette. He do it with style!

We walked around town for quite some hours, taking photos. Nice weather for photo shooting, but bad for the sun burn. Still, worthwhile!

We head home in the evening, before I get too tired to drive on the journey back. It was a wonderful trip, and I must admit, Christmas eve in Melaka is the best place to be!