A Little HIstory

I went down to Melaka after work yesterday. It was a tad rush as I had to take my lunch and bathe before I go. Initially, I told Mr. IBM that I would prefer to go the following week when I’m off work but he was so gung-ho about going as his fren was also going so I just went along with the idea. Anyhow, he was the designated driver so all I have to do is sit in the car so never mind lor. We left slightly after 2pm and reached Melaka almost around 5pm with roadworks and accident slowing down traffic along Seremban to a crawl.

We headed straight for the famous cendol shop in Jonker Street (Stall No. 88 if not mistaken), which is smack in the middle of the street. Usually, I’ll take the Baba Cendol with durian ice-cream. Yums….I just love the gula melaka that they use. Somehow, it’s more fragrant and taste different from the ones here in klang valley. Oh, and they also serve ABC, assam laksa, curry laksa etc in the shop. The not so great thing about the shop is that you have to place your orders outside before you walked into the shop and it’s self-service. The inside of the shop is really long and you sit amongst all the antiques on olden tables and chairs, pretty much like the kopi tiam of yonder years. Further down the street is the Geographe Cafe, which was made popular appearing in the HK movie, Summer Holiday.

We walked along Jonker Street for quite a fair bit waiting for the stalls to be set up and ended up walking to The Stadhuys, the unmistakably red building. Now, it houses the Historic and Ethnography Museum inside. We went in and started browsing the various historical and traditional artifacts of yesteryears on display. There were traditional bridal costumes and relics from Malacca’s glorious past. The weather was rather balmy and humid so I was constantly perspiring while walking inside the museum. Inside the museum were only equipped with ceiling fans which were hardly enough to keep the place cool. Only the area where the paintings were kept was equipped with air-cond.

Quickly left the place and sauntered back to Jonker Street which has almost finished setting up. Ate some tidbits along the way which is some colourful dim-sums, sold really cheap. They looked nice but frankly they don’t taste that good. I was surprised that there were so many people lining up to buy them. Me thinks the dim-sum place near my area serves better dim-sums. 

Walking down the street, we landed up in a shop selling pineapple tarts. Actually, a lot of the shops along the street sells pineapple tarts so it’s hard to know which ones are the best. Anyways, Mr. IBM saw the huge oven being placed in the shop and eagerly stepped into it saying they probably baked it fresh. We went into the shop and sure enough the pineapple tarts were just out from the oven!!! Yum-yum. The couple next to us bought many boxes and I cheekily asked the lady boss whether we can test the tarts though I could see that they looked really yummy. She told her hubby to give us some samples and I chomped on it happily. We bought few boxes to bring home. Yay!

Saw a stall peddling tidbits like kacang, sourish stuff and fruits, pretty much like those stalls set up outside the olden days cinema. Brought back a bit of nostalgia. A lot of the shops in Jonker Streets mostly sells antiques which mostly appeals to the angmohs and antique collectors.

Subsequently, we drove around town getting a bit lost and trying to locate the Portugese Settlement area. I downloaded the Melaka Food Guide from the net and we decided to try out the San Pedro Restaurant which claimed to be the first and oldest Portugese Restaurant. The place looked kinda run-down with not much maintenance over the years. Since the Devil Curry and Portugese-styled baked fish were recommended, we ordered those 2 dishes and a squid fritters to boot. The squid came first and I find it a tad tasteless with more flour caking the squid more than the actual squid meat. The Devil Curry and baked fish tasted similar with one curry being more dry than the other. Anyhow, I also find the 2 dishes rather bland and nothing to shout about.

 

Singapore Saga (Part 3)

On the 3rd day, we got out earlier than usual and made our way to Sentosa Island. Apparently everyone had the same thinking and there was already a long queue to the shuttle bus. Just goes to show that peak period is never a good time to go sight-seeing or vacation. First stop was The Merlion. This was a really huge Merlion statue overlooking Sentosa Island and Shadow took endless photos of it. Next we adjourned to the Carlsberg Skytower ride.

(pic on left) Carlsberg SkyTower This was fantastic as it lets one to see the entire view of Sentosa Island and its surroundings and it revolves, albeit in an air-conditioned glass cabin! There was the usual snapping of photo just before we board the ride which we didn’t buy. Nowadays, I’m more selective after learning my lesson in Korea, where I purchased around RM100 plus worth of photos that was snapped by the tour photographer! The thing is he didn’t make us posed or anything. He just stood at the side of whoever who was taking the photos and took the same snapshot! And, being the more experienced one, obviously his photos turned out nicer than the ones that we took.

We then went on for our luge ride (pic right). Our package included 2 luge rides and skyrides. The luge is like a mix between a toboggan and a go-kart with the handle acting as the brake and the accelerator. It was really fun whizzing down the slope without a care in the world. Even kids and elderly folk had a go at it. On the 2nd ride, we were driving like pro-s and whizzed down even faster!! The skyride is not unlike the ski lifts (pic on left) and the 1st time we were on it, I was somewhat apprehensive as I had height phobia. So, I enjoyed the 2nd ride better.

Thereafter it was off to see the Sentosa 4D Magix which I gather is somewhat like the IMAX. After waiting for more than half an hour in the queue, we were escorted into a theatre and given those 3D glasses. The show was called the Pirates and it was fun as we had wind blowing to our ears and crab-like fingers brushing at our legs. Even had water squirting on our faces!!!! Muahahahahaha….it was such a thrill! Had a good laugh and went to get lunch while waiting to board the bus to Dolphin Lagoon.

It started drizzling again and the rain got heavier as we board the bus. As the Dolphin Lagoon and the Underwater World tix was a 2-1 thingy, reckon there wasn’t much point in going to see the Underwater World and not being able to see the Dolphins. I mean it was not really a big deal for me as I had seen dolphins show and visited the Underwater World both in Perth and Sydney previously but I gather LM was a tad disappointed. Anyway, I told her that next time she can go visit the Night Safari and the Underwater World during the off-peak period and avoid the crowd. We spent more than 4 hours just queuing and visiting 3 places! Gosh, what a waste of time! Wanted to go to the Jewel Box in Mount Faber but guess it’ll be just as packed so we changed venue and headed to Suntec City instead for more shopping. The Hippo ride was fully booked till after Boxing Day so that was scrapped too. What a bummer!

shas79
We got to see the laser show at the Fountain of Wealth in Suntec City and it was amazing cos the laser beams were all projected onto the water which spurts out of the fountain.

Finally, our last day! By now, I I was feeling really worn out and looking forward to going home. We went back to Orchard Road to do our last shopping spree. Dropped off the bags at FF in Paragon and went to Metro. The day started gloomily with rain started pouring since early morning. The rain didn’t show signs of stopping even when we were leaving for our bus. I went to Tangs for
huluyue my last stop and got my dress after hesitating since the 1st day I tried it in Takashimaya (plus other people were trying it on and I reckon there’s only 1 piece of it of each size so decided to be kiasu and grab it)We nearly couldn’t make it to the bus on time as there was a long queue for the cab ride and I had to queue to make payment as well. Luckily the salesgirls were nice enough to lead me through to the counters which had less people and I was really grateful. Of cos, I had to pick out some cologne for my fussy friend who called to check out the prices as well, which added to the time factor as well….

I asked Shadow to call the bus company to tell them to wait for us as we were on our way and the roads were clearly congested from the rain and heavy traffic at peak hours. Fortunately, we told the can driver and he took alternative route to our destination. We took a different bus from the one that we came in due to the time slot. I highly recommend Transnational Executive Coach to whoever intending to travel to Singapore for its excellent service and seats. It was a double-decker bus and we were given blankets and a small pillow. The seats are leather if I’m not mistaken. And we were served Ayamas and canned drinks as opposed to fried meehoon and mineral water in Nice. (tix are same price) The seats are comfy that I was lulled to sleep, something that I usually find hard to do on a traveling bus. And it stops in MTEC (opp Renaisance Hotel) and Jalan Duta bus station, which is not as congested as Pudu bus station.

 

Singapore Saga (Part 2)

The next morning, we headed to Queenstown, where sportswear and shoes are apparently cheaper than the shops in town. Both I and LM got our new shoes almost half of the price that it’s selling here (after conversion) plus there are definitely nicer varieties. Shopping for apparels is a bummer though as there’s no fitting room provided. However, they are definitely cheaper than elsewhere, not sure whether they are the latest though. Bought some tops for an extremely fussy person, which made me regret after I passed them to him as he nit-picked all the way. Duhhh…shall be more discreet about my trips in future…

Next stop was Sentosa Island. When we arrived, it was drizzling. After we got to the Dolphin Lagoon, it was practically pouring and the place was so crowded!!! We decided that it was best that we postponed the trip to the next morning since the dolphin show will be cancelled in the event of rain anyway. We spent more than 2 hours stranded and queuing in Sentosa Island as no cabs were available and the queue for the shuttle bus to the MRT station was as long as the snake coiled round and round. And it was still raining. I was basically drenched as I didn’t bring an umbrella. Finally, we hopped to Vivo City http://www.vivocity.com.sg/aboutvivo.html, the latest and largest shopping mall located at the fringe of the Singapore harbour before accessing to Sentosa Island. The mall is really massive!! Below is a pic of Tangs in Xmas deco.
huluyue Gosh, the Singaporeans are really shopaholics with the amount of shopping malls that they have. We only managed to visit a corner of the shopping mall as it was simply too huge and tiring walking from 1 end to the other end. The anchor tenant I reckon was Tangs Studio, which closed early in conjunction with Xmas eve celebrations so we didn’t get to discover it.

After resting our tired limbs at Coffee Bean, we went to Esplanade to see the lights and hopefully a Xmas countdown. The initial plan of counting down in Sentosa was scrapped due to the huge crowd and continuous rain. After sitting ourselves comfortably waiting for the Xmas countdown, where a large crowd had congregated, we were disappointed that no fireworks or countdown materialized. Everyone looked towards the open sea and
valsoh all I could see was the miniature Merlion started spouting water from its mouth in front of the Fullerton Hotel. Gees, is that it? That’s what everyone was shouting about?? Some of them played with some firecrackers (the ones children play) and some found it hilarious to spray shaken beer on their friends which had us quickly scooting off. It’s definitely a very low-key affair. Reckon the whole big bang is only happening during New Year celebrations! Sigh! Wrong place, wrong timing again. Felt really bad for leading my friends to something that amounted to nothing…

 

Singapore Saga (Part 1)

I went down to Singapore for the Xmas. Managed to get a midnight bus
huluyue (well, it was 11pm) on the Friday night and back by Boxing Day. I was still working on the Friday night till the eleventh hour before I left to take my bus. Luckily, I had packed my bag on the night before. I met LM and Shadow at the KL Sentral LRT station before proceeding to take a cab to the Pudu bus station. I have never liked taking a bus from this station as it’s usually really packed and suffocating. However, since Nice didn’t have a later bus slot, we didn’t really have a choice. Anyhow, we waited for almost an hour before the bus turned up (so I was right after all, we took a midnight bus literally!) It was aggravating waiting for the bus and no replies from the people who sold the tix to us despite numerous inquiries. So, there we were, stuck in the bus station, inhaling all the carbon monoxide and carrying luggage which seemed to be getting heavier by the minute…

Finally, we got in the bus and as we bought the tix last minute, the 3 of us had to sit in different spots. The driver drove extremely fast and we reached Singapore in around 4 hours!!! The ride throughout was really bumpy with the air-cond turned on full blast and was so cold that I was shivering and curled up like a shrimp trying to get comfortable. We stopped in Yong Peng’s big and boisterous bus stopover…which I loathe actually. We reached Woodlands checkpoint around 5 am and there was such a huge traffic. (I was obviously duped as I was told that we were going in through the 2nd link) The driver dropped us off and told us to walk in as the place was congested. Queue inside was even longer!! Think we spent like 45 minutes just queuing and filling up the forms. After that, we took a cab straight to my friend’s house as it was nearly 6am. Reckon she would have gotten up kwa. Actually, felt so ‘pai seh’ cos we had to impose on my friend and her family as we couldn’t book any hotels due to the long holiday season.

After having a short nap, quickly got up, showered and had breakfast with my friend and family. Wow, the kids sure have grown!!! Just reminds me how much older I’ve gotten too! Sigh!! The newborn is really adorable plus she doesn’t scream when I carry her! I told my friend that she looked like a mini Michelin cos she’s so cuddly…We bought them Xmas presents and played with them for awhile before we started our shopping spree. First stop is Orchard Road (of cos). Practically broke our limbs just walking and walking on the endless shopping street!!! The place is packed with tourists and Singaporeans as usual, and even more with the festive season around the corner. The shops extended their shopping hours till midnight for past few weekends and it was totally crazy. We had to wait for more than half an hour just to get a table to eat our lunch…Of cos we went shopping next door while waiting… Some of the stuff were cheap even after conversion but since I’ve been going down quite frequently, I’m more selective over the things that I buy nowadays and not buy impulsively just cos it’s cheap. LM who is making her virgin trip practically went berserk but I told her to just look around before starting her shopping spree.

The Xmas decorations this year is quite normal and not as spectacular as previously. Not sure whether I’ve become too jaded or what. Anyway, I still managed to eat my durian ice-cream at the roadside stalls and Sakae Sushi. I didn’t manage to go to Sizzler or Marche as LM just finished her pox and couldn’t eat a lot of stuff so mostly we went to foodcourts as there are more food choices there. (and also filled with a lot of bland food, I must add)

We were supposed to do a combo of sight-seeing and shopping when we were down there. Even tried slotting a gym session but ultimately, in the end it all became a shopping spree!!! We scraped the Night Safari excursion as the place was too far from Orchard Road and everybody was getting listless from the endless walking. So we sat down, had a good dinner (after a long wait again!) then went to HMV for a browse. Of cos the ‘browse’ turned into a few hours culminating in us buying loads of cds and the place has to close shop for the night. I love going to HMV and each time I’m down in Singapore I’ll visit the music store. Reckon the selections are more varied than Towers and they are a great bargain. I got U2 latest singles collections (just love the group), The Killers latest album, “Sam’s Town” and Pussy Cat Dolls album (their songs just seemed to stick in my head with the catchy tunes!!).

We got back just after midnight and the MRT were packed. I mean really packed like sardines!!! I’m like speechless cos it’s the last train and it was nearing midnight oredi. The commuters includes the young and restless to tourists (like us) and families with their young kids in tow. Oh well, since the public transport is so efficient and the place is relatively safe (according to my friend) then I reckon it’s safe to travel during night times.