Malacca

The UNESCO World Heritage Towns of Southeast Asia

May 1, 2013 by Bino 5 Comments

As a destination that’s well known for its diversity, the essence of a trip to Southeast Asia for most would probably include a rundown of the well-known ancient ruins, beaches and secluded islands, through natural landscapes and tropical rainforests and generally having a good time in the region’s megacities. A not so prominent (and less popular) theme are its old towns, some of which have been preserved as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are deserving destinations in their own right, and are perfect supplements to those doing long trips across the region. Earlier this year, I had inadvertently completed a small milestone by visiting all the UNESCO World Heritage towns in Southeast Asia. As there are only five, it’s no mean feat. I was not really ticking it off any list. It just happened.

brightly colored buildings such as these in hoi an, are a common sight in all of southeast asia’s unesco towns

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while might notice this habit of mine of ranking stuff regarding Southeast Asia. This one’s no exception. In order of preference (and I’ll explain why), this is how I would rank the 5:

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Food Trip in Historic Malacca, Pt2

June 12, 2012 by Bino 4 Comments

After a jampacked Day 1 of “A Date With Bloggers in Malacca 2012”, our Day 2 was shaping up to be another smorgasbord of exotic dishes, cultural sights and audiences with VIPs. We had an early Sunday morning – our early morning wake-up call was due to a scheduled visit to the Cheng Ho Museum for breakfast and a short tour.

day 2 – me wearing our sponsor’s (Julie’s) shirt

Breakfast was simple, and consisted of some fruits and bee hoon (rice vermicelli). It was followed by a short tour of the museum which was a showcase of the life and times of Cheng Ho, the famed Chinese explorer who preceded the well-known Spanish and Portuguese explorers of yore. The museum consisted of four floors but I only managed to see two. Various methods are used for presentation here, including dioramas, multimedia and even interactive means. It’s a place befitting history buffs, and certainly wouldn’t disappoint those interested to know more about Southeast Asian history.

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Food Trip in Historic Malacca, Pt1

May 30, 2012 by Bino 7 Comments

I was recently invited over for a food-filled weekend in Malacca, courtesy of a bloggers event hosted by people from the Asia Food Guide.

the chinese-inspired architecture of kampung kling mosque

It was not too long ago when I last visited this UNESCO World Heritage city on a daytrip. Nevertheless, I was really looking forward to this “revisit” as Malacca is well-known as a food-lover’s paradise – especially when it comes to Nyonya cuisine – and I didn’t really get to try much during my last visit. I was staying overnight this time so I reckoned I would have more time to see and appreciate more of the nooks and crannies of this historic town.

This is probably mentioned before – the general friendliness of people in Southeast Asia never fails to be an added plus to me during my trips. My host this time around were true exemplars of the warm Malaysian hospitality, making sure that we were alright and trying their best to make the event enjoyable for all (which they succeeded in doing!). It was great to again have the chance to venture someplace much friendlier, and Malacca proves that it needn’t be far.

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Sunday in Malacca

October 11, 2009 by Bino 1 Comment

the christ church is possibly the most recognizable in malacca

One of my friends was about to end her 3 month stint here in Singapore so we decided to go on a daytrip to Malacca just a few weeks before she left for good. We met up at the Kovan Bus Terminal and paid S$19 (around US$14) for a one-way bus ride to the UNESCO World Heritage town in Malaysia. The ride took up almost 4 hours and was mostly uneventful.

red is the city’s predominant color

tourist traps if you ask me

Malacca is a compact city with many of the main sights just within walking distance. After arriving at our destination, we took a public bus (MYR 1) to the historical area near the Christ Church. We went on a Sunday so the place was brimming with tourists, mostly weekenders from Singapore.

windmill – remnants of dutch past

facade of the porta de santiago

We went to have lunch at the famous Jonkers Street. The food is almost similar to Singapore’s except they have this local specialty called “rice balls.” It’s meat-flavored rice shaped into a … you guessed it! I didn’t like it to be honest, but I was famished so I barely noticed the weird chewiness of the thing. Afterwards, we went to the Baba Nyonya Museum which is an old Peranakan house turned into a museum. It was ok – I’ve been exposed to this culture in Singapore so it wasn’t anything new.

former governor’s residence

We then proceeded to Porta de Santiago which is now just an isolated fort situated in a very commercialized part of the city. We didn’t stay for the night but those who stay overnight may enjoy the light and sounds shows in the area during the evenings.

ruins of st. paul’s church

We made the climb up a hill to reach the ruins of St. Paul’s Church. It’s just an empty shell now, but the view from the top is wonderful. There is also a bunch of large stone tablets neatly arranged by the church walls.

closer look at the ruins

panel inside the ruins

That was our last stop for the day, and we decided to rest for a while and have a little snack. We went to this dessert place in the mall right across Porta de Santiago. I had the golden pomelo dessert (US$2.50). It was a great way to end our trip as we were all soaking wet. Malacca may not be a mindblowing place, but it does live up to its reputation as a good daytrip destination. Malacca is also a foodie’s haven but I did not manage to try much owing to my short time there. For more restaurant recommendations in the city, you can check out this Malacca food guide.

Tip : Buy your return tickets in Malacca if you can. You will end up saving more than 50% of the ticket price.