Malacca Trip (Part 3)

Bird's nest is one of Hotel Puri's main attraction because birds actually lay their nest inside the hotel itself ( guest rooms not included, don't worry).

Day 2 was mainly about getting to know more about the Baba & Nyonya culture. In order to do so, went to a Baba Heritage Musuem where cameras are not allowed.. *sigh*

This lantern is spotted outside the Musuem.

To most of us, these lanterns are deemed as lanterns used during funerals. However, for the B & N culture, they are the normal sets of lanterns used in their daily lives. They have a different set of lanterns for funerals.

Okay,
A little history lesson here...
The B & N culture all started when the Chinese business man from China comes to Melaka and meets his love of their life which happens to be a Malay local and marries her. That was how the assimilation process occured. In my opinion, as the male was Chinese, thus chinese culture was more dominant. This is because most of the B & N apparatus and customs are adopted from the Chinese culture rather than the Malay culture. Anyhow, their outfit portrays a balance in mixture cultures.

The blouse is supposely Chinese which has changed in design after many years and the sarung is Malay.

Taken from Hotel Puri but this is roughly how the windows look like in the B & N house.

The B & N culture is an interesting cultures which is rich in customs and good food! However, I've gotta pity the Nyonyas as they had to be conservative by staying at home to learn how to sew and cook. They are also not allowed to leave the house as they cannot be seen by guys. FYI, in case you are thinking, liddat how they are they gonna find a husband lerr.. Marriages are arranged by their parents in the olden days people. And a Nyonya who has passed the age of 20 years old and has not married yet will be deemed destined to be a spinster for the rest of her life. She will have to work as a maid for the remaining time of her life. Sad huh..

B'days are like the most important day of our lives nowadays because we look forward to the wishes and special treatment we are going to receive and also not forgetting the nice presents.

Olden times, in the B & N cultures the B'day presents are quite intriguing. Imagine getting them for your B'day.. I would like to see your reaction.. XD

B'day presents options list :
1) Rock Sugar - Wishing you a sweet life in the future

2) Eggs - Wishing you good fertility

3) Candles - Used to lighten up your way in life

4) Longevity Noodles - Wishing you long life

Yea, its superstitious but those were the days.. Long GONE.. :)

The roofs of the houses look like those olden roofs in China.

Well, before heading home..
Visited Malaysia's Oldest temple!
400 years old..
Its called Cheng Hoon Teng..

Thats all about the trip.

Have a nice day!

Malacca Trip (Part 2)

After checking into the hotel,

Went around town to explore. Did that on foot and was bloody hot. Imagine me having my camera bag strapped on my back and camera on hand roaming down the streets of Malacca with the weather conditions nowadays. Got me sweating like a dog. Because of that I had to buy an extra shirt as I under packed.

Here are the places I'd visited,

St. Paul's Church

The statue is St. Francis Xavier. His body was temporarily stored in this Church before it was moved to Goa, India.

Entrance of the St. Paul's Church

One of the tombstones that were displayed inside the Church

Surviving gate of A Famosa Portugese fort

Inside the gate of A Famosa

On the way back to the hotel after an exhausting walk through the town, went to Jonker Street to get a drink. My mom got attracted by the interior design of a restaurant and went in to have a look. Got a shot of a vintage looking spiral staircase which don't exist in modern houses nowadays.

At night,
Jonker Street which was accessible to automobiles are now closed for a night bazaar. After having dinner, took a stroll in the street. Nothing special really, just like a typical pasar malam. On the way back to the hotel, crossed a river.

And this is where I stayed for the night.

The environment of the hotel is nice but the room and food sucks though. Its not worth the money spent. After all, its targeting the Singaporean market.

Will blog about Day 2 tomorrow..

Malacca Trip (Part 1)

Malacca

A state that we should be proud of due to the rich history that is buried within it. This place used to be a place where the whites fight to conquer because of its strategic position in terms of geography which allows it to prosper through trading.

It is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO which means that the old buildings cannot be demolished and must retain the design to preserve history. Now, Malacca is a tourist area and to my surprise as i have just found out that it is Singaporean's favourite hang out spot. In fact, some restaurants plan their off days based on Singaporean's school holidays. For instance, when our M'sian school are having holidays, they take their rest as well to prepare their themselves for the hard work when the Singaporean crowd arrives.

Arrived there in the afternoon,
Was crowded like mad because coincidentally the Singaporeans schools were off as well. Started the tour by getting lost in the city to know the place really well.

First stop,
Bukit Cina
Went to the Royal Well where Hang Li Poh, a princess from China used it as a source of water. Now it is not usable and caged up..

Second stop,
Jonker Street

This was where I got to try the famous balls. This is a famous delicacy in this region and of course there are many ball makers in town. In fact, there is even a competition of eating balls! Chicken rice balls you perv..

After lunch, took a walk around the area..

The famous red building

Rickshaw

Will update more about the trip.. Await for Part 2!