braggies: Weekend in Malacca Malaysia

Last weekend my itchy feet brought me to Malacca for an overnight of cultural sightseeing, though I have been there before it was nice to come back since the place is just awesome. Visiting Malacca is like transporting to distant past with the remnants of once prosperous town with the evident of the old buildings still intact at present time. For just over three hours travel by land from Singapore, its an ideal getaway and a good diversion from the usual boring weekend. Due to heavy traffic at the Causeway link bridge being Saturday, I arrived at the Larkin bus terminal in Johor Bahru past 10 in the morning and managed to get the 11:00am trip for Malacca. By 2pm I was already checked in in the hotel, a guesthouse actually along Jalan Hang Jebat which also known as Jonker Walk. After taking late lunch in one of the restaurants along the Jonker Walk, the whole afternoon was spent at the St Paul historical complex, entering the numerous museums which I find it quite amusing knowing how they came up with such as museums for education, literary, maritime, to name some. Almost every building within the vicinity were turned into a museum, and I would say it again, its a lot! After checking a number of these museums that afternoon, I headed to the nearby Palawhan Mall for refreshment and was trapped there until evening due to heavy downpour. Evening was spent checking the night market, dinner, and few beers in a bar within Jonker Walk. The next day was spent in the hotel until checked out time which is 11:00am. The hotel itself is quite interesting, it is once a 17th century Dutch Mansion and modified into a guesthouse. I found the room rate expensive as the room was bare with only the bed in it, no curtains nor cabinet to keep your clothes. When I checked in only did I learned that the toilet is shared. Surprised upon learning the situation, the receptionist rudely told me he can refund the payment and look for another one. And while at the lounge that evening, though directly im not watching tv, the receptionist asked his only one staff to turn off the tv without me asking first being there and a guest. Though I like the place because of this location I will never set foot in there again. Aside from the rude receptionist, I was awaken by the children who were running back and forth along the corridor in the early morning, the wooden flooring is creating noise even if by just simple walking. And one more, the checked out time is 11am, and if you happen to checked out after that you have to pay the extra hours equivalent to 10% of the room rate per hour! And you have to be barefooted the whole time of your stay in the hotel which I find it uncomfortable and nerve-wrecking. You are not allowed to wear slipper while in the premises of the hotel!

But overall I enjoyed my weekend trip to historic Malacca, I just to be stringent in looking for a place to stay next time. There are still many places I want to explore and experience in Malacca.

Jalan Hang Jebat aka Jonker Walk