We had breakfast at a coffee shop (5mins walk from the hotel) which is where we strolled last night by the Melaka river. The other kuehs tasted ok but I find the Zhui Kueh (水粿) a bit too soft and bland. The sauce is also too salty for my liking. On the contrary, the wanton noodles is nice!

The rest of the day is spent shopping at Sutera Mall and KSL City. KSL City is a rather new shopping mall located in Johor Bahru City Centre whereas Sutera Mall is in Taman Sutera Utama. Comparing to both malls, I somehow prefer Sutera which has more to offer.

 Gladys vroom vroom on her bike at Sutera Mall.

The best attraction we experienced is the "Pasar Malam" outside KSL City. There is a LONG stretch of stalls along the road side. Definitely not the same you will find in Singapore. The Pasar Malam here is huge and you can find so much more! There are stalls selling leafy vegetables, raw pork, fresh fish, food stalls selling duck, beancurb, zi char, kuehs etc and non-food stalls selling shoes, clothing, accessories, toys and many more. The entire road is packed with people!

Lucky for us, we came here on the right time, right day as it is only open on Monday evening! We had 豆花 and it is so tasty cos they put black sugar which is sweeter. Hubby also bought some 烧肉 and we eat along the way.

We would probably have settled our dinner at the pasar malam if we did not plan to dine at "Restoran Ah Meng". :)

That ends our 2D1N trip to Melaka. :)

After settling at the hotel, the drivers drove us around Melaka town and also through Jonker walk for the next hour. We passed by various hotels, shop houses, shopping malls and nearby places of interests.

We got off at Jonker Walk and started our walk through the busy streets. Roadside hawkers have started setting up their stalls selling various local delicacies, fashion wear, accessories, handicrafts, footwear and many others.

For us, we are only keen on trying out the various food.

Personally, I am not a durian lover but my hubby and children are. We happened to see a stall selling durian puffs and Hubby went over and bought some. It seems yummy and delicious enough as Denver & Gladys finishes theirs and fight over for the last piece. Hubby had to buy more to fulfil their appetite. :) Not to mention there is also a crowd who are keen on these puffs.

My personal favourite is the chendol! It is different from those that we have back home and it's definitely another must try in Melaka.

With all the walking, drinking and eating, Jonker Walk World Heritage Park is the right place to rest our tired feets and have a toilet break.

Next, continue with our food hunt and dinner.

Gosh! I have put on some weight already but really can't stop myself from eating. ^_^

We walked back to the hotel from Jonker Walk and had a good rest before heading out for a stroll in the night.

According to the sign, we are on the bank of the Sungi Melaka (Malacca river) opposite Kampung Morton. There are river cruises but we did not get on board since it was pretty late already. Perhaps next time.

Night view of the Melaka river

Our trip to Melaka was decided at the very last minute and we had the vans and hotel booked only a few days before Sunday. Since there are 16 of us travelling on this trip, we had two 10-seater vans that will be taking us around for the next 2 days.

The drivers arrived on time to pick us up at bbil's place by 6am and we were on our way crossing the customs on a cool Sunday morning. Around 8am, we were able to stop by Restoran Queen Park for our breakfast. The place is pretty crowded and there are many stalls selling various local food.

One of my favourite is the peanut pancake aka "min jiang kueh" (面煎糕, Apam Balik). Unlike the usual soft and fluffy one that we usually had in Singapore, this one has a crispy skin with peanut filling. It is so yummy to eat when it is warm and the kids love it.

For the next 3 hours, we were resting and napping in the van as it takes us to Maleka. Although it is not a very long drive up from Singapore, it can be pretty tiring and Hubby surely enjoys taking a break from the driver seat and enjoying a personal time off.

It is not our first trip to Melaka and hence we were pleased to visit the Portuguese Settlement apart from the Jonker walk, museum, shopping malls and temple that we have been to previously.
The Portuguese Settlement is a Kristang (Christian) community in Ujong Pasir which is about 3-5 km from Melaka town, Malaysia.

According to Wiki, the Kristang are a Malaysian ethnic group with mixed Portuguese and Malay and for some possibly Indian or Chinese ancestry, which arose during the Portuguese colonial period (16th to 17th century).

The Portuguese Square (also known as ‘Mini Lisbon’) located within the settlement is central to the Portuguese community of Melaka where you can find great Portuguese restaurants, souvenirs and cultural performances.
We arrived pretty early and hence it was quiet and most of the shops are closed. Nevertheless, we walked by the seaside and around the settlement to have a feel of it's culture. I figured it should be more attractive to visit during the weekends and in the evenings.

It is an attraction to visit the settlement during the Christmas season. As you walk by the houses, you will find that they have beautifully decorated their homes and front yards with all kinds of Christmas decos. From all sorts of Santa Claus, reindeer to elves and Christmas trees. It is indeed an amazing and beautiful sight. I can only imagine that it will be even prettier in the night when the lights are up.

After leaving the settlement, we entered Melaka town and went for some early CNY shopping. There are so many pretty dresses and we spent some time at the Brands Outlet. :p

Not forgetting ice-cream treats for the kiddos. (3 flavour ice-cream scoops in a cup for RM1)

Lunch was at Newton food centre which is near Mahkota Shopping Mall. We had chicken rice, char kway tiao, fried oyster, black-chicken soup, popiah and chendol for dessert. Apart from the food stalls, there is also another area at the back where you can find stalls selling clothing, assorted souvenirs, art & crafts and accessories.

2pm - Time to check-in to our "hotel" for tonight. CK Hotel is a new budget hotel located around Chinatown, Melaka and is about 20 mins walk to Jonker street. We located his hotel during our search in tripadvisor and it is currently rank no. 22.

It is a 3-storey building with about 26 rooms including standard, deluxe and family suites. There is a mini front lobby area with stairs up to the rooms. (Note: there is no lift). We stayed in a Deluxe Triple room (unit - #02-01) for RM128 which is good for 4 of us. The room is clean and spacious with air-condition, mini TV and water heater.

Generally, our stay in the hotel is still acceptable since we are only here for a night. The pricing is not too expensive and there are a couple of shops around. However, There are a few pointers to note for keen travellers.

1) Although we are located on the 2nd floor (which is not very high), I still find it tiring to make my climb up the stairs after a tiring full day journey. It also might be inconvenient for the elderly folks or parents carrying young toddlers/babies.

2) Some of the rooms do not have windows and hence you may be staying in rooms facing the 4 walls only.

3) The toilet is a bit small but we managed to help the kids bath nevertheless.

4) No separation of smoking and non-smoking zones.

5) As we are near the street level, there may be some noise from the traffic or the public during the night.

6) Simple locks for the room doors which doesn't feel very safe to me.

Still, the hotel is pretty new (less than 2 years old) and the facilities are neat and tidy. Air-condition is cooling and it is good enough for a short stay which comes with an affordable price tag.

Date: 30th July - 1st August 2005

Location: Malacca

30th July - We are on a 3 days 2 nights stay in Malacca with Chunho and his family. Hubby drove all the way up and we stayed in Mahkota hotel. They have 1-3 bedroom standard/deluxe apartments for families. We booked the 2 bedroom apartment that has a living, dining area, kitchen and toilet that is just nice for all of us.

After settling down, we went to walk and shop around Jonker Street. Jonker Street is a very attractive place with various shops selling clothes, accessories, antique, wood-craved statues as well as souvenirs. You can also find local delicacies such as chicken rice balls, assam fish, carrot cake, pineapple tarts, chendol etc. It is definitely a must-go place where you can really experience and feel the cultures of Melaka.

Night time is play time for the children before bedtime. They each have their own favorite thing to cuddle to bed. ^_^

31st July - Rise & shine! Nice sea view from our hotel room. I presume the children had a good night rest and we are ready to go out.

We didn't really have a specific agenda for this trip.. mainly it's walking, eating and shopping around. Today, we had our morning walk at the various historical hot spots at Jalan Kota, Bandar Hilir. There are so many museums along the stretch! Architecture Museum, UMNO Museum, Kite and Stamp Museum etc and I'm pretty sure it will take hours to complete all of them.

We stopped by the A Famosa Fortress - and the only remaining part of the fortress is a small gate house. Nearby is the Culural Museum where we only had a peek from the outside.

We headed back to the Coronation Park and there is an old train and some airplane exhibit. The sun was pretty hot and we went back to rest at the hotel. :)

We are out again in the late afternoon to see the streets and malls in Melaka.

1st August - After having breakfast, the kids went for a dip in the pool before checking out of the hotel and driving back home. :) It has been a quick but enjoyable weekend getaway for us.

I vaguely remember my inlaws, Jasper, uncle's family and us drove 2 cars down on our 2 days 1 night trip to Muar-Malacca.

Date: 17th December - 18th December 2004
Location: Muar, Malacca

We begin with our search of a famous temple 南亭寺(善才爷庙) in Muar which I believe will bring wealth.

南亭寺（善才爷庙）
坐落于麻坡峇力温那 (Parit Unas)。传说在五一三事件中，华人被马来人追赶到此庙。由于神明护体，马来人因此无法伤極华人。从此受到人们敬拜。 此庙创办人，拿督许天平是前柔佛苏丹干儿子。在善才爷诞时有许多本地与海外人世到此祭拜。平时也香火顶盛。

Along our drive down, we saw some monkeys along the road side and also got lost for quite awhile as Hubby had a difficult time locating the temple. Asking for location was not an easy task too.. We finally found it and had prayers inside the temple. It was a worthwhile attempt as Hubby did had some wealth on returning home. :D Lucky

We drove up to Malacca and check-in to Mahkota Hotel. (http://www.mahkotahotel.com.my/) Then we drove out again to tour round the streets of Malacca. :) Not forgetting to try the famous Chicken Rice Ball! (Although I still prefer the normal chix rice).
Mahkota Hotel has a pretty neat pool and the children had a dip in the waters upon returning to the hotel.
We stayed in a 3 bedroom apartment and the price is very affordable. It is very spacious with a living room and kitchen area. The location is very convenient as well with Mahkota Parade nearby and within walking distance to various historical places of interest.

The only down side is the room is pretty old and a bit dusty. However, I love the view from the balcony! Imagine waking up to see the sunrise!

We had our breakfast at the hotel, check-out and drove down to 宝山亭.

"宝山亭郑和古庙后面及左边有两口井，人们称为三保井，是三保太监郑和来马六甲时所凿的井。相传他在宝山亭附近共凿了七口井，供兵士饮用，此七口井，当时称为“七星坠地”。后来马六甲当局为建路把其中的五口井填埋，目前只剩下两口井。关于大井的由来，马来西亚当地又有不同的解释及故事。当地政府的告示上说庙左边的这口大井是为苏丹曼速沙为其华裔王后汉丽宝所掘的王井，但当地人更相信此井为郑和所掘，这口大井已经被列为马六甲当地的国家珍贵财产，并设有重要保护，加铁网盖上不得使用。"

Before leaving Malacca, we stopped by "Zoo Melaka"-2nd largest zoo in Malaysia. (http://www.melaka.net/zoomelaka/index.htm).

The older children had a chance with the Horse Rides. :)

Dinner was stopping by a resturant near JB before heading back to Singapore. A Quick Weekend getaway (^_^)