Melaka

Melaka or Malacca, is rich with its diverse culture. Melaka has always been one of Malaysia's premier tourist destinations. It turned into the pride of our nation when the state along with Penang was recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage City on the 7th of July 2008. As a Malaysian, I'm truly proud of this.

My family and I chose a comfortable hotel. Besides traveling we didn't want to forgo our true purpose of holidaying. 2008 has been great but relatively stressful. So, we chose the period after Christmas in bid to relax and yet see the vibrant and colourful mood of this historical city. Believe it or not? Although Melaka is only a 90 minutes drive from KL, this was only my 3rd time there, 2nd in living memory. My first time there was went I was still a kid. So, couldn't remember anything at all.

Anyway...


December is a great time to visit Melaka. The Portuguese Settlement will transform their home into a wonderland! You sure can't find these sort of decorations in any of our neighbours' house anywhere else in Malaysia. They even invite everyone into their house! Such friendly folks.


I wanted to blend in to look like those Portuguese folks. So, at the flea market, I bought this hat!


Then, I went on a cam-whoring spree. So unlike me, I swear!

Oh yea. I bought a different colour in the end. Haha. But if I were a bit more patient, I could have gotten RM2 cheaper at Jonker St, where they were only selling at RM8!! Oh well, still darn cheap.

Jonker Street is such a good place to find food and souvenirs I tell you. Ok let me share some places I personally recommend to eat.


1. Jonker 88

Definitely a must go for any tourist in Melaka! The food is cheap... but only a slight prob of the queue length. Wouldn't take very long though. Besides, the wait will be all worthwhile!

Got to try the laksa!

And the nasi lemak!

OOH! And definitely the nyonya cendol and this mango ais kacang!


They also have antiques all around. So feel free to have a look around.

2. Cafe Chung Wah - just in front of the Jonker St entrance.

They serve chicken rice in unique ball shape. The ball is filled with mouth-watering gravy. Actually it's not hard to find Chicken Rice Ball shops in Melaka at all. But I think this is the famous one. Just follow the queues ;)

3. Best Cafe - along the road to the left away from Jonker St entrance.

Got to try the Nyonya Ice Cream! It contains almonds, gula melaka, etc.

And when I said entrance to Jonker St, I mean this...


Well, that's not the most ancient thing in Melaka...

1. A'Famosa - hallmark of Melaka! Built by the Portuguese.


2. St Paul's Church.

It's a burial place for the noble by the Dutch. Those huge slab of stones are tomb stones!

3. St. Francis Xavier's Church

4. Christ Church

Interesting fact about this building is that the ceiling beams were built without joints.

5. The Stadhuys

Once the official residence of the Dutch Governors and officers.

And this WindMill just across it.

6. Melaka River

I know what you are thinking. Where's KLCC right? They took it down after filming Entrapment :p

7. Newly uncovered ruins of A'Famosa...

If all that is too much... you can get around the city in trishaws!

But it can be really pricey.

Or have a bird's eye view of the city on either the Eye on Malaysia or this Taming Sari Observatory Tower!

Hopefully this will be something you will see from on top...


After all that, you can kick back and relax...


...or count your 'profit' or 'loses' while doing business in the toilet.

random musings

One man's meat is another man's poison...

One man's 'crazy' is another man's 'romantic'.

why???

Some things which I don't get...

• Why Eddie Murphy as The Riddler??? What happened to first-choice Johnny Depp??
  

I guess Christopher Nolan knows what he's doing. He did such an amazing job in the first two movies!

• Why Season 3 of Heroes must end so fast, after only 13 episodes?? *sobs* It was getting so exciting!! Haih.. oh well.. be patient, JooLian. At least it ended on such a high note :D

Btw, this is their theme song! So cool huh??

• Why I keep falling asleep in the afternoon while studying? Bleh. My biological clock so screwed up - I'm such a nocturnal rat. I'm now so used to sleeping between 4-6am. Haha. One thing though, it's very quiet at that time of 'day'. Hmm.. and I have been getting this recurring dream. Maybe that's why I subconsciously can't wait to fall asleep?
  

Oh... Happy Boxing Day!~ Can't wait for football tonight!! :D

me... Santa in disguise...

Somehow...I look very approachable and trustworthy. Not quite the image I was going for. But who's complaining...?

• On Monday, this lady at KL Sentral suddenly talked to me as I was qeueing up to buy my ticket to go home. She spoke with the British accent and queried about the length of the line we were in. I shared that it was normal, as it was peak hour. She checked on her watch - 4pm. "Welcome to Malaysia", I said. As we continued talking, she compared our public transport system with that of India. I told her that it isn't that bad. I also noticed that she wasn't quite as British as her accent. She seemed to read my mind as she said that her parents were from Hong Kong. She commented that my English was quite good. Anyway, she got off at Masjid Jamek. Of course I heard differently; her pronunciation sounded something else.
• Yesterday, a bunch of lala-looking teens (damn I'm old) clad in very obvious manga-influenced style asked me to take their picture as they posed behind a cardboard with a face hole cutout. There were so many of my friends with me, not to mention the many other free-er looking people around, and they had to pick me?? Why? Oh and earlier that morning, I bought a ticket for Rm1.90. But at the turnstile, the card reader said RM1.70. I wasn't sure whether I should have gone back to complain or not. But the sound of the LRT above drove me to bolt up the escalator instead. Anyway, I got down at Bukit Jalil and then just as I thought, I wasn't allowed through! I ranted to my friend. So, I went to the counter, ready to fire all my ammo at whoever sitting there, BUT he immediately believed my story without any sort of argument! Wtf! What's his problem, man??? No rebuke, no retorts?? I wanted to argue! FISH! Oh well... so I grudgingly lowered down my ammo, and thanked him. Aih... I guess that was nice of them.

Damn... I'm hungry... going to grab some cookies and milk now. Hoho!~

word of the year

YES!
YES!
YES!
YjlEjlSjl!
YjljlEjljlSjljl!
YjljljlEjljljlSjljljl!
YjljljljlEjljljljlSjljljljl!
YjljljljljlEjljljljljlSjljljljljl!
Y
E
S
!

YES WE CAN!

YES - One word can change everything.

YES - Year End Sale

Concretequaters wishes all Merry Christmas!

showdown: Pacquiao vs Nicol!

If you have not heard of the 'Champion of Champions 2008', where have you been??
Don't worry! You still have a chance to show your 'Boleh!' spirit!

You have until the 31st to pick who should be crowned favourite Sports performer from 2008!
Just click on Nicol (Picture below) and vote as many times as you can!


Oh and just so you know, she has already beaten the likes of Usain Bolt and Cristiano Ronaldo! But this is the finals!! Bring the crown to Malaysia!! Come on!

take a chance?

What if you went out with someone (A) you like, and then bumped into someone who likes you (B) (perhaps more) during the outing? Damn awkward.

Malaysian Today quoted my horoscope for this week to be:-

"You will attract a lot of attention and potential lovers. But before you decide to jump in feet first, consider the ramifications. If the person interests you is someone you work with or is involved with someone else, take a pass..."

Adhere? Ignore? I so want to trust this thing... because it's like so meant for me. The writer must know me!

The complications of a Grinch's life... (sighs)

man vs woman

Lol! Stupid ad! Footballs totally kick ass!! But getting bonked in the head by a handbag-wielding lady is no fun either.





Woah!! So cool!! Notice the guys in black in the background?? Even so; that was amazing!!

read at your own risk!

The first day cover which I got on Tuesday :D
It would have been better if VI were valued higher that the others though :p But I guess all are rightfully priced the same - 50 cents. But if only...!

It's a curious thing that all the Premier Schools selected are those with English names - Victoria Institution, Convent Bukit Nanas (They have the 'Convent' word. That's English.), All Saints, and St Thomas. Maybe it is just that they are really old (not to mentioned better designed - British colonial look) schools. However, there are also some which are just as old or older but not selected. A few I know from SBU and Penang Free School bising that their school did not get their equally deserved recognition.

Among those that were, 1 is from Sabah and Sarawak each. And the other 2 from Peninsular are a boys' school, Victoria Institution, and a girls' school, CBN.

I think that after this, many other schools will be getting their stamps soon; depending on the majority sitting in the halls of rulers of course. But as for the moment, bragging rights are ours. Bear with us! :D

end of semester

Hahaha! Managed to snap this picture with my last ever product - Dithranol Paste. It's quite sad.

No More manufacturing Records (MRs), No more dispensing classes, no more rushing around in the lab to collect our apparatuses, no more trying to explain our flaws to our assessors. No more sitting for weekly Pharmaceutics tests :p No more of those. It was lots of fun while it lasted though. I had looked forward to every Wednesday for this lab session. Then again, I look forward to other different lab sessions next semester.

Oh and I have to thank the bus driver. He had help me keep my pencil case I had left the day before! Such a nice fella!

And... I'm proud to say that the School of Pharmacy of Nottingham University comes top in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise 2008! :D 95% of our research was judged to be of international quality and 35% world leading!

Woohoo! That's what I call ending the semester on a high!

a tale of two weddings - part II

Ok just for this post (I know it's long overdue, sorry!); I will write in pink; which is Trina's... or rather Aunt Trina's favourite colour. Uncle Sain, remember that ya??

The marriage of Tony & Trina. Thanks for pointing that out Uncle Khing ;)

Immediate family of the Groom - at Groom's house.

The groom is not the one on the right. He's the best man, LunYao.

Gathering at Bride's house. Looked very Coma like right?

Ladies at the back; not sure why.

In between here, and the next pic, I recorded a video clip of Uncle Sain confessing his love for Trina :D He had to do it; otherwise we were denied entry into her house!

Anyway, good job, Uncle Sain! But remember, aunty's favourite colour is pink!

Such a cute kid; looking so smart!

Aunt Trina hooking on the flower to Uncle Sain's blazer. I know it's not called 'the flower'... something lar..

Uncle Sain!! Her room is soooo pink!! How couldn't you know what was her favourite colour??

Aww...

After tea ceremony... and Uncle Man, one of the paparazzi, on the left.

At the dinner registration table... (from left - Shien, ShiVern, Xiang; and standing behind - LunYao) They purposely asked all the youngsters to be there; got better chance to meet people :p

Uncle Sain and Aunt Trina sang, to Uncle Chan's excitement!

Newlyweds with mom after the former were singing.

And finally, YYYAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMM-SENG!