Malacca - UNESCO Heritage site

(Famous Orang Utan T-Shirt shop close to the Jonker neighborhood)

Out on a stealth mission to enjoy our few days off work, The Boyfriend and I decided to have a road trip! (like we used to do) and ventured down to Malacca. Its good as a 'weekend retreat' as its not that far away to get to. Essentially ~2 hours from KL (faster if youre driving faster than my 100km/h)

We decided to stay at The Majestic as there was a nice special going on (RM699 for one night, a tour, as well as dinner, breakfast and lunch at the hotel). Under normal circumstances one night at The Majestic would set you back >RM1000k so this was pretty good. Though, be aware of the tour time. They told us at the very last minute (i.e. after dinner) that we couldnt get a tour guide because the next day was the guide's day off. I was like wth? Why didnt anyone tell me anything when we asked twice about the tours. The food at The Majestic is actually really good so its pretty worth it to get the free meals at the hotel. For dinner they give you 1 main course and 2 additional courses, for breakfast one course and for lunch 2 courses.

Of course if you decide to not stay there, there are a lot of places to stay at (see towards the end of blog) as well as plenty of places to eat at (chicken rice balls! chicken rice balls!) with chicken rice balls that would cost you ~RM4-5 each. Otherwise, other food available around the area isnt that expensive as well.


(Hitch a ride on a trishaw. One hour of sightseeing will cost you RM40)

Malacca itself has gone through tremendous improvements. Now there's even a river boat cruise! that seems to be gaining much in popularity. I wont be able to write about it since I didnt manage to hitch a ride, but from the boardwalk it seems like there deffinitely was critical mass. I just hope that it came with some explanations as well. The boardwalk itself is a new thing, its quite nice to walk along the river and just enjoy the breeze and the many (huge!) monitor lizards around the area.


(Cruising along the river)

The oldie's but goodies are still there of course, Jonker street, Afamosa, the churches, the mosque, the temples and the plentiful of small little cafe's all over the town. We went to the Dutch Cafe or also known as Kafe Orang Belanda for some incredibly delicious crepes! and coffee. When walking along Jonker, dont forget to also walk on the street behind it (closer to the Eye on Malaysia), there are quite a few cafes and hostels there and in perfect location too seeing that its super close to the historical sites.


(Inside St. Paul's church)

There are some things of course that I missed on my trip this time around, trishaw rides, eye on malaysia, river boat cruise, Peranakan Museum and all the other museums I wanted to see... butttttt thats the best part! seeing as its close enough to KL, you can always go down again for another trip!

p/s: Dont forget to try the famous Famosa Chicken Rice balls. They actually use a machine to make the rice balls! maybe if you come early enough you'll be able to see it being made. Its delicious! Dont forget the chilli!


(Chicken rice balls!)

Kg. Sg. Bumbun

Sorry for the lack of updates. I was still in Singapore last weekend for work and just got back yesterday. On the upside, my company has given me 3 days compensation for the weekend work and The Boyfriend and I are going to pretend its the weekend tomorrow!

I thought though since I havent updated in a while, that it would be worth updating you with something I did over the weekend sometime last year. I dont think Ill be going back again anytime soon, but its most deff worth a trip out I think.

The Boyfriend and I first saw these handiworks in Cameron Highlands. It was so amazing we couldnt believe it was all handmade. There was a news article on the people who did all the woodwork and we decided to pay them! a visit.


(Incredible statues all hand made!)

Located off in Klang, Kampung Sg. Bumbun comprises of the orang asli (aborigines) that focus on woodwork. They carve their gods generally used in a dance for worship. Originally each family would carve their own Gods. However as the community started swindling, theyve passed on different gods to the different members of the community.


(Hard at work)

Nowadays, their work has become a bit more commercial and they tend to sell it out to tourists. They make both masks as well as statues. When we saw the prices in Cameron Highlands, it was reaching RM1,000 plus each (mostly for the statues). However if you go there and try and buy it directly, you generally would get it for a much much lower price.



As mentioned, the masks were initially used in dance ritual, thus you can actually wear it over your head. I left buying a small 'owl' God (Got it for around RM80 if I remember correctly) and we left an order for The Boyfriends Dad. When I came back to pick it up, they had made an incredibly intricate (and semi scary) mask of wild boar God. The mouth piece was even hinged. When you place it over your face and open your mouth, the mask would open its mouth as well. We got this for around RM300plus.

It usually takes them about 2-3 days to make a small one and up to a week to make a large mask/ statue. The statues Im showing below took about 4 men ~8 days to complete. The woodwork here is truly truly impecable.


(This is as large as I am)

I recommend going over to see this at least once in your life, and bring cash so you can just buy things off the rack. I feel that its slowly dying out. When I last spoke to them, they mentioned there use to be tourist busses that would come down to see them, but nowadays its been really really slow for them as well.


(The shrine)

Kampung Sungai Bumbun. To get there, take the Federal Highway all the way to Klang, go all the way till you come up to the other end of Klang (the one with the Giant Jusco and mall which should be on your right) Keep on going straight all the way going straight on the flyover and just keep on going. Eventually you will see a sign that says Kg. Sg. Bumbun turn right. Turn right and keep going straight, you should pass the Sime Darby plantation on your left and right and there would be a Sime Darby office building on your right. Drive slow and there will be a small sign to your left that says Kg. Sg. Bumbun. Drive into the village and you will face a fork in the road. Turn right on the fork. Drive slowly on this one lane road. You will see houses to your right and left. But you will also see little huts that look standardized. This is where they do their work. Park anywhere and just wander up and down the road. The people are very friendly and you can just walk up to talk to them and ask them if you can watch them work.

Deff try and go before it gets too late and this tradition too gets wiped out from us.

Enjoy!

This week

This week I had no weekend. I warned you that my job tends to try and suck up my life...

On Thursday I was informed to fly into Singapore on Friday for the meeting on Monday. Monday meetings almost always mean that you are working weekends. Which is essentially what I did.

The Boyfriend (who is luckily in the same line of work as myself and can understand such dire arrangements) flew back from Indonesia via Singapore. Giving us almost two hours before I went off to work.

So I spent my Sat and Sunday in the office. Missed the wedding I was supposed to go to, and missed my Cheerleading event (again! Ive tried going for 3 years now).

As a further update, I found out on Monday that The Boyfriend has H1N1 and has since been isolated in the hospital in KL. What does this mean to me? Means that I got kicked out by my team mates and placed under home quarantine. Checked with a dr, and he says I dont have it now, but am going to wait a few days to see if I will exhibit any symptoms.

Therefore, I am spending my work time in Singapore in the hotel instead of office. (which is much preferred I can assure you)

The plan is to fly back on Friday (after quarantine time is over) and hopefully The Boyfriend would be out by then. If I start showing symptoms, Ill prolly end up in Singapore for another week or so.

So, sorry, no updates for this week. Though I was planning on putting up something else that I had done before but cant coz I left my external drive with all my pictures in Malaysia. Will post further updates when I finally get to go home