Thanks to Joy, I got my mini-getaway this September. Her colleagues had organized a trip up, and I asked Joy if I could tag along. They, being very kind, agreed and saved me the last seat in the car.
After breakfast, WK drove us to Melaka with a break where we replenished ourselves with some guavas and jumbus. It took slightly over 2 hours to get there. I am impressed at WK's age, he's already a tour guide and driving all over Malaysia. His independence gave me better hope of the younger generation (maybe more towards Malaysians like him who are inspired to come to work in Singapore)! I have to say, people whom come over are really more mature and independent than our "boys" of the same age whom have never lived out of home except for 2 years of National Service.
We finally got into Melaka slightly past noon, found a parking slot, and checked into the hostel. It was lunch time, WK took us to a Nonya restaurant named Atlantic One where he usually brings his tour passengers. It was full, but he knew the boss, and immediately we were ushered in and seated. Connections do make a difference. We had some typical pot of Nonya vegetables, Rendang chicken and a huge Sambal fish. The meal wasn't very cheap, but the boss gave us chendol on the house, so it made up for it!
After the meal, we took a stroll down Jonker Street and revisited Christchurch and St Paul's. We also had the refreshing mango juice, under the influence of Joy! She got hooked to it the first time she had it in Melaka. WK took us up St Paul in a new route from the usual one I took, and explained to us the history. Sightseeing is really quite different when you've a guide ;)All I could remember most was the heat was killing us!! LOL. So we headed back to the hostel, this time on a different route. Joy and me sketched along the way, this was the first time I properly drew something on a trip. We decided to laze in. The hostel is very basic, 9 rooms and a shared toilet and bathroom. The rooms were almost full that night, and there was only a toilet and bathroom to share amongst all the people, I was surprised all of us managed to get by! The guys took a nap, whilst the girls did a little sketch. The location of the hostel is not bad, its off an alley by Jonker Street; looking out of the window, we could watch the night market setting up. We also had WiFi!
It started to drizzle. Despite that, it didn't dampen our mood for food! We got a table and started ordering food. Laksa, stir-fried clams, charcoal grilled clams and satay! The laksa wasn't impressive, but we were stuffed. I had the Kiwi shake I bought off the night market and it was really worth the 4MYR. We strolled down the night market and couldn't resist more food. We ended up each with an egg sorbet (2 x apple custard/lover fruit, 1 x passion fruit, 1 x mint, 1 x boysenberry - if I recall correctly), what an innovative idea! Ah, and that white box is half a dozen of baby portuguese egg tarts. I couldn't believe how much we could eat. So we walked and walked... towards the river, hoping to burn some calories and find a good spot for drinks. The bars by the river were slightly overpriced, so we settled on Libar (besides the overcrowded Geographer Cafe). I didn't forget about my Muah Chee craving, so that was my supper even though I was forcing myself to finish it :p
That concluded the first night! We were all exhausted but happy from all the eating... More to go the following day before we return to Singapore!
