Down In Melacca, the historical City

28 Mar 2009 - whoa, the 1st thing I reach Melacca was to eat... eat.. and eat... hahahaha, i know, i know.. there goes my diet.. but hey, if you are in a place where you have never been to, the only thing you can think about is to eat 1st right... anyways, my 1st meal in Melacca was CRAP :P hahaha... guys, if you are reading and about to make a trip down to Melacca, don't eat at the station... most of the food there are meant to con foreigners... except the McDonalds and KFC of course.. there are here to con us :P muahahaha....

anyways, I went into a restaurant saying that they are true melacca cruisine... but, its a mamak and the food there were either too salty or tasteless.. anyhow, I looked at the selection and boy, I don't wanna spoil my mood.. so I ordered "Nasi Goreng Kampung" and by looking at every1's plate, I ordered to have it extra spicy with the ultra hot chilli, Cilli Padi. and then I ordered extra chilli and a curry sauce just so i can cover the taste.. they say, when you take too spicy, you tongue numbs out the taste :P

I had to wait for the runner to come and pick me up...... (Can't blog too much bout the shoot cause its confidential) anyways, all i can say is that the shoot is done in Jonker street and the Hell's Gate.

Anyways, i had to wait for my scene which is late at night. so all i can do then was to go out and look for food:P I asked around and they told me that if you are down in melacca, you have to try the cendol *Shaved Ice dessert* so they asked me to walk down the street and cross over the bridge to try the mamak cendol. its the best in the city they claimed. Its located at the Jalan Masjid Selat Melaka. Easy to find, just a river across from Jonker Walk. anyways, I tried it and it was fabulous compared to the ones here in KL. The cendol was soft and the peanuts are not powderish. the sweeteners just right and well... try it. I walk over to the other stall after that to buy some fried fritters to bring back for the crew.

well, of course i did walk around the area but i don't wanna wonder too far just in case they need me for some shoot. I took a peep at most of the stalls around there and most of the stuff are over priced. anyhow, on my way back, i came to a very authetic stall which sells cendol and some other stuff. anyways, the guy's a bit soft and after chatting a while he got really comfortable and started being touchy.. emm.. i had to leave of course... lol

Anyways, the shoot started and we only managed to finish off at 4am the next day. and that was because it started raining :P anyways, i was being treated as a celebrity and they called me star.. but i refuse to accept the lable as Im not a star but an ACTOR. Anyways, there is a big difference.. I guess you will have to know me to know what are the differences as I constantly remind my friends who are into the industry. :P

oh well, the next day started at 11am where we had our lunch and prepared to make our trip back since our shoot was cancelled. Oh, the best part bout this trip was meeting Jey Tong, a superb Martial artist who won the world champion title in International Wushu competition and got the 3rd place in Olympics. He a fellow Borneon and a brother in Hakka. We come from the same clan too :P lol.. we click right away :) its a pleasure to know u Jey :) anyways, i hitchhiked his car to return to KL but we decide to take a trip down to jonker walk eat. Halfway there, the crew called and told us that we have a shoot tonight. lucky we didn't went on the highway.. lol anyways, I just love the design and construction of the buildings in Melacca.. If given the chance, I would love to head back there for a photography trip. Il bring my SLR down this time :P

we had nyonya cendol this time with rendang rice noodle and curry laksa. the food was fabulous. Once again, its over priced too since its in the tourist attraction list. While eating, we encounter a group of Chinese Tourist from Taiwan. The tour guide was a jackass. She was really rude to me when she wanted her tourist to share my table. of course i don't mind but the way she ask was too much. anyways, I started chatting with the tourist and suddenly, the tour guide walks up to me and say "Jangan Bagi tau apa apa" (Don't tell them anything) I was shocked. does that mean that they are cheating on them? OMG.. Of all the people, They are the only person the tourist rely on and trust for the whole trip. Do you want your tour guide to do that to you when you are overseas in a foreign land? These tour guide are making a bad name on malaysia. How can any foreigner trust us!!

anyways, we went back to the apartment to wait for our call time which in the end was cancelled too. I slept the whole day though cause i was really tired..

I woke up early the next day. wanted to round some of them out to sight see but all of them were still sound asleep. so I went out alone. walking aimlessly cause i didn't know where to go. anyways, I went into a Nyonya cafe and ordered Siam Noodle. weren't too bad but not spicy enough. but its catered for the general public. But the food was nice and simple. the price is quite reasonable. so I started walking again and came to a very interesting landscaped building I walked nearer and it says Emily Backpackers. I was thrilled cause that means i can stay there the next time round. so I rang the bell and the guy came out. He says, "Sorry, only for foreigner." well, i was disappointed. but then again, I thought no harm asking for the price so the next time my friends who comes by for a visit can stay there. The guy refuses to tell me the price and told me there is no point asking for the price anyways. Why so secretive about the price? is it too pricey and overcharge? i wonder??? hmmmm.... anyways, I continued on walking and came to a awesomely design building. I walked nearer and it says "Persatuan Klan Chiang Hsia Wong" I looked at the chinese character and its my surname all right. and I tried to pronounce it and whoa, its my ancestors name. So that means its a building filled with my distant relatives :P lol anyways, it look close so I went across the road to take a pic and can come back the next trip. but when i looked into the view finder, I saw a lady by the gate. I dashed across the road and made some inquiry. And I was right, its my clan. So I went in for a tour and waited for the rest to show up cause its their meeting day to plan for "Parents Day" function. anyways, the meeting was great and I got a book which teach me to sing my clan's song. can't read it though cause its in chinese.. lol anyways.. I was introduced to every1 in the meeting and then I left with Jey.

I can say this trip down was fruitful as I ate Melacca food, found a place where I can know more bout my Family history and most of all, meet a very good friend, Jey Tong.

The horrible Nasi Goreng Kampung at the station (Village style Fried Rice)

Beautiful architecture being refurbished across the river

The Fabulous Mamak Cendol (Indian Muslim Shaved Iced) by the river

The stall selling the Mamak Cendol in Melacca

Gosh, Melacca is sure heaven for photographers

Was lazy to type out the name so I took a picture instead

Jonker walk.. there are tons of beautiful architecture here

Just look at that, its just a normal cafe

I just love the way they keep the it at the original state

Woke up really early the next day to have a walk

Check it out, historical pictures :P

The authetic nyonya restautant which serve delicious food

The forever small cups used nowadays...

The Siam Noodle :P spicy and sour

This is a trishaw center where people rent trishaw to start business

But its heavily caged :P

The suspicious Backpacker hostel :P

Its only for foreigners.. and they refuse to tell me the price too :P

Melacca Bong Clan building - according to them, its one of the largest in malaysia

this building belongs to my distant ancestors for more than 100 years now

The list of activities and leaders above the news cuttings.

I just like this view :P like hope flows in

the main entrance

This is where they pray to the ancestors

A very classy design :)