Familiar Shot? Yep, We're back on the road and it's Melaka again. This time around we're heading straight to town to spend Christmas there. Reservation made for a night at the Garden City apartment for a 2 bedroom executive suite.
We stopped at the Shalala (nothing to shalala about) coffee house by the North South Highway for my breakfast. The place was empty. We thought it could have been for the price or bad food so we just settled for coffee and I had my cereal which was packed from home.
All the patrons at this R&R opted to have their meals at the local food outlet next door so no one drops by here ... no wonder they won hands down for the cleanest outlet. We went in because of that ... it was spotless.
We took a diversion from our original course into Seremban Town for a quick tour. The weather looked a little gloomy so we thought off just driving around town. Grandpa suggested to visit the famous Seremban temple while we were there.
It was the Bala Thandayuthapani Temple which is located right next to Seremban Parade. It's definitely the most beautiful temple I have visited. Right from the built, landscaping, office arrangement they are very organized.
As we were leaving, I noticed this sign at the entrance which translates to "Why fear when I'm here". This assured us a safe journey throughout.
We reached Melaka just about noon and Grand Uncle's family was already waiting at the toll collection area, so we joined and both cars drove together into town. If you take a closer look at the picture above, they are in the CRV. Both my Uncles were also joining us.
Tired from all the driving, we decided to stop for lunch at the Sri Laksmi Villas Restaurant. This place has been around for almost 50 years. The owner was kind enough to explain the history behind the place while we savoured the fantastic banana leaf meal.
After the meal, we checked into our respective hotels. Grand Uncle was at Equatorial as he made prior reservations and we couldn't get a room there. I needed the space to run around hence the apartment.
After a quick afternoon nap and freshen up with a shower, we got out again, both groups met at a nearby stall selling the best 'kuay teow' noodles in Melaka. True enough, this guy had orders coming in non-stop.
We ordered the Ice Kacang Papuk which is a Melaka speciality dessert. Daddy didn't agree on the authenticity as he claims it tastes just like any Ice Kacang found in KL.
The debate went on and all througout 'kuay teow' uncle was dishing out plate after plate. He's a machine. Grandpa was mesmerized at the man's cooking skills.
After the heavy evening fill-up, we needed to walk around to burn off those calories so we dropped by Melaka's most famous landmark, The Stadthuys. It was the official residence of the Dutch Governor. It's now the historic museum. This is a picture of the Christ Church built in 1753!
There were lots of stalls selling all kinds of handicrafts and not forgetting the trishaws, I had a fun 20 mins ride on one of them. Each one of them had Hindi songs playing while they ferried their customers. Must have been due to the recent visit by the Bollywood heart throb Shah Rukh Khan.
This was taken in one of the largest temples in Melaka. The statue you see here is of Hanuman. He is one of the most important personalities in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. His most famous feat, as described in the scriptures, was leading a monkey army to fight the demon King Ravana. My height was only up to his anklet!
We dropped by the Equatorial Hotel to checkout the Christmas Deco there and as always, me being camera shy made a dash for it.
This was made entirely from cakes and chocolates. If it wasn't for daddy, I would have sunk my teeth in them.
For dinner we made our way to the Newton Food Court.
It was a really huge place with so much to choose from.
The highlight of this trip was the viewing of the Christmas decorations at the Portuguese Settlement. I was down with mild fever so Grand Uncle led the group for the walk through without me *sigh*.
The next day, I was up early and still recovering from the fever I needed to get some fresh air. We drove down to the 'Eye on Malaysia'. Didn't get a chance to ride it while it was in KL so we didn't wanna miss it in Melaka either.
The ride was cheaper here and the view was fantastic. It was starting to drizzle so we had just enough time to head back to the apartment to pack before check-out.
While driving out of town, I spotted this. It's a classic bread vendor mobile. Unlike the motorcycles used in KL, here it was still on bicycle. It must be challenging cycling through the crowded Melaka streets with such heavy load.
We stopped for a late lunch at the Ayer Keroh overhead bridge restaurant for the All American Food.
All in it was a very exciting holiday with both the families having so much fun. Hopefully next year I can have a holiday that requires me to fly.
We had the kolum drawn and all the items needed prepared waiting for the precise time to pour the milk into the pot for it to boil. I was helping by not messing up the artwork although it was very tempting.
Ponggal is basically a Thanksgiving festival praying for a good year ahead. There's Mattu ponggal the next day which is a sign of thanking the cattle and Kanni Ponggal on the third day for the young maidens who seeks good husbands.
I was not allowed anywhere near the fire and hence the chair to sit still and witness the ceremony. It was Bhogi the day before where we got rid of old things as a symbolic sign of new beginnings. I packed and sent my old clothes that I've grown out of for donation.
There was abundance of excitement surrounding the pot as the milk boiled and spilled over the pot. It's good luck and prosperity to have the milk spill flow towards the house which was what took place. We were ecstatic witnessing it.
