Shelbybaby *bisou*: merry xmas malacca

How did everyone's Christmas go??

Contrary to popular belief I'm not of the Christian faith (all I have is an English name). But that doesn't mean I don't celebrate Christmas! I love 'tis season to be jolly :) I've made prior arrangements for a weekend getaway to Melaka with the parentals. Figured they could do with a change in routine. Besides, I have almost no recollection of my visit to Malacca (14 years ago?) and such a shame considering it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and touted as one of 'The 45 Places to Go' places by The New York Times. So this is me in my lil' way of contributing to the local tourism industry!

Unbeknownst to me, EVERYONE heads to Malacca for the weekend and we were caught in a 3 hour traffic jam! OMG. Sempat jugak for Dddy to sneak in a couple of Mandarin oranges in between brakes.

As Dddy painfully handled the crawl into town, both of us horsed around like teenagers with the camera.

I stumbled upon a review on 45 Lekiu and fell in love immediately! I told myself I had to find the perfect excuse to stay in this incredible place. This gem of a restored guesthouse is right in the heart of Chinatown just a stone's throw away from Jonker Street. It was a lil' confusing to locate it at first but just as we started walking around we found it absolutely accessible (especially to the pasar malam).

It's 'haphazard combinations of contemporary pieces and centuries-old furnishing' tells a story of pre-war architecture told in the modern times. It is such a charm lying on a king bed looking up on wooden ceiling beams that dates possibly a century ago.

The piéce de resistance of the place is of course their lap pool out back. Don't you just adore the gargantuan wooden cabinet doors that open up to a hanging garden and a rustic loo?

We went to explore the old town. Just a quick stroll and we found Masjid Kampong Kling rebuilt in brick in 1872. The minaret left me in awe. Such an awesome structure.

We were so freakin' hungry that we had no choice but to succumb to the over-touristed Famosa Chicken Rice Ball!

It is said that the Chicken Rice Ball was created to ease labourers of their food transporting worries. Though I have to say nothing much to shout about. Just a culinary novelty :)

Famosa Chicken Rice Ball

Jonker Street

Melaka
Tel: +606-2860121
Mon-Sun: 0900 - 2100

We browsed through the Jonker Street night market and sampled some pasar malam delicacies like durian spring roll. Also 'cos 'twas an ancient lady and her grandchild manning the stall and I felt a small purchase could be helpful.

Oooh did I enjoy tucking into Jonker 88's durian cendol! Sweet heaven on my tongue :P

They even have their own artifact museum!

It's as if time went into a standstill. If you hear really closely you can hear Peranakan nyonyas bargaining with the vegetable seller and rickshaw wheels clanking on the dusky lanes.

Bizarrely, every building in Malacca seem to have a story to tell. Hotel Puri has become home to swallows. The lil birds roam around town and return to rest in their spit-covered abode in the evening. The Chinese consider this to be super 'ong'. The hotel gets to harvest the nests too!

There's a mini museum in the hotel. Dddy particularly adores this old-school dacing (scale) used back in the days to weigh rubber and whatnot.

Hotel Puri
118 Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
75200 Melaka
Tel: +606 2825528

Curiosity does not kill the cat this time but instead quenches the thirst with a tall glass of mango juice!

Limau Limau Cafe
9 Jalan Hang Lekiu
Tel: +6012-6984917
Mon-Tue: 0930-1830
Thu: 0930-1830
Fri: 0930-2000
Sat: 0930-2300
Sun: 0930-2000

In the morning, the parentals went out for a walk and we followed the stairs that lead to a rooftop patio.

Thank goodness Guy's a morning person and he went out breakfast shopping before I woke.

He bought us Peranakan kuihs much to my dismay at first. Perhaps it's the Malaccan air or Lavazza coffee (yup there's a Lavazza coffee machine here) but those were some spectacular pulut tekan + kaya man. Serious!

We wish we could have weekend breakfasts like this everyday!

The view took my breath away. Even the scalding hot tea did nothing to ruin the ambience.

45 Lekiu is the brainchild of Musang Lena Residences. It took them a year for renovation and restoration works. Not a surprise with everything so meticulously matched and organized.

Me ♥ sipping tea in the pool.

45 Lekiu
Jalan Hang Lekiu
45200 Melaka
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/45lekiu

Just before checkout Guy ajak me to go discover the little lanes of Chinatown.

Chen Hoon Teng Temple (The Temple of Bright Clouds) was founded in 1645 and built with materials brought by Chinese junks. How cool izzat?? It's dedicated to Kwan Yin and some other deities like...

We made prayers. I had trouble folding the paper offerings and Guy had to do it for me. He did it so nicely hor?

With the influx of con jobs posing as religious representatives they've put up posters as a reminder that bogus monks are NOT to be entertained! Good. I personally always felt religion is a pact, relationship and persefahaman between you and the higher being.