Snaps of Jonker

An Old World Charm. The colonials meets Peranakan. The fusion of the East and the West. That was what the Straits Settlements had in common. It was a theme we could explore in all three areas. Penang, Malacca and Singapore. They have this row of house and dare I say a different ways of living their lives. Seemed that the modern era effected them in a special way, to only enrich their culture rather than change too much with the time.

From the rows of colourful cafes, the warmth of the locals - apart from the obvious fact that the local merchants were now replaced by the foreigners - the brightly painted shop facade, the laid back eateries and bed and breakfast littering the town. It all added to the potpourri of feelings you had when you visit the City. And there were gems to be found in unexpected corners if you dare to explore. Be it a specialty shop or a rustic restaurant. Just bring your camera along and pray for great weather.

I had the same feeling when I travel to Penang as well but somehow things moved at a faster pace there. Here, it was more easygoing, although weekends were nightmares. Too many people. Too many cars. Driving into Bandar Melaka can be an ordeal.

But if you were willing to spend a couple of nights - better still at the charming bed and breakfast they had around Jonker - you could absorb the charm as they come. And that was a good thing.

Traveling there for a day trip really fit not make justice to the city. After negotiating the hundreds of traffic lights from Ayer Keroh where you exit the highway and finding a parking spot in town, you could only afford a few hours walking around before it was time to go again.

We plan to spend a night here in the future. And really explore the place .....

Monday at Publika

Even though it was located only 10 minutes away from our apartment, Public was not a common place for us to visit. And it mainly to do with parking. We were stuck in huge queues to get in and out and in the end, we never bordered going there again.

We were banking that the place would be deserted during this long weekend and we were right. There were not too many people there. The CNY decorations were being dismantled as well and quite a few of the ships were still closed for the holidays.

Anita wanted to buy some tidbits for the apartment for decorations and there were a few stores there selling cute items. One thing about the place was the food. There were tons of restaurants there, both in Public and the streets surrounding it. We ended up having Thai Boat Needles and the restaurant was located right in the end of the mall.

There were too many things that caught our eyes that in the end we ended up not buying much. We may head out there again in the future once we decided what we wanted to buy.

Day Trip to Melaka

We reached Melaka just before 11, stopping for breakfast in Nilai R&R and was treated to some delightful nasi lemak at one of the stalls. We didn’t realise how gorgeous it was. Traffic was a breeze and we could’ve reached Dataran Pahlawan much earlier if not for the crazy number of traffic lights between Ayer Keroh and Bandar Melaka. It was borderline ridiculous!

Parked our car, and then walked to Jonker Street. Anita was more interested to explore the nice little hotels and B&B they had scattered around the area. None of which actually offered much parking spot! I snapped the photos away and the weather was really great. In fact it was too warm and we decided to have an early lunch and rehydrate ourselves.

We couldn’t find many outlets around there that we were sure as Halal, so we settled for the comfort of Hard Rock Cafe. While we were dining and enjoying the drinks, we heard some thunder coming from outside.

We couldn’t believe it! It was raining cats and dogs. And that went on until about 2 pm. It was still drizzling after that. We had a choice to make then. Should we brave the drizzle and go deeper into Jonker Street taking the risk that it may be raining heavier later. Or head back to the car and enjoy a quiet drive back to KL.

We decided for the latter, and drove past Sungai Udang - towards the entrance of Kem Terendak. We stopped at Klebang along the way for a touch of coconut shake. No time to break at Sungai Udang as Idlan had called my handphone as soon as arrived home!

The traffic coming back was heavier as it started raining when we reached Sungai Besi. A nice outing, but shame about the rain though. We could’ve spend a bit more time looking at stuffs for the apartment .... May be next time!

Getting Set

Since the apartment was in the middle of renovations, free time for Anita was scarce. During my break, I decided that on one of the days, we must have a day trip. After much planning, we took off to Melaka for a short drive - although we spent significant amount of times waiting for the lights to turn green at the traffic lights!

We left as soon as Irfan was sent to school. Idlan had to take the bus that morning - contributing more to his bad mood. I packed the evening before. Got my Garmin charged up for GPS geotagging on my photos later. I took a couple of bodies plus the Ricoh GR - everything fit in well into the Ming Then bag. Plus a couple of extra batteries.

Making sure the cameras were charged upTime to carry the bag alongWe had to drop Irfan first in school, which meant that we would be driving across town to join the highways. We decided to press on and have breakfast along the highway ....

So off we went!

Bukit Nanas Canopy Walk

We had been waiting for the canopy walk to be reopened for almost a couple of years now. We went through the old route a few month back and from a chance look, we found out that the canopy was opened.

So, off we went. Anita and I, and in must say that I was impressed.

The map of the routeCome through hereCome this wayThe cool breezy weather certainly helped but the walk was well-shaded anyway. We went through the wrong was since we parked out car at KL Tower. The canopy was at least 250m long and it was quite high if you're afraid of heights. Coming down the hill was a doddle but coming back up involved at least 5 flights of stairs.

Luckily there were plenty of benches to rest. No drinks station though. We had drinks later at KL Tower.

Definitely worth a visit and the canopy walk were children friendly - although I haven't tested them with Idlan and Irfan.

Reaching the other sideThe city stayed in the background for onceThere were plenty of space for facilities but could be utilised better. Even to get to a cafe you would need to head to Menara KL.For the thirst after the walkAnd some snackThe walk was opened daily from 10am to 6pm. Access was either from KL Tower or from the bottom at Jalan Raja Chulan.