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 .....

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!

In the Kebaya Shop

160711 Buying kebaya - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Nothing beats taking a 360 photo from inside the shop, looking at the collections they had. Very nice indeed!

Toko Ce Rose Kebaya Nyonya

One of the main reason we drove to Melaka last Monday was to shop. Anita had been eyeing some traditional kebaya for some time. Those is KL were either non-authentic or too expensive. The best places to get some proper kebaya would either be in Penang or Melaka since the Peranakan were known to make some fantastic attire.

She went on the net and found out about this place. There were a few others around the corner from here, but this was the one which caught her eyes. Getting there was pretty straight forward since it was located just around the corner from the famous Rumah Merah or Stadhuys building, not far from Jonker.

There were plenty of selections

Coming in many shapes and sizesThe place certainly lived up to its reputation. And they catered for the real expensive ones to the ones more affordable, complete with set of accessories. Unfortunately size was a factor for Anita, and we were not able to buy the exotic ones.

All in all, definitely a place to visit if one was into buying kebaya.