How I Spent My Day In UNSECO Hertige City Of Malacca
I decided very last minute that it was tie for me to visit Malacca. I kept pushing back my visit for such a long time and for no real valid reason. So on the night of February 29, I decided it was time to go… now. I mean, on the next day. It was nearing midnight when I bought my bus ticket for Malacca… at 8:00 am. I was pretty confident that I could do it. I made some research, prepared an itinerary, my bag, clothes and all and set my alarm to 6:30 am, 6:50 am and 7:00 am then went to bed around 2:00 am.
6:40 am
Hours later I wake up to the sound of my alarm, it’s 6:40 am. I said mehh too early, five more minutes. WEYLL… those 5 more minutes turned into more than a 30 min sleep after multiple snoozes. I wake up in panic and check my phone immediately.
7:20 am
Fuck it’s 7:20 am. I jump out of bed and call a Grab to get me to the bus station that is… TWENTY MINUTES away. The Grab will arrive in 11 minutes… Enough time to get ready. The cap takes more time to come, goes to the wrong building so it adds a 4-5 minutes wait. I finally get into the cap at 7:35 am. I would arrive at the TBS bus terminal at BEST at 7:55 am… Enough to catch the bus right? The ride costed 30 rm, which was more than the ROUND TRIP ticket for Malacca, at 23 rm.
7:58 am
Ah bah non :). I arrived at 7:58 am and quickly realized that I forgot a very important point… When you have a bus to take at TBS, you need to print your boarding pass at the station. To do so, you have to go to the ticket counter and pay a 1 rm fee to get it. The only issue here is that, you’re never the only person at the station, so there is always a line. I still lined up to get it, because their buses are always late for 5 to 15 minutes. When I went to Singapore and Penang, the buses never departed on time from TBS, so I thought to myself that this time too. I hoped. As I arrived to the counter. I immediately asked the lady if the bus has left. She checked with her talki-walki and yes… It has left. I checked my phone and it was 8:05 am… So close but too late. Lost 12 rm then.
8:05 am
I checked online for the next bus and it was at 9:00 am. I wanted to get it online but I thought to myself ”Well I am literally at the station. I’ll just go to the ticket counter and get it.” Oh lord was I wrong. I should have bought it online. The line was not really long, but tell me why the hell did it take FOURTY MINUTES to finally buy the ticket ? AND the man up there tried to put me on the 9:30 am one because the 9:00 am is too soon ? SIR how about you just give me the ticket I asked for ? I could have gotten it in 2 min online. This was ridiculous but hey got a new ticket! The total was 13 rm and I got my boarding pass with it so no need to line up again wouhou!
8:45 am
At this point it’s 8:45 am and I am starving. I grabbed water, tuna sandwich, a mango drink and a peanut butter Loackers waffles for a quick breakfast for 19 rm. My card got declined and I had a mini heart attack because ?! 왜 ? That’s why you always need 2-3 cards on you. Rushed eating that and hopped on the cold bus. Why do they blast AC everywhere in Malaysia?
10:55 am
The bus took off at 9:00 am exactly. What a miracle! We arrived at Malacca with no delay at 10:55 am. At the terminal, I realized that the center is a bit far from there. I checked what was the closest attraction from here and it was either the River Cruise or Villa Sentosa. I decided to start with the River Cruise as the end of it would’ve been the city center, where most the attractions I was going to where in the area. I would then go back up the river to visit Villa Sentosa and head back to the Bus Terminal for my 9:00 pm bus.
11:30 am
Well well well… It didn’t go as planned because I put the wrong address on Grab. I put the River Cruise address near the city center, where I was supposed to get by cruise. I had to think quickly because the next ride was in 10 min, at 11:30 am. Do I want to get back north and go back south again? Do I change plan? I accepted defeat and switched the plan by starting the visit there, since I was near the center anyway. No need to go back up north and waste more time.
I started with a visit to the old Malacca Church. Beautiful from the outside. It’s 200 years old. They had memorable plaques which I found interesting to see. A piece of life from the 17th 18th century.
I headed straight to Daily Fix Cafe, as JZ, a local whom I met at a Entreprenerial Women meetup in late January at Tannin Hill Tea Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, suggested this place as they had Pandan pancake, a flavour I mentioned I really liked. I appreciate the fact that she suggest the place solely based on that item. So bet I went there. It was in the Jonker street. I wish I haven’t eaten before because the pancakes were quite filling, not the greatest but still filling. It came with a sort of coconut toasted flakes topping and I added those strawberries as extras. The total bill was about 20 rm and the cafe was beautiful.
Right after this, I walked around sneaking my head into a few stores here and there. I checked out the Royal Press since it was free and gave you a bit of history about the city itself. The had just a machine or two for display but I was surprised to learn that they all still running their business. After my little street walk, I headed to the Baba Nyonya Museum.
The entry yo the museum was 18 rm, and you get a booklet for you to read and understand each section of the museum. You can have a guided tour for an extra fee, but they had a schedule and I missed out on that. I would suggest having the tour with a guide as it is simply more interesting and entertaining than reading the booklet by yourself. The museum itself is very pretty and you learn more about the family that lived there, and still owns the place. It’s basically a real house that got turned into a museum. It’s a two story house with open spaces and indoor backyard which is technically the kitchen. They then have dedicated a section of the house for a bakery shop and souvenir shop. What I understood from my visit there is that, this was a rich and influential family back then, who continue to grow their wealth by turning their familial house into a museum, shop and bakery. So basically rich people trynna stay rich and relevant, and we’re helping them by visiting these places and funding it. It felt less authentic when I realized that. I was done with the tour around 1:45 pm.
1:45 pm
As I was heading back to Jonker street, I came across a calligraphy store. I passed by it and really wanted to go in but was telling myself that I am in a rush and I can’t do this stop. But then I quickly realized that was stupid so made a u-turn and went in. I love Chinese calligraphy, or any calligraphy as a matter of fact. I was checking out the art and seeing what they sell and offer. The store is run by this lady who has no hands and only speaks Chinese (no idea which dialect) and her helper who speaks English, Malay and a bit of Chinese. He helps her run the store and manage a few things she can’t. I got a book mark with my name (Sou) in Chinese characters that she wrote herself with her arms. She said Sou meant a kind person. I said I wouldn’t disagree. It was very fascinating to see her writing, because she is capable of so much! She did not let her handicap stop her from making art. Very impressive. The bookmark was 10rm and you can watch a short video about the visit here:
(insert video)
I went window shopping on the Jonker street, relax a bit and checked out some funny statues on the way.
(photos)
2:45 pm
I am finally at the museum I wanted to check out. I pay the 20 rm entry fee and jump right into it. In the beginning of the museum, you learn a bit more about the history of Malacca and all the colonial eras it went through. Definitely learned a lot and discovered a few facts I did not know about the whole country itself. I knew Malacca was worth visiting but after this museum visit, I knew I fucked up by allocating it a day only. The other sections got a bit boring so I made the mistake of doing a few emails thinking that the rest of the museum was boring and only the first part was interesting. I was wrong. It got even more interesting and more historical details on the second floor but again, I knew I fucked up because I had very little time left if I wanted to visit Villa Sentosa. I had to make a quick decision to either continue the visit here or make it to Villa Sentosa… and I took the latter.
4:20 pm
I check the time and see it is 4:20 pm. The villa closes at 5:00 pm, and I am 30 min away. Knowing that taking a Grab would mean waiting 10 min for it to arrive and getting stuck in traffic, I only had one choice: run. I started running (okay let’s be real and less dramatic: I started jogging (with my back pack) under the Malaysian sun at 4:20 pm… The heat, the sweat, the starving, the thirstiness all started to kick in.
4:40pm
I finally made it on time before closure, at 4:40 pm. I took a moment to relax and not enter the premise catching my breath and looking all crazy. The place has no sign or anything indicating that it is Villa Sentosa. It’s traditional Malay village house. I get in and good timing, the owner was about to start a tour with the couple that just arrived as well. Ibrahim our guide explained that Villa Sentosa is a living museum, meaning that people still live here. If I remember correctly, he explained that him, his wife and nephew still live here and open their doors to tourists. He explained that is why it is not always open or has different working hours than mentioned on Google Maps or other blogs, as things might change on the daily, and they can open and close as they feel. He guided us through every room of the house and its history. At the entrance, you can see the family tree. They are Indonesian descents that now have been living in Malaysia for decades and all married into Malaysian families. In each period of time, someone took care of the house and run it as a living museum since the 80’s. Ibrahim had so many stories to tell about his family, the place and history. The house is stopped in time with vintage and antique furnitures and photos. The place has been visited by many Royals of the region and has always been labeled as an authentic Malay house and a must see to fully connect with the locals. The visit is free but it is encouraged to make a donation as they do not receive any support from the government since they are outside of the UNESCO Zone.
(photos)
6:10 pm
The visit to Villa Sentosa took twice then it should have. I stayed for a longer time discussing history and family background with Ibrahim. He’s very knowledgeable, warm and open for discussion. I also took more time to photograph the beautiful space and details while he gave another tour to two beautiful old ladies from England. Highly recommend to visit Villa Sentosa during your visit to Malacca. It is more authentic and real than the Baba Nyonya one.
As I left the Villa, I was looking for a place to quickly grab something and continue on the next adventure: The Seaside Mosque. I grabbed some chicken satay freshly made on the side of the road and called a grab (which took so much time to come ugh). Well, my 13 rm ride to the mosque was useless as they refused to let me in since. It was prayer time (maghrib) and I was not wearing a hijab (scarf covering the hair) so they told me it’s closed to tourists today. I tried to argue that I am muslim and that there is always hijabs inside the mosque (fr) and that I would like to go pray (genuinely) but they still refused. They told that I could check out the mosque from outside at a certain point just a few minutes walk away. I went that and was forced to pay 5 rm to get into an abandoned land, basically randos charging tourists (locals or international) to get on their ”private property”, which I doubt is. Went there, took my photos videos and left. Quite pretty, but the sunset was disappointing since it was cloudy. I would suggest you check it out during the daylight or a non-cloudy day.
Photos
Time
I call a Grab from the mosque and of course, it takes so much time to come. I was heading to a restaurant JZ suggested, but had to get off in the middle of the traffic because it was so jammed, we barely moved, and I was surely not gonna make it on time to eat and get to the bus terminal for my return to KL. So basically I took a 10 rm ride to the middle of nowhere. I went a restaurant that I also wanted to check out and was near where I got off.
time
I make my order and sit there waiting. I take a look at the clock and… oh… I realized I REALLY do NOT have time to eat. This is literally two minute after entering the restaurant. I quickly asked the waitress if they could make it to go and called a Grab right away, as I know they usually take time to come, but now due to traffic… it would take even more time. The bus terminal was about 10 min without traffic from where I was but it was already 9:30 pm, my bus leaves at 10:00 pm and I had to be at the station earlier to get my bus pass… So much to do yet so little time. The Grab driver arrived BUT MY FOOD WAS NOT READY. So I PANIC. I start asking non stop if my food was ready (so annoying i’m sorry) and kept beggin the driver not to leave me and just wait a bit more because I would be fucked if he cancelled the ride. I finally get my food and jump into the Grab apologizing to the waitresses at the restaurant and the driver. Mind you, I’m starving because now I smell this delicious food but can’t eat it.
As I am discussing with my driver, I mentioned that my bus is leaving at 9:00 pm and since we were tight on time he said he would do his best to get me there on time (yes he did speed a bit and I APPRECIATE).
8:45 PM
I finally get to the bus terminal and run inside. It’s big. Once again, I had to line up to get my boarding pass. The line was short, but… extremely slow..
8:50 pm
At this point I think i’m about to miss my bus, again. I get my pass and guess what, I have to go through another step to get to the boarding area. There was just one turnstile/scanner, and it stopped working. Now I’m stressed, because I am right HERE yet, I am bout to miss the bus for stupid thing like this. The workers did not give a fuck and did not let us pass even with valid tickets. So people in front of me started losing their cool and screaming at the workers, who finally fixed it rather quickly.
8:55 pm
I am 5 min from missing the bus, but also confident I will not as I am RIGHT THERE. But guess what? The turnstile/scanner stops working at my turn. Auntie behind me trynna pass me with her man and in my head I’m like MAAM WHAT THE FUCK NO TABARNAK, but of course I didn’t. I just put on the fakest smile and said ”I have a bus to catch too, NOW, so I WILL go ahead of you. Thank you.” and she just backed off. As I am dealing with all these things at the same time, you hear the loud microphone across the whole terminal repeating my FULL NAME… not once, BUT THREE TIMES (crying emoji) AND I’M JUST LIKE OKAY I GET IT YALL ARE LOOKING FOR ME PLEASE LET ME INNNN!!! The stress y’all (laughing emoji). The turnstile/scanner FINALLY starts working and I RUN to my gate and once AGAIN have to scan the pass. Jeez, too many steps just makes the whole process ineffective.
9:00 pm
Anyway, it’s 9:00 pm, I made it, the bus leaves and I can finally relax and take a deep breath. But at what cost ? I am tired, hungry, hangry, overstressed, brainburnt, exhausted and still can’t eat because I am now in the bus and I will not be that one person that eats and makes the whole ride smell like food.
Works fine tho and i get in the bus TIRED HUNGRY HANGRY EXHAUSTED BRAINBURNT AND OVERSTRESSED
11:30 pm
I finally arrive in KL Sentral. I head to the the bathroom because it was much needed only to not use it and be left traumatized. My Grab takes twice the time to come, 12 min, and cancelled the trip as they arrived… I- I was at loss of words because this is just so dumb.
11:50 pm
It’s almost midnight at this point and I have lost appetite. Im in the streets of KL with cold food getting cancelled by Grab. I-
12:30 pm
I was defeated. I finally get home, eat my cold ass 38rm meal, that would have been SO delicious it it was fresh. I got pandan chicken and Nyonyan chicken as well.
The end.
This whole day was a solid adventure that I do not necessarily recommend. If you are planning on visiting Malacca, you most definitely should give it minimum two days and maximum 4, if you want to go very slow, or if you’re a digital nomad and you work during the day so you won’t have much time. One day in Malacca is not enjoyable and I would even say impossible. Don’t be like me!