Jeremy meets Malaysia.

south-east asia → malay peninsula → malaysia → malacca

it was not until the last hours of christmas day that i finally decided to go to malaysia. i have nothing to do for the next 2 days, and just like i said, holidays are hard to get by, and so i was stuffing my trusted backpack early hours of 26th to catch the morning bus to malacca along lavender (along MRT green line) street. the trip took about 5 hours from singapore, including a short stopover, and clearing the immigration. there was no traffic (or little) both at the highway and checkpoint for immigration as it was the 26th already. i guess most people have started the vacation a day ahead of me. entering malaysia was like seeing the philippines. everything looks familiar in my eyes, only you see women covering their head, and hearing people talk in some vernacular i don’t understand, and of course the road traffic reversed (right-hand drive or left-side traffic of the road in malaysia as well as singapore). the stopover proved that food (and several items) is cheaper in malaysia. reaching malacca by half past-3 in the afternoon (i left singapore 10.30ish), i checked for my bus going back to singapore the next day and was startled to hear that its all full, all trips for the next 2 days! i tried to asked all bus operators but they’re all the same save for one which offers a trip to johor bahru (about 15 mins away from singapore) for a very impressive price of 70 ringgit! then i remember reading somewhere from the internet during my very productive research the night before that there’s a national train going to singapore from tampin, and tried to look for that but unfortunately there’s no way to get that train ticket unless i’m in tampin, and so i just left the terminal onwards to town because i know i can worry about that tomorrow, there’s one more important thing i have to worry now, which is my bed for the night. reaching the town centre after half an hour, i tried to find by foot the first hostel i have in my list, which was not really hard to find, but with all people and tourists i see walking around, i was expecting there’s no vacancy. i realize tourism is big these days, and so i was not surprised at all when the receptionist told me they’re full. bus going back tomorrow is full, and i have no bed for the night. great. and this is one of the reasons why i prefer traveling by myself. i don’t have to worry about other people, and deal with their crazy standards of traveling with all it’s luxuriousness and grandness. well, i respect. to each his own.

after walking back and forth for more than half an hour, with a bit of luck, i was able to find a room in malacca budget home stay, but for a not-so-budget price of 50 ringgit a night (i haggled it down from 55). it’s not really expensive as it’s comparable to hostel prices in new zealand, but i was hesitant only because i could find cheaper here. hungry and tired, i availed the room (it was their last available room), dropped my backpack and started getting lost, beginning at stadhuys square. malacca has been once an important trading port, and strategic base for portuguese, dutch, and then british during the war, similar to manila during the spanish era. the crowd was happy, and people posing everywhere for pictures, and i was just happy to take pictures of everything my lens spots. the town housed numerous historical museum, so i went inside the first one, which is just by the square, on the other side of the christ church. entrance is a reasonable 2 ringgit, and inside is a wide collection of old artifacts ranging from porcelain and ceramics, to diorama of locals and native ethnics, to guns and armory used during the atrocious times. it was dark when i left the museum, so i had dinner first (chicken rice! never had enough of it in singapore), and joined everyone in the jonker walk for night market shopping. at the end of the night, i have got ref magnets for my mother, some bracelet for friends, and a brand new ray ban shades for 50 ringgit. i even ran out of money when i was buying the shades, but was happy that they accepted my 50 SGD, using a conversion rate of the same that i had in the bus terminal ($1 = RM 2.40). i walked more, watch the people shove each other, and then bought a bottled water and a can of beer for take home.

the hostel i was staying was really nice, with a backyard exactly on the canals of the malacca river. it was a nice view, with fresh air, and countless of tourist ferries passing by, almost all waving their hands at random strangers. i tried to initiate waving my hand, and 10 pairs of hands waved back at me. lol. sleep.

the next day was early as i plan to go to a nearby beach called Big Island, the hostel attendant explained to me how to get there yesterday, and that he knows of a taxi driver to help me. however, he is nowhere to be found at 7.30 in the morning, so i just head outside and eat noodle breakfast, and continued walking around the town from where I left yesterday. looking at the local map, i know there’s much more places of interest to visit so i happily skipped the beach, and stroll and took pictures instead. there’s another museum that is inside a ship replica, for RM3 i think, i’m unsure because i got in for free. it was inside a very low wall (3 feet max), so i thought it was okay to get through. i was already inside when i realize i have to pay to get in, so i just pretended i paid. to the very end of the town is the ruins of st paul church, a’famosa cannons, and the building of declaration of independence. in between these are parks, and smaller museum, including a stamp museum, and a touring museum featuring Tortura II, which showcases genuine instruments of torture during the medieval times (i didn’t get in, not because i’m scared of what’s inside but because of the10 unhappy ringgit in my wallet). one thing I liked in malacca is the heavy sense of art everywhere. there are countless of art galleries, museums, at night, people busking for money playing violin or piano, even how they decorated a normal bike as adorned rickshaw with colorful, dancing lights, beating to loud local music.

i decided to leave early at 4ish in the afternoon because i also knew from tourism malaysia office that the train from tampin to singapore is a freaking 9-hour journey.

back in same bus terminal i was the day before, i tried to find tickets going back to singapore, and then again, none. i was just standing thinking how to get home, and then a man came by to offer his taxi to johor bahru for 250 ringgit! seriously, i don’t have to think about it. and then there were 2 ladies, holding several tickets, and then i learned that they have one extra for the bus leaving at 5pm! it was 4.56 or 4.57 exactly, so i was in panic, paid them, and got the tickets!

and that is how i get back in singapore, and i don’t have pay more or take extra day off.

it was really a very short break, and now i realize the enormous amount of time i have for myself for the whole year 2009 until getting in singapore last september. it’s really true that you take things for granted and you realize they’re lost only when they’re gone. i’m not saying i’m unhappy being back here in singapore, because after all, i know i have to do what i’m doing at the moment, and it’s definitely a nice feeling to have money in your pocket.

anywho, happy new year all!

Photos