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In Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman (a short walk from Chow Kit station) lies a strong rivalry between 2 well known chilli pan mee in KL …
Legoland Malaysia has one of the coolest rides at Land of Adventure – Dino Island! In addition, kids can take part in laser shooting at Lost Kingdom Adventure or have a mini drop at Beatle Bounce.
Lost Kingdom Adventure
At Lost Kingdom Adventure, players sit in a carriage (max capacity of 4) and enters into a maze of treasures & adventure! Players will each have a laser gun and you are expected to aim and shoot at green or red jewels. Try to out shoot and out score each other in this adventure! We had a high score of 37500!
Dino Island
One of the more exciting rides in Legoland, Dino Island brings you on a boat ride seeing dinosaurs made out of Legos. You will then ascend up an “abandoned volcano” only to escape from it down a steep drop! You will get wet for this ride, so be prepared!
Beatle Bounce
If you had been to the Giant Drop in Australia, this is the kids version of it. A mini drop. Kids will be taken up to a small height and dropped in small degrees. The process is repeated. The ride is mainly for kids, accompanying adult can only sit in the middle seat. For balancing purposes?
You have just finished a post from our series from Legoland Malaysia. Find out more about Legoland Malaysia in the following posts!
Legoland Malaysia : Johor’s Latest Attraction (Main Post)
Legoland Malaysia Lego City : Learn to Drive, Sail and Rescue
Legoland Malaysia Miniland : See Miniatures of World Famous Attractions
Legoland Malaysia: Cute Characters made out of Lego Bricks
Legoland Malaysia LEGO Kingdoms : Brave the Dragon Rollercoaster
Legoland Malaysia’s Imagination : 4D Movies, Observation Tower & Duplo Fun
Legoland Malaysia Land of Adventure : Are you Game for Adventure?
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Click here for the best rates at Legoland Malaysia Hotel NOW!
Legoland Malaysia is the latest attraction in Johor! We had an opportunity to visit so let’s find out what’s on offer at Legoland Malaysia right here!
Legoland Johor Malaysia is located near Medini and is just a 10 minutes drive from the Tuas Second Link, 20 minutes from Senai Airport and 30 minutes from Johor Bahru.
To get to Legoland from Singapore, after passing the Tuas Second Link, continue along the second link expressway and look for EXIT 312. Note that for this exit, there are 2 sub exits, go to the one that states Nusajaya / LEGOLAND. “LEGOLAND” will be prominently displayed in brown, you cant miss it!
Follow the signs to “LEGOLAND” and you will pass by Mall of Medini. PARK HERE!!
The reason why we suggest to park here is because it is a shorter drive (you’ll still need to drive 200m to Legoland’s car park) and since both parking locations requires you to have a short walk from the carpark to Legoland, why not pass through a mall?
There are so many things to do and attractions in Legoland! There are 7 themed areas with over 40 interactive rides, shows and play areas for the kids! Legoland is a kids friendly place. We would say that more than 50% of the attractions are meant and constructed with kids in mind. The themed areas include
1. The Beginning
2. Lego Technic
3. Lego Kingdoms
4. Imagination
5. Land of Adventures
6. Lego City
7. Miniland
Before we proceed, let’s first take a look at the map…
Aerial View of Legoland Johor
The Beginning
The Beginning is the first area that you will go to once you enter into Legoland. After contending with the long queues to enter Legoland (we came on a week day and yet there’s such a long queue!)…
Here, you will find guest services counter, mini market, the Brick Shop, the Cafe as well as the Big Shop! Cute characters made entirely out of Lego bricks can be found here and throughout Legoland as well!
If you stay near to Legoland or even in the western part of Singapore PLUS you have kids, we will recommend that you head right on to the guest services for the upgrade of your day ticket to the annual pass. This is because the price of the annual pass is about 3x the price of admission. This means that if you intend to visit more than 3 times a year, the annual pass is definitely worth it!
Miniland
If you head straight after passing The Beginning, you will enter into Miniland!
Miniland is an entire exhibition of world landmarks made entirely out of Lego Bricks! Here, you will be able to see land marks such as the Great Wall of China, the Petronas Towers as well as the Singapore Flyer! See the intricacy and details placed into constructing these structures and enjoy many photo moments here!
Miniland will include the landmarks from the following locations and themes…
KLIA, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Singapore, India, Myanmar, China, Laos, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Port Tanjung Pelepas and Pirates!
Lego Technic
Lego Technic boasts of several exciting rides and attractions such as Technic Twister, AQUAZONE Wave Racers, Water Splash, LEGO MINDSTORMS, LEGO Academy as well as Project X!
Project X is one of the main attractions at Lego Technic and Legoland. It is a 4 seater roller coaster that has a huge drop at one point, making it one of the most exciting rides in Legoland!
A recommendation to Legoland : We noticed that some of the carriages did not leave with all 4 seats filled. Perhaps the staff can plan for subsequent rides and check if there are single or 2 riders that can fill the seats. This will ensure that more riders can enjoy the rides in a shorter amount of time.
Lego City
Lego City is a theme of having the different modes of transportation that we have today. This zone offers the Lego City Airport, Lego City Stage, Boating School, Remote Control Boat, The Shipyard, Junior Driving School, Driving School, Legoland Express as well as the Lego Rescue Academy.
Another main attraction at Malaysia’s Legoland is the driving school. Do note that the driving school is divided into Junior (Ages 3 to 6) as well as Drivers (Ages 7 to 13). (Adults, we’re sorry, no rides for you here!) But kids can complete the lessons and ciruits here and have their very own Legoland Driver’s License!
Land of Adventure
Land of Adventure has some fun attractions as well. The attractions here include Lost Kingdom Adventure, Beatle Bounce, Dino Island as well as Pharoah’s Revenge! The main attraction here has got to be Dino Island where you will be brought up into the “ruins” and try to escape out of it through the giant water splash! Be warned that you will be wet for this ride!
Imagination
At Imagination, you will enjoy the Kid Power Towers, Build & Test, Observation Tower, Musical Fountain, DUPLO Playtown, DUPLO Express as well as the Lego Studios!
At Lego Studios, you will be able to enjoy 4D movies and they are shown in succession. They are Racers, Spellbreaker as well as Clutch Powers. We managed to watch Spellbreaker (Characters dont speak in this movie) as well as Clutch Powers. Each movie lasts about 15 minutes. A quick way to finish all the movies is to re-queue once you’re done with a movie and you can complete all 3 movies within the hour. Well, that is provided you do not mind the seatings. But be assured that all the seats will be able to enjoy all the effects even if you’re sitting at the front row.
For those who do not know what is a 4D movie, it is actually 3D graphics with additional effects such as water drizzles, wind, foam, crippy crawly feelers beneath you that will actually feel according the movie that you’re watching.
A recommendation to Legoland : We recommend that the screens at the waiting area show a countdown timer so that those waiting would roughly know how long more they will have to wait before the next show. Also, it would be good to show what movie is up next on the screens. We did not actually know what movie it was unless we asked OR waited till just before we enter the theatre.
Lego Kingdoms
Lego Kingdoms boasts of the following attractions that include the Forestman’s hideout, Dragon’s Apprentice, The Dragon, King’s Market, Castle Stage, Royal Joust, Merlin’s Challenge as well as Castle Games. The main attraction here is of course the Dragon rollercoaster ride. It is the highest rollercoaster ride in Legoland Malaysia and you will be able to enjoy great views of Legoland at the top of the ride!
Opening Hours
Legoland Malaysia is open from 10am to 6pm daily. The hours are extended on weekends, public holidays as well as school holidays. The extended hours are from 10am to 8pm during these periods.
Ticket Prices
We advise our readers to purchase tickets online as there are some discounts when you do so. Also as mentioned earlier, if you are planning to revisit Legoland, do approach guest services to upgrade your day tickets to the annual pass. Ticket prices for Legoland Malaysia are
Adult (12-59) RM140 (Walk-in) , RM105 (online booking)
Children & Senior (60+) RM110 (Walk-in) , RM82.50 (online booking)
Annual Pass for Adults is RM275 and Children/Seniors at RM210
Hotels near to Legoland Malaysia
There are several excellent hotels such as Pulai Springs, KSL Resort, Thistle Johor Bahru as well as Tune Hotels. Legoland Hotel will be completed in 2014!
For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals in Johor Bahru right here!
You have just finished a post from our series from Legoland Malaysia. Find out more about Legoland Malaysia in the following posts!
Legoland Malaysia : Johor’s Latest Attraction (Main Post)
Legoland Malaysia Lego City : Learn to Drive, Sail and Rescue
Legoland Malaysia Miniland : See Miniatures of World Famous Attractions
Legoland Malaysia: Cute Characters made out of Lego Bricks
Legoland Malaysia LEGO Kingdoms : Brave the Dragon Rollercoaster
Legoland Malaysia’s Imagination : 4D Movies, Observation Tower & Duplo Fun
Legoland Malaysia Land of Adventure : Are you Game for Adventure?
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
Conclusion
There’s a full suite of entertainment for the whole family at Legoland. Exciting rides, entertaining shows, fun rides for the kids as well as many play areas. Kids will definitely be spoilt for choice at this Lego themepark. For a well deserved break and a full day of entertaining fun for the kids, look no further than Legoland Malaysia!
Click here for the best rates at Legoland Malaysia Hotel NOW!
Lotus Desaru Beach Resort was our choice of stay when Kate and I wanted to enjoy a staycation in Malaysia. We stumbled upon Lotus Desaru Beach Resort while doing our research and the price was really affordable at only $77 per night (inclusive of taxes) for a one room suite!
(*Find out the hottest hotel deals in Desaru Malaysia here!)
From Singapore, there is now a quicker way to travel to Desaru via the Senai Desaru Expressway!
The drive time from Singapore to Desaru has been greatly reduced with the completion of the Senai Desaru Expressway. No longer do you need to make a trip north to Kota Tinggi then south back to Desaru. With the Senai Desaru Expressway, the drive time is cut to about 45 minutes (this excludes the waiting time at the causeway jam!)
The price of the toll from Singapore to Desaru via the Senai Desaru Expressway costs RM8.20!
After about a 45 minutes drive, we finally reached Lotus Desaru Beach Resort, Desaru Malaysia!
Lotus Desaru Beach Resort is designed to resemble that of medieval towers. On top of each tower, there is a flag that seems to be flying (but is actually fixed at that position)
This map shows the various facilities and layout of the entire resort.
There are many facilities at Lotus Desaru Beach Resort. This is a quick run down of the facilities here…
There are actually 3 main swimming areas. It includes the above swimming pool at the clubhouse (right in front of the gym), a smaller swimming pool that resides with a block of towers and of course the main attraction here, the WATER PARK!
The water park at Lotus Desaru Beach Resort is really nothing much to shout about. However, if you enjoy water slides, there is a really long water slide (the main and only attraction of the water park) that serves this water park.
The entry to the water park is of course complimentary with stays at the hotel. You will need to wear a wrist band when you use any of the 3 pool facilities though. You can remove the wrist band after each usage. Once removed, bring back the wrist band to the receptionist at the clubhouse and they will replace it for you.
One word of caution though. DO NOT USE THE FLOAT AT THE SLIDE!! Although it was relatively cheap (RM7), Kate and I fell over and landed on our heads TWICE at the slides! We thus concluded it was too dangerous to go on the slide with floats. On the other hand, it was really fun just sliding down the slides! Even the super man style (belly down with hands forwards) was shiok!
Kate enjoyed a Ayurvedic spa (something like a full body oil massage) at RM115++ while I enjoyed the face spa for RM50++ The masseuse who did my spa had more than 10 years of experience from India and he was so professional at the facial massage, relaxing the various facial muscles with strong, firm and skillful strokes. In addition, there was also a facial of various cleansing, moisturising and revitalising creams/oils that left my face bouncy and refreshed! It was really well worth it. Kate thoroughly enjoyed her body massage as well!
The Teratai restaurant at Lotus Desaru Beach Resort is where breakfast is served daily. On our first day, there was also a buffet lunch at only RM25++! We ate…
As this was a staycation (really just to chill and relax -> Chillax), we had all our meals at the hotel. Dinner was at the cafe/pub near the beach…
We also had pizza which was a deal that came with 2 drinks. It was quite chill to dine beside the ocean front and listen to the waves (and of course the songs that kept repeating itself – only like 7 songs on the CD!)…
One Bedroom Suite at Lotus Desaru Beach Resort
Although the room was relatively cheap, we must say that it was quite decent and different from what we had experienced previously. It was a loft unit with the bed and toilet (with bathtub) on the second floor.
For dinner on the last night, we had a club sandwich and indian set meal. It was the first time that we ordered room service and it was still relatively affordable for room service standards…
We also witnessed MAN CITY TAKING THE BPL CHAMPIONSHIP with 2 last minute goals (think it was 91st and 93rd minutes)! It was exhilarating just to watch the match! Although Man U also won their last game, the 2 last minute goals reversed a defeat into a victory and Man City clinched the title for the 2011/2012 BPL league, wrestling it away from Man U! History made and we witnessed it!
For your convenience, you can check out the hotel deals at Lotus Desaru Beach Resort right here!
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Remember to leave your comments for 2bearbear Singapore Travel Blog in our comments section below!
All in all, it was a really great staycation here in Desaru Malaysia. In fact, we thought that this stay was much better than Pulai Springs nearby. Well, our opinion is very much price driven in this case. We hope you’ll enjoy your next stay at Desaru Malaysia and do check out our other post about the things to do in Desaru Malaysia as well! Lotus Desaru Beach Resort is indeed an excellent place for staycation!
There are so many things to do and attractions in Desaru! Let’s find out what are some of the things that you can do right here in Desaru!
(*Find out the hottest hotel deals in Desaru Malaysia here!)
What would a visit to Desaru be like without a visit to the Desaru Fruit Farm?
Not only will you be able to savour all the different kinds of food available at the Desaru Fruit Farm, the tour guides will also tell you the benefits of all the different kinds of fruit and the quantity that you should take to achieve the benefits.
To top things off, there’s even a sumptuous meal thrown in (inclusive of crabs and crayfish)!
*Please note that the food served depends on the package that you go for. Kate and I had two meals at the fruit farm and we enjoyed western for our other meal there.
A visit to the Desaru Fruit Farm is not only educational but satisfying for the palettes! Great place to visit with the kids as well!
Another must visit attraction at Desaru is the Firefly River Cruise Tour!
If you have not tried this river cruise, this Singapore Travel Blog recommends that you experience this magical journey down the river since it is just an hour away. Once you check in to your Desaru Hotel, make sure to check out times so that you can coordinate your evening. This cruise is very popular among nomads traveling from countries like the Philippines and other parts of Malaysia since it gives a different perspective of Desaru. It will expose you to your other senses under the darkness of the night.You become more aware of your surroundings and the sounds of the night as well as the waves of the river (and of course the motor of the boat).
As you approach the fireflies, the boat stops its engines to get you up close. If you’re daring enough, you can even place them in the palm for a photo shot! Unfortunately, our cameras are not up to the mark for night shots… (*hint hint* to potential sponsors!)
One of the main attractions of Desaru is of course its coastline formed with the South China Sea. The pristine beaches offers picturesque views of sunrise…
The clear blue waters also plays host to an array of water activities such as kayaking, banana boat rides and even parasailing!
While you’re there, why not check out some of these top hotels in Desaru?
2. Sand & Sandals Desaru (formerly known as Pulai Desaru Beach Resort & Spa)
Check out our full review of Sand and Sandals Desaru here!
3. Desaru Tunamaya Beach and Spa Resort
For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals in Desaru right here!
There are actually 2 ways to get there from Singapore.
Ferry
The ferry from Singapore to Desaru takes about 45 minutes and you can hop onto the ferry at the Changi Ferry Terminal.
Via the Senai Desaru Expressway
The drive time from Singapore to Desaru has been greatly reduced with the completion of the Senai Desaru Expressway. No longer do you need to make a trip north to Kota Tinggi then south back to Desaru. With the Senai Desaru Expressway, the drive time is cut to about 45 minutes (this excludes the waiting time at the causeway jam!)
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
Remember to leave your comments for 2bearbear Singapore Travel Blog in our comments section below!
If you’re going to Desaru, do check out our reviews of Lotus Desaru Beach Resort as well as Pulai Desaru Beach Resort!
There are so many things to do and attractions in Melaka! Let’s find out what are the things you can do right here in Melaka!
Just for our readers, this is a quick summary of the Melaka attractions in this world heritage city…
1. Traditional Trishaw Rides
One of the best ways to cover Melaka has got to be the trishaw rides. You can hope on one of these brightly decorated trishaws at Stadhuys and your trishaw guide will bring you to the tourist attractions in Melaka!
2. Authentic Peranakan Food
One of the most authentic and well known peranakan restaurants in Melaka, Ole Sayang serves up some of the best nonya foods at affordable prices. Dont forget to take away some of its famous keropok while you’re there!
3. Historical Museums
To learn some interesting history of how Melaka came to be, the Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum as well as the Melaka Maritime Museum are 2 of the many museums that are strongly recommended!
4. A Famosa Fort
One of the most famous ruins in Melaka, the A Famosa Fort is a must visit attraction!
5. St. Paul’s Church
A short walk up the hill from A Famosa is the St. Paul’s Church. From here, you can visit this Melaka Attraction and have a splendid view of the city as well!
6. Jonker Street
To savour some of the best local delicacies, why not head to Jonker Street? Here, you will be able to savour one of the best chicken rice in Melaka and also try out some street foods in the evening. Quaint shops along the street will get your attention as well!
7. Stadhuys aka Red Square
Another must visit attraction here in Melaka has got to be the Stadhuys. Here you can also see one of the oldest church – Christ Church Melaka and also hop on to one of the well-decorated trishaws for a ride about town!
8. Leisurely Stroll along the Melaka River
To make your Melaka trip more memorable, why not hope on the cruise down the Melaka river? A walk along the river is also strongly recommended!
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
The cost of a river cruise along the Melaka River actually costs only 10RM!
However, on this day, Kate and I decided that “Hey, it’s a bright and sunny day, why not just take a leisurely stroll down the Melaka river?”
And that’s what we did…
We started our leisurely stroll along the Melaka River and we stumbled upon this sign…
Turns out that these thin bricks were from the dutch colonial times. These bricks have a stark contrast to the fatter and broader bricks that we see today.
Further down, we came across the Church of St. Francis Xavier that was built in 1849…
as well as the huge sign that states Melaka as a World Heritage City…
Along the river, you can also see the Melaka trees…
Legend has it that the exiled Prince Parameswara was standing under the Melaka Tree when he observed a mouse deer attacking his hunting dogs. Inspired by the fighting spirit of the mouse deer, he asked for the name of the tree of which he was standing under. And the name of Melaka was born…
Moving on, we noticed that there are nicely drawn graffiti art on the houses along the river…
We were pleasantly surprised by the extent of the art and these areas present picturesque spots for tourists along the river.
After (more than) a while, we decided to head inwards towards to city to find a place to rest our feet. We came across the Baker’s Oven and Cafe…
This quaint little cafe is operated by a lovely couple. The wife who is a British does some mean baking and we decided to give the scones a try…
The scone had a crumbly (not too sweet) texture to it and the flavour was brought up and complemented with the jam and cream. The cream was freshly whipped on the spot so there was no hint of extra fatty taste or sweetness to it. Excellent pairing.
We rounded the “meal” with a couple of juices to cool ourselves down on this bright and sunny day…
The leisurely stroll along the Melaka river was indeed rewarding and enjoyable. Take time to take in the sights and even allow yourself to wander through the alleys. You may stumble into hidden “gems” and neighbourhoods that are well worth a visit!
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
To get a fix of trishaw rides in Melaka, look no further than Stadhuys, otherwise known as the red square in Melaka.
Trishaw Rides at Stadhuys
The Stadhuys is the homeground of the Trishaw riders in Melaka. Here, you can find signs that depict the price of the trishaw rides – typically charged 40RM per hour. The rates of the trishaw rides do differ during the holiday season…
Kate and I were there during the holiday season (new year’s eve) and thought that the prices of trishaw rides as depicted on the signs still held true. However, upon querying, the rates were somewhat cheaper (at 30RM) but the rides were much shorter (at 20 minutes).
Still, one of the must-do activity here in Melaka has got to be this traditional ride on the trishaw. It allows you to get around to all the attractions in Melaka such as the A Famosa aka Porta de Santiago, Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum, Melaka Maritime Museum, St. Paul’s Church and even Jonker Street!
Not only that, if you are lucky, the trishaw rider can give you simple explanations about these attractions. Even if they do not, you still get to enjoy a leisurely ride across town…
Trishaw Ride Melaka
The other main attraction about the trishaws in Melaka is that the trishaw riders take pride in their rides so much so that they put in extra effort to decorate them. Looking at the different brightly coloured decorations of the trishaws is a joy in itself! Not only that, some rides come with the latest sound systems, sub-woofer and all to entertain tourists and onlookers!
Therefore, if you have travelled especially to Melaka, take a ride on the traditional trishaw and enjoy the sights and sounds that this simple mode of transport can bring.
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
Many people have talked to us about how bad traffic jams in Melaka can really be. Usually, the single road traffic as well as the peak hours/weekends are mentioned in the same breath.
But how bad is the traffic jam in Melaka really?
This video, taken from our room @ Hotel Equatorial Melaka can testify to the ridiculous traffic in Melaka…
Traffic Jam in Melaka
It is not a myth! Horrendous traffic jams in Melaka is true!!
The road leading from left to right is actually going into a carpark beside the Dataran Pahlawan shopping mall. However, from the crawling speeds of the cars, you can even feel the frustrations of those drivers.
Well, it’s hard to blame tourists and foodies alike for visiting Melaka. There are so many attractions here in Melaka and the local food is yummylicious.
So when you are visiting Malacca the next time round, remember to factor in the bad traffic jams!
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
If you are looking for authentic Peranakan restaurant in Malacca, look no further than Restoran Ole Sayang.
According to locals (2 ladies that sat opposite us), Restoran Ole Sayang is one of the most reputable Peranakan restaurant in Malacca and many locals will point you to this restaurant at the mention of Peranakan food…
We were quickly shown to our seats at a big round table and shared the table with 2 other ladies.
The waitress then came over and told us what was the menu of the day (The restaurant usually cooks according to the ingredients that they acquired for the day). So how good is the Peranakan food here?
Chap Chye as the name suggests is a “mixed vegetable” dish. Usually the dish comes flavoured by cabbages, black fungus and vermicelli as the main stay. The chap chye at Ole Sayang was quite unique in that it does not resemble the usual peranakan chap chye and has an acquired taste, slightly to the sourly side. That’s not to say it’s not nice, a unique taste that’s worth the try.
The Otah was not one of our favourites, mainly because we have a pre-determined idea of how a great Otah would be like; Moist on the outside, firm and full of ingredients on the inside.
The Otah at Ole Sayang was a little bit dry on the outside and the inside was not as “full” in terms of ingredients as we had imagined. The only plus point was the chilli mix was quite nice and partnered the fragrant rice well.
One of the other Peranakan dish that you would usually try to determine the “skill” of the Peranakan restaurant would be the Ayam Rendang.
At Ole Sayang, the spiciness was just right and the rendang mixture together with the tender chicken was ma ma mia!
The chendol makes a nice round up to a traditional peranakan meal.
Overall, the restaurant serves up authentic peranakan food at a fraction of a restaurant price. Worthy of its reputation.
Before we left, we noticed many other patrons leaving with bags of keropok. Intrigued with thoughts of “how good can a keropok be?!”, we bought 2 bags at 10RM each.
No regrets there! The keropok turned out to be one of the best we’ve tasted. PLUS it stays crispy even after staying in the fridge for a few days, no signs of lao hong (non-crispiness after exposure to air) at all!
How to get there
If you notice the huge korean restaurant opposite the Dataran Pahlawan Megamall, walk along the road adjacent to the restaurant. You should be able to identify the restaurant with its pinkish colour (see picture) after about a 5 minutes walk.
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
If there are 2 museums that you must visit in Melaka, one of them has got to be the Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum…
Of course the other is the Melaka Maritime Museum.
The reason why the Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum is a must visit museum in Melaka is because of the wealth of information it holds!
If you are interested in history of Melaka, it’s there.
If you are interested in stories and legends, it’s there!
If you are interested in jurisdictions in Melaka, it’s there!!
If you are interested in artifacts and costumes worn, it’s there!!!
Basically, all the things you want to know about how Melaka came to be, it’s all there. So, to provide a good background to the rest of your trip in Melaka, the Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum is a must visit museum if you have to make a choice to visit 1 or 2 museums only.
Not to mention, the price of entry is ONLY 2RM!!!
One of the more interesting displays (at least to Kate and I) were the legends and heroes of Melaka. They tell of stories of jealousy, loyalty and deceit. Plus, life sized sculptures do bring the stories to life…
Besides the excellent photo taking opportunities of the palace itself plus a nice stroll around the garden which you can enjoy, you can also marvel at the architectural brilliance of how the palace can be built without any nails at all! An architectural feat of their time…
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
One of the most prominent structure along the Melaka River is this…
This structure shaped like that of an olden day vessel is actually the maritime museum in Melaka!
From atop of the hill at St. Paul’s Church, you can actually see this structure. Intrigued by what we saw, Kate and I ventured towards that general direction (from where we saw the ship) and visited the maritime museum.
There are plenty of photo opportunities around the maritime museum, we were amazed at the sheer size of the ship and how well maintained it was.
The entrance fee to the Melaka maritime museum is actually quite cheap at 3RM. We would definitely recommend going in and have a visit because of the wealth of knowledge that the museum offers. Of course it is also a cheap price to get out of the sun if it is a sunny day…
At the ticketing counter, you would be given a plastic bag. Dont be surprised. It is actually used to keep your shoes as the museum itself requires you to remove your shoes before entering into its premise. After crossing the gangway, on the main area, shoes are fine. However, entering into the air-conditioned area, shoes have to be removed…
Entering into the museum, you would find the exhibits quite interesting. It depicts how the port of Melaka at that time came to be and how it was a place where traders came to find trading opportunities. The history was also well recorded of how the Dutch,Portuguese and English came to power here…
Overall, the Melaka Maritime Museum is a must visit attraction in Malacca and is definitely worth a trip. This is not only because of the excellent photo opportunities with the ship itself but also the wealth of information that the museum offers about maritime powers and history.
If you are a history junkie, the Melaka Maritime Museum is the place for you!
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
In addition to St. Paul’s Church, Stadhuys and Jonker Street, another famous attraction in Malacca is A Famosa Fort also known as Porta De Santiago.
According to another one of our extensive research (2mins on Wikipedia), it is one of the oldest surviving European structure in Asia. Once a fortress built by the Portuguese, the gate is the only remaining structure now.
Around the A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
This video shows the A Famosa up close and if you listen closely, you can also hear a tune resembling “My Heart Will Go On”.
No…you are not hearing things. It’s simply because there’s a violin player playing within the gates.
At the end of this video, you can also see a flight of red stairs that leads up the hill. This will bring you to St. Paul’s Church.
You can read more of our whining when you read that post…
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
Please dont make the same mistake that we made when we visited St. Paul’s Church in Malacca…
The mistake was this…
According to google map, St. Paul’s Church is actually just a short walk from Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, just across the road right?
WRONG! There is actually a climb up the hill from A Famosa (aka Porta De Santiago). It’s a climb with many steps at that!
So now we all know google maps dont include depth/height for its maps…
But back to our story.
St. Paul’s Church Melaka was built in 1521 and refurbished in 1566.
Video Tour inside St. Paul’s Church
Today, it is a much visited tourist attraction in Malacca and is part of the Malacca Museum Complex which includes A Famosa (aka Porta de Santiago) as well as the Stadhuys.
Another interesting story about the St. Paul’s Church is that it was actually a temporary burial site for Francis Xavier, a pioneering catholic missionary who was active in southeast asia during those times.
According to legend, he died out at sea but before he died, he told the sailors that he wanted to be buried in Goa India. So before his body was shifted to Goa, St. Paul’s Church was the temporary burial site for about 9 months.
To commemorate Francis Xavier, a statue of him was erected and it stands just outside of St. Paul’s Church overlooking the sea…
Views from St. Paul’s Church
So if you ever visit St. Paul’s Church. Dont be mistaken that it is actually “just beside” A Formosa. Well…actually it is but after climbing those stairs!
You’ve been warned…
If you take a look at the map above again. The walk is pretty straight forward if you stay at the Hotel Equatorial Melaka.
Across the street from Hotel Equatorial is the Dataran Pahlawan Shopping Mall. If you follow it all the way through (either on the inside to avoid the sun in the day or on the outside to have some fresh air) you will arrive at the food court.
Take a walk out of the food court and up the stairs. You will then arrive at the A Famosa.
Walk through the gate and up those stairs and tada, you arrive at St. Paul’s Church Melaka!
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
There are so many things to do at Jonker Street! Let’s find out what are the things to do right here in Jonker Street Malacca! If you have read our last few posts, there are actually many things to do here at Jonker Street (aka Jonker Walk)…
Well, in this post, we are going highlight our top 3 things to do at Jonker Street!
1. Find out which chicken rice is the best.
Malacca is of course famous for its chicken rice balls. There are so many of them in Malacca, so which one do you go for?
Fret not! 2bearbear.com has tasted the top 2 rated malacca chicken rice ball stalls to give you the lowdown on Hoe Kee and Chung Wah.
Once you have tasted them, why not leave a comment below to tell us all what you think about it?
2. Try out baba/nonya dishes and desserts at Jonker 88.
Malacca is all about food isnt it? Yet another foodie thing to do on this street is to makan at Jonker 88. If you’re the type who just want to try the street kinda nonya/baba food, you’ll find them right here.
The desserts are also hot sellers here. From afar, if you see a queue, it’s quite likely that the queue’s at Jonker 88.
3. Enjoy the night market!
When night descends upon Jonker Street, stalls come out to play! At about 6pm, hawker stalls and stalls selling all sorts of things are seen along Jonker Street.
From afar you should be able to hear the “kok kok” candy man who is separating malted sugar (with peanuts) using his tools, effecting the familiar “kok kok” sound.
Then there are stalls selling mee sua (a type of vermicelli) which Malacca is famous for. We’ve bought some and they’re really good and dont “disintegrate” like most other brands.
You can also choose to just chillax at Geographer cafe – a pub that also serves up local delights. The drinks are rather expensive but a small pint wont do much harm right?
Of course there are street foods that you should savour as well. On this occasion, we saved our tummy for Fried Oyster aka Orh Lua!
We’ve even asked permission from Aunty to take a video on how to make fried oysters!
How to make fried oysters
You can see that we actually strafe left to avoid the smoke coming from the fried oysters. The wind was blowing in our direction!
But still, the whole process was captured and here is the final product…
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
Remember to leave your comments for 2bearbear Singapore Travel Blog in our comments section below!
One of the must visit stalls at Jonker Street has got to be Jonker 88!
Jonker 88 features many local nonya food as well as yummy desserts!
Having determined the winner of the battle of the Malacca Chicken Rice Ball, Kate and I were now too full to go on to the mains. Hence, we went straight for the dessert corner and ordered the famous durian chendol as well as the sago gula melaka…
Although we were very full, we slurped every bit of the 2 desserts! The gula melaka (not suitable for diabetics, confirmed plus chop plus double confirm) was sweet (fei hua) but had a nice cooked sugary taste to it.
Also, we regretted not filming the shifu when she put on the gula melaka…it was with such skill! One scoop one kill in one fast paced motion!
How to get there
Jonker 88 is located in the middle of Jonker street. One key indicator is the long queue in front of it, especially on the dessert side.
But we must say that the sago gula melaka and durian chendol were worth the wait!
Have you tried the nonya/baba food that Kate and I didnt have the space to stomach? If so, share with us in the comments section!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
One of the most prominent attractions in Melaka has got the be the Stadhuys (sometimes spelt as Stadthuys). In Dutch, it basically means the city hall or town hall and used to be the administrative centre during the dutch colonial times.
The Stadhuys (also known as Dutch Square) is home to the oldest Protestant Church in Malaysia – Christ Church Melaka
Not only so, it is home to the Museum of History and Ethnography right at the edge of the square where the trishaws gather. Speaking of trishaws, Kate and I took a ride on one of the trishaws right here at Stadhuys! Here’s a video of the beautifully decorated trishaws…
Trishaws at Stadhuys
The Stadhuys is arguably one of the oldest architecture from the dutch colonial times. That is why there are so many tourists here! But beware (you tourists-to-be)! As far as possible, try not to buy your souvenirs from the rows of shops there. We bought a sleeping mask (one of those you wear on the plane to sleep) for 5MYR (Ringgit) but we realised that the same mask could be bought for 3MYR at Jonker street!
Not much in terms of SGD you may say…but it is still a 40% difference! :O
The Stadhuys is really quite a small square but there are nice photo spots. These include photos with the fountain, Christ Church Melaka as well as the beautifully decorated trishaws!
Of course a far more high tech and better fountain show at be found at the Bellagio Fountains.But we digress…
To end of this post, enjoy this 360 degrees view of the Stadhuys (Red Square) done by Kate, our in-house photographer and videographer!
Yup…we all know who to look for if we feel “blair-witched”!
How to get there
Stadhuys is located Laksamana Road and if you follow our well drawn map of Melaka…
It is right beside Jonker Street and a short walk from the St. Paul’s Church
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
According to our extensive research (2 mins via google), we found that there are basically three 5 stars hotel in Melaka (could be more).
They are
1. Hotel Equatorial Melaka
2. Renaissance Melaka
3. Holiday Inn Melaka
Of these, Holiday Inn Melaka has the newest and best features of these hotels because it is the latest collection in the Melaka 5 stars hotel arena.
However, its location puts it behind Renaissance Melaka and Hotel Equatorial Melaka. (This is when you consider attractions to be centralised near Stadhuys and Christ Church).
So this leaves us with Renaissance Melaka as well as Hotel Equatorial to vie for the best 5 star hotel in Melaka.
We can see that Hotel Equatorial is a short walking distance from St. Francis Church and thus Stadhuys. Also, according to our 2 min google, it was found that Renaissance Melaka is almost the same walking distance to the north.
Hence, both Hotel Equatorial Melaka and Renaissance Melaka are neck in neck at this point. The 2 factors that should determine your choice are thus
1. Style/Class/Newer. If you’re looking for a hotel with more class, style and is newer, Renaissance Melaka would be your choice.
2. Price. However, if you are looking at the cheapest of the 5 stars like us, the winner is clear, Hotel Equatorial Melaka! Plus, while we were there, there was a 88RM F&B credit for each night of stay!
Here’s a look at our room and the view it offers at Hotel Equatorial
Not only that, we were kindly given the option to choose our room. The receptionist gave us a card to one of the rooms to see if we were satisfied with the room before allocating it to us!
Here are the views from our room
The hotel also had a relatively big swimming pool that interconnects the various pools…
Another reason why Hotel Equatorial Melaka trumps Renaissance Hotel is because it is RIGHT BESIDE the Dataran Pahlawan Shopping Mall! There’s lots of shopping, makan and even a cinema!
So here’s a recap why Hotel Equatorial Melaka is the best 5 stars hotel in Melaka (compared to Renaissance Hotel and Holiday Inn Melaka)
1. Location. Near to all Melaka Tourism Attractions!
2. Price. Cheapest of the three 5 stars Hotel
3. Shopping. RIGHT Beside Dataran Pahlawan Shopping Mall
4. Nice Swimming Pool
5. Excellent Views!
All in all, we were thoroughly satisfied with our stay and we’ll leave you with a panoramic view from the balcony of the hotel!
View from the Balcony of Hotel Equatorial
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
Remember to leave your comments for 2bearbear Singapore Travel Blog in our comments section below!
Whenever you visit Malacca, a visit to Jonker street is a must.
Why?
There is the night market, little shops with souvenirs and unique items on the side of the streets, street food and delicacies.
But one thing remains a mystery to most visitors to Jonker Street…
Which chicken rice ball stall is better? Chung Wah chicken rice ball at the start of Jonker street or the nicer looking Hoe Kee chicken rice ball in the middle of the street?
2bearbear.com has taken upon ourselves (and our tummies) to once and for all, clear this mystery for all our readers.
Let’s have some applause please…(*clap clap clap*)
Right…but first we must warn our readers as well.
DO NOT EAT AT A FORMOSA CHICKEN RICE! NO!!!!!!!! (echoes disappearing into the abyss…)
Ok…we shall leave it at that.
Moving on. We first visited Chung Wah Chicken Rice
Chung Wah Chicken Rice Ball @ Start of Jonker Street
Please recognise this picture. Although it says “Kedai Kopi Chung Wah”, but it really is a coffee shop that sells only one thing, CHICKEN RICE! and drinks of course.
Plus, the chicken rice at Chung Wah usually sells out at about 3-4pm. Be there earlier to avoid disappointment. For us, we were there at about 3:30pm.
We were lucky.
Minutes after we sat down, the metal gates were closed (with the rest of the diners still inside of course, not that they’re gonna kidnap us or something)
The next thing we realised was that the aunty immediately asked us if we wanted half a chicken and 1 set of rice balls each. HALF A CHICKEN FOR 2 PERSONS?! Being the first time there, we nodded.
This means that either:
1. Most people who went to Chung Wah were REALLY hungry. OR
2. After sizing Tom up, aunty decided that it has got to be half a chicken for us.
The portion of the half chicken was what we expected it to be. However, if the 2 of you are feeling really peckish, half a chicken is just right. Aunty was right after all.
Taste Test
The chicken at Chung Wah has a fragrance of sesame oil to it and when you try to decipher the sauce…you’ll realise one voice in your head going
“Hey, I know this taste!” while the other voice in your head goes
“No, you dont!” This goes back and forth, forcing you to dip the sauce on your spoon to try it over and over again.
The thing is, the sauce is unique. It has some excellent proportion of spices, sesame oil and soya sauce to it that makes it special.
Next comes the chicken.
Tender and firm at the right places. Kinda oxymoron right? The texture of the chicken was good. Keeps you coming back for more.
So what about the rice?
The thing that we did not get quite used to about chicken rice ball is that, IT’S COLD!
Eating chicken rice cold…that’s something really different. Guess they need to cool it or allow it to cool before the ball takes shape.
However, we did not really like the rice ball, simply because it lacked the fragrance that chicken rice ought to have. The saving grace was that, pairing with the chicken was a great combination…
The half chicken at Chung Wah (with 10 balls) costs RM19.70.
As for deco, it really was like a coffee shop but the old kind? Allows you to feel the ambience somewhat like that of the 70s.
Next, we headed off to Hoe Kee Chicken Rice (not immediately, but almost, because of our keen interest to solve the chicken rice ball mystery at Jonker street once and for all!!)
Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball @ Middle of Jonker Street
The first impression of Hoe Kee was more of
“Wow, classy chinese interior design!”
This is definitely a great place to bring your friends to for a nice meal of local food. A great place to entertain and meet up with your guests as well.
“How about the food?” You might ask.
Taste Test
The chicken at Hoe Kee was normal. Really nothing much to shout about here. Dont guess us wrong, it was a decent plate of chicken. Meat was fresh but taste was not as memorable and lasting as that of Chung Wah.
However, the rice did trump Chung Wah’s in that there was the chicken rice fragrance that one craved. The coldness was still there but the taste was much better.
The quarter chicken at Hoe Kee (with 5 balls, Soya Bean and Herbal Tea) costs RM14.20
Verdict
Now, to put the mystery of the Jonker Street Chicken Rice Ball Battle behind us…
2bearbear.com declares the winner of the “Battle of the Malacca Jonker Street Chicken Rice Ball” to be…(*Drumrolls*)
Chung Wah Chicken Rice Ball!
Well, the chicken basically won the war for Chung Wah. Although they lost in the chicken rice ball department, the unique sauce was more than able to make up for this loss.
And did we mention that the chilli packed a punch at Chung Wah’s?
Nonetheless, in terms of ambience, Hoe Kee won hands down and if a gathering with friends and family is your focus, Hoe Kee is the place to go.
For great taste, you cant go wrong with Chung Wah.
We hope that with this post, we can finally put this age-old mystery of “which Jonker Street Chicken Rice Ball is better” to rest!
For your convenience, you can now check out the best hotel deals in Malacca right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
P.S. We also realised that traditional chicken rice beats rice balls hands down. It’s just unique and fashionable but you just cant beat that old fashioned plate of chicken rice hot off the cooker.
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
Remember to leave your comments for 2bearbear Singapore Travel Blog in our comments section below!
Following the huge success of the premium outlets franchise, Malaysia opens its own premium outlet in Johor.
Named Johor Premium Outlets or JPO in short, the outlet mall boasts of 80 designer and premium brands at factory outlet prices. Discounts can range from 25% to 65% everyday.
Getting there
Johor Premium Outlets is just a short drive 1 hour drive from Singapore. From the north south highway, take an exit at Exit 253 and follow brown coloured signs that says “Johor Premium Outlets”. It’s quite hard to miss.
After all the hype that Johor Premium Outlets (JPO Malaysia) has garnered in Singapore, Kate and I decided to drop by JPO to take a look. As we have been to the largest premium outlet, Woodbury Common Premium Outlet it provides us with a basis for comparison.
At first glance, the look and feel of Johor Premium Outlets (JPO Malaysia) resembles that of Woodbury Common Premium Outlet. As we entered the entrance of Johor Premium Outlets JPO, we did something that would put all shoppers to shame…
We visited the food court first!
After having our fill of the Claypot Chicken Rice (can give this one a miss) and taking a photo of the food court for our readers…
We headed to the information office to get the most important thing, the map of Johor Premium Outlets JPO, Malaysia!
With the map, we can ensure that we cover every square inch of the JPO! After taking a look at the map, we realise that it is actually quite a small outlet mall. There are basically 2 rows of shops for 2 levels and that’s pretty much about it.
In order to discover the best discounts here at Johor Premium Outlets, Kate and I made sure we visited almost every single shop at JPO for our readers! Unfortunately, the sales are not half as good as Woodbury Premium Outlets. Eventhough there were long queues at Johor Premium Outlets such as this one at Coach,
There werent really many buyers…
The truth is, once you have been to Woodbury Premium Outlet, you’ll realise that all other discounts are not really that fantastic. However, the bright spot here is that compared to retail prices, Johor Premium Outlets JPO does offer substantial discounts. Which is why we bought a pair of shoes eventually.
After a long day at “work”, trawling through the sales at Johor Premium Outlets JPO, Kate and I rewarded ourselves at Taang Shifu (translated as Master of Soups)
In order to get a 10% discount at Taang Shifu, remember to flash your Maybank credit card at the information store to get the VIP discount booklet (more like “pamphlet”). The 10% discount is only for ala carte items. We had the abalone mee sua as well as the double boiled pear dessert…
After discount, the 2 items only cost about $25RM which was quite cheap considering it was a chinese restaurant. Plus, they tasted good as well!
After covering the second level, we decided to treat ourselves to crepes
There was a super long queue at crispy crepes, primarily because of its cheap price at $5.20RM for sweet crepes AND $6.30RM for savoury crepes.
We decided to go for the chicken floss as well as the chocolate banana…
The crepes were super duper crispy! You can feel it and hear it as you land each bite on your crepes. No wonder the queue was so loooooong…
We have also captured a video of the entrance of Johor Premium Outlets, Malaysia just for our readers…
Entrance of Johor Premium Outlets JPO, Malaysia
Verdict
After all the hype about the Malaysia Premium Outlets, Johor Premium Outlets JPO, we must say truthfully that we do agree with most comments online that the sales and discounts are really not that fantastic.
Having said that, we do think that the Johor Premium Outlets JPO can be a good place to spend the weekend to shop and source for great deals. Kids can be “deposited” at the play ground and fed with yummy crispy crepes while parents shop for what they want.
If you have something that you would like to buy in the city, why not hold that thought and give Johor Premium Outlets JPO a go instead? You can be assured that it is at least 25% cheaper than retail prices. 
So yup, our conclusion is that Johor Premium Outlets JPO is still worth a visit afterall!
For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals in Johor right here!
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There are so many things to do and attractions at Kota Kinabalu! Let’s find out what are the things to do right here in Kota Kinabalu! We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend stay there! Attractions range from Island hopping, getting close to nature or even really really good shopping!
Kate and I managed to accumulate enough Krisflyer points in exchange for 2 tickets to Kota Kinabalu. Quite worth it to join the programme. For this particular trip, we flew on Silkair…
After a 2hrs 20 mins flight, we arrived at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport which looked quite new. From the airport, we took a taxi to Novotel. The taxi was $50RM and it is a fixed price. You will have to purchase a ticket from a shop within the terminal. The good thing is that it is a standard price and you save all the haggling that may be needed for “rogue” taxis.
Book with Klook Here: Popular Activities in Kota Kinabalu
Again, Kate was the one who arranged the entire trip. It is important to anchor a good location of your hotel so that will be the base where all your activities start. Kate found a relatively good deal on Klook where we stayed at the Novotel @ 1 Borneo Kota Kinabalu for only $70SGD per night.
The good thing about staying at the Novotel is that
1. 4 Star Hotel. It is smelly smelly (hokkien for at least) a 4-star hotel at an attractive rate, offering full hotel service and even a swimming pool for you to chillax under the sun.
2. Close to attractions. It is located away from the city but in the middle of the route to Mount Kinabalu, something that must NOT be missed when you visit Kota Kinabalu. Hence, it is a good location as a base for the attractions, yet still within a 20 mins travel time from the city.
3. Shopping. Located beside One Borneo (nowadays there are alot of One something something sprouting after the One Malaysia concept was introduced), it is currently the largest shopping mall/centre in East Malaysia. Though in a couple of years, it will be overtaken by One Sulaman (yet another One)
4. Free Shuttle Service. This is one of the most important aspect to why Kate chose this location. With the free shuttle service to the city, we could get to and fro for free. The only catch is that you will have to register early for your bus ticket. Priority is also given to guests of hotels in and around One Borneo shopping mall.
Novotel
The hotel itself also exceeded our expectation.
The room was spacious and even had a transparent glass that allowed guests to enjoy a bath and watch TV at the same time. For couples, this would be pretty romantic as well.
The swimming pool was also very welcoming, with views of the Crocker Range. Crocker Range is essentially a series of hills. Though they may look tall, locals still regard them as hills.
The next most important thing after checking out the room is to check out the bus timings!
The area to wait for the shuttle bus is at the other end of the One Borneo shopping mall. You can ask for directions at the information counter. It is important to note that this timing is merely a gauge and should be confirmed with the personnel issuing the tickets as timings varies over weekends and weekdays.
Night Market
Known as Pasar Malam (Market Night) in malay, the night market offers locals an avenue to shop for their daily necessities and also to solve their hunger pangs as there are many stalls offering fried noodles, rice, simple malay hawker fare.
Our initial plan on the first night was to catch the sunset at the city. However, we were slightly late as there was a traffic jam on the way (remember to buffer time if you are catching the sunset). The sunset timing is more like 6pm than 7pm in Singapore. So bear that in mind.
We also enjoyed some chicken murtabak (indian fried dough with meat , or for those of you who knows prata, it is like prata with meat $2RM) and a refreshing chilled coconut ($4RM)…
Breakfast @ Novotel
Daily buffet breakfast is included at Novotel. The spread is more or less the same each day. However, they do cater to different tastes so most palates would be satisfied here.
The spread includes noodles or rice, sausages, eggs, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, vegetables, nasi lemak and curry chicken. There are also pastries and breads with various spreads to choose from. Waffles, pancakes, cereals,porridge were available as well.
Book with Klook Here: Popular Activities in Kota Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu Packaged Land Tour
It is strongly recommended for visitors (2 or less) to take the tours. Each person costs $180-200 RM that includes, lunch, guided tour, return trip, mount kinabalu park, pekan nabalu (small village/town where you can get the best view of the mountain),poring hot springs,tree top walk,dr fish spa and nature trekking.
The package is a day tour that starts from 8am to 6pm (depending on traffic). Really well worth it we must say. It is also important to follow an experienced agency and in our case, we chose Exotic Borneo. They arranged our time to cover Kinabalu first knowing the local weather that it may drizzle or pour in the afternoon. True enough, it did!
Our first stop was Pekan Nabalu, a small town that has really sweet pineapples, souvenirs and of course, stunning views of the majestic Mount Kinabalu.
Do not miss out on the pineapples. They cost $2RM a packet and is really as sweet as it gets, we thought perhaps they might have been dipped in sugar syrup! But of course not, it tasted naturally sweet. Enjoy!
The next stop we headed to was a private garden from the locals where we saw the largest flower in the world, the Rafflesia!
When the flower is in bloom, banners would be placed outside these private gardens and costs $30RM per visit. For this particular garden, we travelled about 5 minutes, crossing a small river before we got there.
Because of its rarity in bloom, the locals will protect the area around the Rafflesia to prevent wild animals from feeding on them. According to our guide, Andy, the flowers occurred naturally in abundance in the past. However, locals did not understand their uniqueness and importance in research. When the flowers were in the bud stage, they would kick them about like a soccer ball!
The flower also gives off a pungent smell, much like rotten meat. But this time we did not smell it, could be due to the wind direction. Still, if the flower is in bloom, do drop by a take a look. Helps in preservation by contributing to the locals, and also gives you an experience to enjoy the largest flower in bloom!
Poring Hot Springs
Next, we headed to Poring hot springs, of course, naturally occurring, where Kate enjoyed her book while dipping in the waters of the hot spring.
Tom on the other hand was given a tour by Andy on route to the Tree Top Walk.
Kate complained about missing stoppers at the hot springs. So she had to “prey” on other visitors and as they left, Kate would “take over” their territory…
At the same time, Tom followed Andy on a little trek towards the tree top walk. It is quite steep at the beginning so make sure you anticipate this if you are going for the tree top walk.
Along the way, we saw these interesting parts of nature…
Furry Caterpillars emerging from beneath the leaves
We must first state upfront that the tree top walk is not for the faint of heart. Bridges are interconnected from TREE to TREE. The bridges also sway from side to side and for tall dudes like Tom, there’s a real possibility of falling over the side. What Tom did was to bend his knees while walking such that the netting would still be at the shoulder level.
Of course, at each stop of the tree walk, you would be greeted with amazing views such as this…
Andy told us that bees build their hives on top such trees because bears are not able to climb the trunk of these trees. The smooth surface do not provide the grip for the bears, thus giving safety to the bees. If you observe closely, it is like the tree in Winnie the Pooh!
To give our visitors a feel of the tree top walk, here it is…
“Death Defying” Tree Top Walk!
We ventured back to Poring Hot Springs to pick Kate and left for Kipungit Waterfall. The waterfall was about 400m high and had Dr Fish as its inhabitants! Free foot spa!! Yay!
From there, we took a half hour ride to Fair Garden Restaurant for lunch. The food was very good and portions were great for 2 people. Best of all, it was included in the package!
The food was definitely Chinese restaurant standard and there were also vegetables, fruits and Chinese Tea as well.
We then headed to the Botanical Gardens where we did the forest trail, the shortest one was Silau Silau Trail (to Bukit Tupai) that took us about 40 minutes. Kate and I enjoy such trails but according to Andy, most tourists dont take these trails.
Along the way, we saw what could possibly be the world’s smallest fern!
Andy then led us to this roadside stall that sells black pig (RM5), it was delicious especially with the home made sauce concocted by the owners…
Thanks to Andy from Exotic Borneo, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
At night, Kate and I caught Johnny English 2 for only RM9 each!
Book with Klook Here: Popular Activities in Kota Kinabalu
City Tour
On Sundays, there is a large market being put up by the locals in the city. Known as the Gaya Market, it offers locals and tourists alike, an avenue to shop!
We took a video for our visitors to have a feel of the market itself. There was also a musician playing on the gong which we thought was interesting…
A walk through Gaya Market
Musician on Traditional Gong at Gaya Market
Nearby, we were told that Signal Hill offered a marvelous view of Kota Kinabalu City. The starting point was at the Atkinson Clock on the top right of this picture…
After 15 minutes, we arrived at the Atkinson Clock…
Following the road for another 5 minutes or so, we were greeted by this view…
Breathtaking View from Signal Hill Observatory
After all that walking, Kate decided to reward herself with a foot reflexology at Suria Mall. It was only RM48 for 1 hour of foot reflexology and foot bath.
We then had lunch at the famous Kuo Man restaurant of the Suria foodcourt. The beef noodles was yummy. Noodles were Q (springy) and the beef was flavourful. The view of the islands from the food court was excellent as well…
Planning for the next day of island visits, we headed to the Jesselton Point
From there, we decided to go for only Manukan Island. Gaya Island being the largest is the most touristy. So it was out for us. It was then down to Mamutik, Manukan or Sapi. Manukan and Sapi was recommended for snorkelling. So Mamutik was out. Of the 2, we chose Manukan because Sapi had deeper waters (not good from the safety point of view). So by the process of elimination, we decided to go for Manukan!
An island ferry costs RM20 per pax and costs an additional RM10 for each additional island. You would also have to pay a conservation tax of RM7.20. At the island, there is also an entrance fee of RM10 for foreigners and RM3 for locals.
In the evening, we headed back to One Borneo shopping mall for more shopping! The deals were great especially because Parkson was celebrating its anniversary and giving out crazy deals!
We bought shoes, pants, shirts, dresses among other things that were 70% off! In the shopping mall, there is a Giant Hypermarket as well as many other small shops for you to explore!
Island Visit – Manukan
It was pouring in the morning and we thought that our day of island visit was over. However, the “storm” cleared and we did enjoy a sunny day at Manukan!
When we bought the tickets from beach bums, lifejacket (RM5) and snorkelling sets (RM20) were also available for rent.
The ride out was a bumpy one and Kate kept holding on to Tom’s arms leaving finger marks when we arrived at Manukan!
Bumpy Boat Ride from Kota Kinabalu (Jesselton) to Manukan Island
The island was beautiful and by the time we dipped into the water, the sun came out! The waters were clear and we were able to see the fishes and enjoy sand playing at the beach…
On the ride back, we were also able to see Mount Kinabalu from a distance!
After we got back, we decided to catch the sunset again this evening. We still had about an hour to spare so Kate decided to go for the classy Rafflesia Spa @ Warisan Square (RM55 + 6% tax) while Tom waited at Shamrock Pub (Irish).
Beautiful Sunset – See how the colours of the skies change
Dinner was at the Irish pub as well and we enjoyed the Homemade Beef Burger and Irish Stew (RM30 each).
The next day was a chill out at the pool for us. All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip to Kota Kinabalu. Check out all these things to do and attractions in Kota Kinabalu and be sure to leave your comments back here!
We shall now leave you with a view from the our Silkair flight as we left the Kota Kinabalu International Airport…
View of the islands from the plane (Sunset Included)
Book with Klook Here: Popular Activities in Kota Kinabalu
Click here for the Popular Activities in Kota Kinabalu!
deal.com.sg, goCrazy.com.sg, gobbler.com.sg, groupon.com.sg etc etc etc…there are so many online discount coupon/vouchers sites these days! Initially Tom and I were skeptical about these so-called “good deals” and we were worried about pushy sales people, so we let these deals slipped by. But one night as I was bored and surfing the internet to pass time, I came across this “$199 2D1N Philea Resort” deal. The photos of the resort look really inviting and I decided to check out the resort’s official website. Philea Resort was completed and officially opened in August 2010. Since it is still fairly new (it was Feb 2011 when we checked out the resort), we decided to book a weekend trip to Philea Resort Malacca in May 2011.
Our experience was marred by a 2 hour traffic jam at the Malaysia customs, and we arrived at the resort at about 3pm instead of the scheduled time of 1pm. We were hot and tired after the long bus ride but thankfully the check-in was smooth and there were welcome drinks and cold towels that quenched our thirst and refreshed us.
The hotel staff then helped us put our bags onto a buggy (is it pronounced as “Bud-gy” or “Buggie”?) and drove us to our room. On our way up, we could see the landscape of the resort, the tranquil swimming pool, and the spa facilities. We quickly settled into our room, checked out the amenities in the room (free pretty slippers!), and head down to the pool for a swim.
As it was a Saturday night, there was a seafood buffet dinner deal! Only RM69++ (approx $33SGD) per pax! The spread was awesome (esp the desserts for me, and the seafood for Tom), and we ate so much that we could hardly move. We even able to eat 2 whole snappers by ourselves and it was fresh and tasty! The BBQ corner also included other seafood such as prawn and crayfish. Yum! The quiet stroll back to our room on a cool night aided with the digestion, and we enjoyed the peaceful evening away from the crowded city life.
The next morning, we woke up early to walk around the resort and take in the fresh air. Soon we were hungry and we made our way to the restaurant where the breakfast buffet (included in the package) is served. Once again, the variety of food made us happy. With chefs at the different stations to cook roti prata, waffles and pancakes on the spot, and the spread from an international buffet, we were really spoiled for choice
After breakfast, we lazed by the pool and got a nice tan. It was a relaxing weekend, and we were all ready to conquer another week at work!
For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals @ Philea Resort right here!
Related posts
This post is part of our 3D2N travels in Malacca. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip!
Top 3 Things to do at Jonker Street aka Jonker Walk
Jonker 88 @ Jonker Street
Stadhuys Melaka aka Red Square or Dutch square
Best 5 stars hotel in Melaka : Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Battle of the Malacca (Melaka) Jonker Street Chicken Rice Balls : Which is better? Chung Wah Chicken Rice or Hoe Kee Chicken Rice?
Weekend Getaway and Staycation @ Philea Resort Melaka (Malacca)
Top Attractions and Things to do in Melaka : World Heritage City
A Leisure Stroll along the Melaka River
Trishaw Rides in Melaka : A Must-Do Activity!
Traffic Jams in Melaka : How bad is it really?
Restoran Ole Sayang – One of the most reputable Peranakan Restaurant in Malacca
Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum – Built without nails!
Melaka Maritime Museum – Museum within a Ship
A Famosa aka Porta De Santiago
St. Paul’s Church
P.S Go visit Philea while it is still rather new and clean!
P.P.S Remember to plan activities for the bus trip eg card games or dvd to watch in case you get stuck in a unexpected traffic jam.
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Ah…cruises…one of our favourite ways of having a holiday and vacation. There are so many benefits and advantages of going on a cruise
1. All prices inclusive. That means to say, you have 6 meals a day (2 snacks, 3 meals and a supper), use of the pool which includes the jacuzzi, sauna, gym, cinema, entertainment shows in the evening, game shows, art and craft, sunrise, sunset. ALL INCLUSIVE in one price! But of course, if you want some red/white wine or in room service, you’d have to top up. Essentially, one price gives you all the entertainment that the cruise ship offers.
2. No need for plans. That’s right! All programmes have been planned out for you each day. This really makes for a good holiday where you can just unwind, join in the programmes if you want to and skip if you just want to enjoy the sea breeze and sounds of the ocean. Even if you go for shore excursions, the options are there for you to follow what the cruise has planned for you (usually at exhorbitant prices) but you get gist ya? No planning required. Just follow the programmes and hop in and out as you wish.
3. Value for money. As a typical kiasu (scared to lose out) Singaporean, the all expenses paid for trip is value for money. For one price, I get to travel, stay in a ‘hotel’ and enjoy its facilities, eat as much as I want (thats where I really get the value back) and enjoy the shows in the evening that includes magic shows, music and dance, acrobatics/circus among others.
4. Getting back to nature – oceanliner style. You really do get to enjoy the wonders of God’s creation by joining a cruise. You can wake up each morning and enjoy the marvellous sunrise, end the evening with views of spectacular sunsets. You also get to star gaze in the night without bright city lights obscuring the view. The calming sounds of the waves and vast limitless ocean views really does soothes the soul. You could even catch a glimpse of the dolphins swimming with the cruise ship!
With that as the backdrop, Kate and I chose to celebrate our anniversary onboard the Superstar Virgo (from Starcruise) for a 4D3N cruise to Phuket and Langkawi (from Signapore).
We paid about $700 each for the balcony class room. This means that you can enjoy views of the ocean and port right in your room. Remember, there is always ongoing deals with your credit card. Usually it is with UOB and Citibank, do check this out with your local dealers. We got a 50% off through the cards.
Essentially, the trip was a relaxing and rejuvenating one. So we’ll just take you through some of the highlights of the trip!
Day 1
Bought Kate a music singing balloon – Love Machine and we started to take pictures of it throughout the ship. Take a look at the pictures…
First thing you do when you board the ship – EAT! We had our lunch at the Mediterranean (deck 12) and enjoyed some pasta with meatballs. As the ship slipped off, we immerse ourselves in the pool (parthenon pool) and waved goodbye to Singapore. We also slipped in and out of the jacuzzi and enjoyed the outdoor slide (part of it even overhangs out to the ocean!). Before long, it was dinner time! We chose to have dinner at the Chinese-themed restaurant – Pavilion (deck 6). The chinese food was not bad i must say.
Then we headed for the show of the night. It was Terry Parade (the Lido at Deck 7) performing juggling acts. He was good! Juggling things like ping-pong balls and plastic bags! Also on the same deck as you enter or leave the Lido is the casino, be wary!
Day 2
We caught the sunrise this morning and enjoyed dim sum breakfast back at the Pavilion. The picture house (deck 8) was showing Tale of Desperaux and we caught the movie there. Lunch was at Bella Vista (Deck 6) where western fanfare was served. We had a bottle of wine (too much) and enjoyed the beef and sandwich there.
We were alongside Phuket in the afternoon and we got on a tour to visit the cashew nut factory. The workers there work really hard and carefully retrieve each cashew nut from its ‘shell’ to ensure that it is whole. Any cashew nut that is not retrieved as a whole, will be considered ‘defective’ and fetch a lower price. We also got to taste the different flavours available, wasabi was one of our favourite.
At night, we headed out to Patong beach, saw tonnes of fake bags and made our way back to the ship.
Day 3
There is usually a gala night for every cruise where one is expected to dress up to the nines. This was the day. Beside lunch at Pavilion and snacks at Taverna (Deck 13 – overlooking the pool) we joined in the “Win lose or draw” gameshow and got to make a paper necklace for ourselves! (Proud look).
For dinner, you could choose to go any one of the 3 dedicated restaurants. We chose our dinner to be at the Samurai Restaurant (Deck 8) where we enjoyed the sushi, tempura, beef/chicken tepanyaki. It was a really classy place and guests were treated like VIPs.
We enjoyed Maestro & Music at Lido for the night where dance and music were performed.
Day 4
Too soon, it was day 4 and our last day before we head home to Singapore. Again, we joined in the programme for the day and included Dancexercise (healthy way to get back into shape after all that eating), Box or Bucks ( whereby you answer a question by standing at the correct place. Last person standing wins. Much like million dollar drop just that the person moves instead of the money and people are ‘dropped out’ if they choose to stand at the wrong place. Kate won btw! We received some starcruise vouchers and exchanged them for some souvenirs. Cool…) as well as mini golf!
If you’re looking for hotel stays in Singapore before setting sail, we have arranged for the best hotel deals in Singapore right here!
Conclusion
He says: If I can afford it, I would cruise for every holiday to every continent! That’s how enjoyable cruises are!
She says: For the first time, I dont have to plan for the trip and I get to really chill out and relax. With the credit card discount, it was certainly a steal.
Remember to check out the best cruise packages at LastMinuteTravel.com – Last Minute Prices in Advance!
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So we caught the overnight seater and arrived early on Saturday morning. It was about 5 am and the bus was already ascending the Cameron Highlands. At about 6:30am, we reached the town and were given the short break to have our breakfast. We had our usual fill (2nd time to Cameron) of Wan Ton noodles and hopped back to the bus where they took us to our hotel – Strawberry Park Hotel
Strawberry Park Hotel
I used to think that the Strawberry Park Hotel either grows strawberries or is very near a strawberry garden. Neither of which was there. However, it is a quaint hotel with french architecture. It really just offers tranquility and peace of mind when you enter the hotel.
The hotel seemed a little old on the outside. But as we entered the rooms, it offered a whole new perspective to us. The view from the balcony offered lush greenery while the entrance of our room had views of the highland.
The bed was big and comfy. The best part of it was that the bathroom was HUGE. The bathtub was located right in the middle with showers and toilet located behind. Facilities include a playground as well as an indoor heated pool. It was really clean and offered “country-club” like facilities at the bathrooms. The pool stared out at the garden and was a good place to chillax.
We quickly unpacked and headed out for our first stop – Ee Feng Bee Centre
Ee Feng Bee Centre
We joined a mini tour from our tour agency – Titiwangsa. The driver took us to Ee Feng Bee Centre and we were given free time ourselves to roam about. We were able to have up close view of the bees while the bees busied themselves with gathering of the pollen.
Butterfly Garden
The next stop was the butterfly garden. It was an interesting experience as it was the first time that I saw so many butterflies all in an enclosure. There were in fact so many of them that many were just crawling all over the floor. Be careful not to step on them! We also saw a koi feasting on one of them…ew…
Next, the guide at the butterfly garden took us to see some exotic insects. They included stick insects (really have to stare hard to locate them), lizards as well as scorpions! The pictures will show you the guide ‘playing’ with the scorpion and placing it on other tourists.
Strawberry Garden
There are several strawberry gardens in the highlands and the next stop was at one of them. There was a choice of picking strawberries with a given fee. Kate and I were not keen to eat that many strawberries, so we settled for a yummy strawberry milk shake and bought some jams as well. It was nice to observe the strawberry as well as its flowers in its natural form. The guide even teach you how to correctly pluck the strawberries.
Rose Centre
The Rose Centre should be biggest exhibit on show. There are so many kinds of flowers and cacti here. We spotted several unique flowers like the horse-shoe flower as well as the “butterfly” petals (you have to take 2 of it to form a butterfly)
Roses were blossoming prettily and the sunflowers were as large as the palm of my hand! We also climbed to the viewing point and had a spendid view of the city. Warning : The climb can be exhausting.
T-Cafe
In the evening, we took a stroll down the hills to the town nearby to enjoy desserts at T-cafe (located above Marybrown). We ordered Tom Yam Bee Hoon and Claypot Kway Teow as mains. Apple juice and mango lassi as drinks. They were quite enjoyable, but what we were really after was the dessert. We ordered the chocolate cake which was rich and creamy, the apple pie that was how an apple pie should be, as well as the strawberry scone, a nice addition to the meal.
We went to the cab stand nearby and took a short ride back. Literally because the driver was a hell-rider who charged at every curve on the way back. We had to hold on to our seats as we swayed side to side. We were back within 4 minutes flat.
Breakfast
Breakfast at Strawberry Park Hotel was enjoyable. The chef made prata fresh on the spot. Each time he serves his lot, the guests would clear it. I had to order several in advance. They were crispy yet delectable. Together with the curry, it was a oh so awesome!
Kuala Lumpur City
We then proceeded for the next part of our trip to KL city. We stayed at the Swiss Garden Hotel and were presently surprised by its stylish contemporary deco. We ventured out to the city in the evening but encountered a short downpour. So we hid ourselves at Nando’s and had unlimited drinks with a spicy mango burger.
The rain subsided and we began shopping nearby. Soon it was time for dinner and we had claypot rice as well as some satay. Street hawker food is still the best!
The next day, we ventured out to KLCC and had an excellent view of the Petronas Towers (See slide show). There was also opportunity to shop at KLCC as well as the surroundings. We rounded off the evening with more hawker food such as popiah and char kway teow.
He says : I particularly enjoyed the fresh air of the highlands. It is so relaxing just to breathe in the fresh air and leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind. Views of the Petronas Towers were also magnificent up close.
She says: I love the cheap malaysian street food and the shopping!!!
For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals in Cameron Highlands right here!
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Introduction
Berjaya Hills is located near to KL and Genting Highlands. It is about 800m above sea level (Genting is about 2000m) . Hence, the drive up the hill is relatively smooth and short compared to the long and windy roads of Genting. The drive up the hill from the main road is only about 15 mins.
The entire development is done up by the Berjaya Group and currently consists of the Colmar Tropicale, Golf/Country Club, Rabbit Farm, Horse Trail as well as the Japanese/Botanical Garden. The Chateau (A French themed resort and spa) will be opening in July and there are also talks of a German, Italian and Spanish themed resorts.
The temperature is about low to mid 20s though it may reach about 30 degrees on hot days.
Japanese and Botanical Gardens
Cost : Free
One of our favourite attractions at Berjaya Hills has got to be the Japanese Garden. As the roads were under construction, the shuttle from the resort dropped us off a distance from the gardens itself. The beginning of the walk was a 45degrees inclined path which exhausted us quite a bit (or at least Tom). However, if you tread the path slowly, you would enjoy the scenery of the hills, the overhanging trees and the birds.
The gardens are filled with Japanese themed plants and flowers. Pebbles lined the pathway. Heading towards the Japanese teahouse, we were pleasantly surprised by the koi fish pond as well as the gentle streams and mini falls. The sounds of the water really together with the serenity of the gardens really does allow one to unwind.
Along the way there is a spa as well as a guest house. We think that the prices are quite exorbitant but still the architecture adds genuine flavour to the gardens.
The Japanese gardens is linked to the botanical gardens via a short walkway. For the botany enthusiasts, you will find that the plants are labelled meticulously, some with their scientific names. The entire walk, at a leisure pace will take about an hour or so. Do take your time to enjoy the sights and sounds of the nature!
Horse Trail
Cost : 1 hour trail costs 100RM on weekdays and 120RM on weekends
It was the first time that we rode a horse. Hence, Wan (the receptionist @ the Horse Trail) recommended that we had a half hour introduction to riding before half an hour on the roads. We gladly accepted his recommendation and we never regretted it.
The first half hour was basically about confidence building. When you first mount the horse, you will feel a little tensed. After the introduction, we all felt quite relaxed and had a great time on the trail.
The introduction covered riding (riding in circles within a pen while the horses trotted) without hands, without legs and without hands and legs. After which, the sequence was repeated without hands while the horse galloped. We were also taught how to angle our heels and be at at standing position such that when the horse is climbing up a slope, we sort of ease the burden on the horse a little.
After the introduction, we were relaxed and confident about riding our horses (mine was called Miss Penelope while Kate’s was called Indiana Rose). The trail took us out on the main road for about 2 kilometres or so and we were able to just chat and enjoy the scenery that Berjaya Hills had to offer.
On a side note, the rabbit farm was close by and it costs only 3RM for entry. We peered in from the outside and saw that the kids were thoroughly enjoying themselves. A recommended place for family time.
Golf/ Country Club
Although we are not golf enthusiasts, we can see that the condition of the golf course was quite well maintained. It should be a place that golfers will enjoy. The club house offers archery, billiard, bowling, squash, tennis, swimming and badminton.
But the highlight of the country club (at least for us) has got to be the cafe! This is because, up on the hills at Tropicale, the restaurants charge exorbitant prices (A large pizza costs 36RM while the buffet was 55RM++) At the cafe of the clubhouse, the jumbo hotdog that comes with fries and salad costs only 11RM! Noodles and rice were about 13RM.
Colmar Tropicale
We stayed in a 2BR suite and had views of the hills and swimming pool. The view of the ‘main street’ (about 100 metres of it) is really modelled/inspired by the French town of Colmar. At the end of the ‘main street’ is a tower, overlooking the hills, golf course and resort itself. Here is a video of it…
There is even complimentary acrobatics as well as magic shows at several timings throughout the day!
Our Take
He says: I have thoroughly enjoyed the trip especially the walk through the gardens. Breathing in the fresh air of the hills and taking in the greenery does relaxes the soul. I also enjoyed the horse trail and learning how to ride a horse. Since I drive, Im also glad that the drive uphill was actually only about 15 mins…phew…
She says: I enjoyed the cool weather and the landscape of the hills. I think I had enough pastries for the remaining half of the year. I was scared to ride the horse but Im glad I did it in the end as it was actually quite fun!
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