A sudden last minute unplanned trip to Melaka saw us traveling up the North=South Expressway by car.
Our route this morning (we left at 10am) took us via Tuas Checkpoint, which, by the way, seemed faster than I thought it would be. Having cleared immigration, we headed onto the Second Link Bridge across the Straits of Johor, then onto the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (Toll Road).
At Sultan Abu Bakar Immigration we cleared Malaysian immigration, then up it was towards the North-South Expressway.
I don't know what it was we passed by but there was a sign that indicated Gelang Petah, then afterwards as we headed onto the expressway, there was Mount Pulai on the left hand side.
All the pictures here I took are over the route beginning from somewhere near Kulai. Along the way we passed by Sedenak, Simpang Renggam, then Ayer Hitam and Yong Peng. After that came Tangkak (apparently close to Mount Ophir), then, finally Jasin.
Somewhere around Jasin we stopped at a petrol station and got down the car to stretch our legs. The driver went to the restroom. We went into the store and looked at merchandise which I'd not seen in over ten years.
After Jasin, the car went on all the way before making a turn into this place called Durian Tunggal.
At least that's the route I think he took.
I would have remembered Ayer Keroh otherwise.
Here the car took a couple of very experienced turns, passing a couple of houses, then more houses, then a gymnasium of sorts, and we finally got to Courtyard Melaka on Lorong Haji Bachee around 2pm.
There weren't many people at Courtyard this time of day, so a fairly quick check-in it was and we soon got our room that had, I must say, a most wonderful inland view.
Courtyard (by Marriott) Melaka is a fairly new property, it seems.
When exactly it was built, I don't know- it might have been built from ground up, it might have been transformed from an older property- but as one of the newer properties in Melaka, the place is sunny, spacious and airy on all sides.
Honestly I cannot remember the last time I saw such a huge, spacious lobby filled with an abundance of natural light.
Neither can I remember the last time I saw such a large lobby without the crowds of people milling about.
Considered a five-star hotel, the rooms too were notably spacious, sunny and large.
Upon entering you were greeted by beds with their own bedside tables. Then there was a large television, a large wardrobe, coffee and tea making facilities, a mini fridge, a work desk, and an armchair with a small coffee table by the side.
If you wondered about the bathroom, well, there was an ample shower area, toiletries of shampoo, conditioner and body wash, plus amenities in case you forgot yours.
What charmed me most, however, was the view.
It wasn't just the fact that I'd never seen the hinterland of Melaka from a height this high before.
Neither was it the fact that I was looking at buildings and structures and houses both commercial and residential, stretched out over the expanse of land right in front of me.
It was remarkably charming.
In front of me to the right was a relatively new condominium with floor-to-ceiling windows, and to the left, there were the buildings of Prudential, The Pines, and Hotel Sentral Melaka.
And even though I'm still not very sure which direction it was I was looking at, I was probably looking northwards with the farms, hills and forests beyond.
We didn't hang around in the room very long- we were extremely hungry- so down we went looking for lunch, and food.
Taking the route along Lorong Haji Bachee, we turned right into Jalan Tun Sri Lanang.
At the end of a row of shop houses, directly opposite the 80s' looking Hotel Sentral Melaka, at a place called Restaurant ILMALI situated at the end of a row of shop houses, we ordered a kuay teow goreng ayam, and an ayam goreng.
It wasn't my intention to have chicken everything but my command of Bahasa Melayu is literally non-existent- I hardly speak it at all- and so forgot that what I wanted was a kuay teow goreng with something else, and not ayam at all.
Nevertheless it's been a long time since I last had Malaysian-Malaysian food, and I enjoyed it very much, oil and all.
Back to the room we went after lunch to get some work done, and then in the evening out we went to Jonker Street.
It was a bit of an interesting route we took. If I'm not wrong, we walked to the end of Lorong Haji Bachee, crossed the road and walked along a part of Jalan Bunga Raya Pantai. From there we walked along the banks a little bit, then went past this place called The Shore. We crossed one part of the river, then found ourselves near Jalan Munshi Abdullah. How, or where we walked after that, I can't recall but I think we walked along the shop houses of Jalan Hang Jebat, and then all of a sudden we were at Jonker Walk with its historical houses dating way back to the 17th century now transformed into shops offering snacks, antiques, handicrafts and souvenirs.
I was glad to visit this place that I'd heard so much about.
Better yet if I'd had enough time to explore the museums, like the Cheng Ho Cultural Museum, the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum, the Hang Jebat Mausoleum, the Straits Chinese Jewellery Museum.
But we were getting hungry, so we headed to this place on Jonker Walk for Hainanese steamed chicken and rice shaped into little round balls.
I don't recall the name of the shop but the price was reasonable, the food was good, and I had a glass of very strong, very thick, very solid kopi.
From here we followed the crowds, wandering towards the end of Jonker Walk. Along the way we stopped by several shops, and at a stall in the Night Market we bought a small wood keychain with the Chinese character "Wang" on it.
Further on we came out onto one side of the river leading to the Stadthuys.
Built by the Dutch in 1650 to serve as the offices of the Governor and the Deputy Governor, this set of buildings- known for their red exteriors and clock tower- continued to serve as Post Office, Treasury and Government Offices when the British took over.
From here we went along Jalan Kota, passing by the West Gate of Bukit Melaka, and a playground, then the UMNO Museum.
From here, we walked in what was like a bit of a round.
Where exactly we went, offhand I don't really remember, but for sure we stuck around the vicinity of the river, if I'm not wrong, somewhere around the Jalan Laksamana 1 side.
After a bit of a wander we went to Dataran Pahlawan- a shopping mall that had, I thought, a somewhat quiet footfall.
Not that there wasn't anything to shop for- there was a Brands Outlet, a Charles & Keith, a Uniqlo, a Levi's, a Mr. DIY, and even a Bath & Body Works plus a host of fun, family-friendly cafes like McDonalds, Starbucks, Pizza Hut and even a Haidilao- but perhaps we were too early for dinner and so there were just a couple of groups milling about here and there.
Here we considered getting some dinner but then we were planning to go out for supper afterward, so decided to have just a coffee, a croissant and a matcha latte at Locca Cafe on the first floor.
Later in the evening after an errand of mine we headed to a 7-11 close to Hatten Hotel further down the road to get some water, then back we went to Courtyard Melaka before heading out to this place called Pak Putra Tandoori & Naan Restaurant for North Indian and Pakistani food.
I'd never tried Kashmiri nor Pakistani food before, so we took some time going through the menu before ordering a Triple Cheese Naan, and a Kashmiri Naan.
The Triple Cheese was rich and gooey and thick, very much like what one would expect it to be, but in particular I liked the Kashmiri Naan.
Perhaps I'd never thought of naans as being sweet, but instead of the regular cheese and garlic and butter, it had glazed almonds and cashews and raisins, almost like a dessert bread rather than a savory one.
