A trip to Melaka
I have not blogged for quite a long time, but that's considering the CNY holiday and whatever turmoil and work I need to go through for the past few weeks. Anyway, I returned from Melaka for a field trip. Here are the photos:
Checking into the hotel, that's Prof Farrell. And the hotel that we stayed throughout the weekend was called Aldy Hotel. Wonderful place. Right at the heart of the historic Melaka.
Some female classmates waiting to check in...
Some guys here. Not a very good pic taken, notice my finger? More to come.
My room, 311. I was the only one sleeping in this room. So effectively, I have privacy. The only downside is that it gets lonely at night, and sometimes, you get left out when others go out and do things.
This is a view outside my room.
Having a briefing by Prof Farrell at Bamboo Huy Bistro. The boss there is a funny friendly guy. We were preparing to take off to the Old Melaka across the Melaka river to view the social and culture history that has been preserved for so many centuries. Tracing the footsteps.
Well, I did promise more fingers of mine =P The start of our field trip at Jonker Walk. This is an area that has been striving commercially since as long as there was a Sultanate there, especially since the Chinese came to this part of the world.
We pit stopped at Geographer's Cafe for lunch. The whole gang went off to try the Chicken Rice Ball down the street while Farrell and his friend, Jaya, stayed for a bottle of beer.
Some views from Geographer down on Jonker Street. This is an area where the Portugueses, Dutch and British had not disturbed significantly. It was being described as a sleepy hollow by some people. Apparently, for Melaka, this is a place where time stopped.
This is the tomb of Hang Tuah, or rather, a believed one. The fact that the 'tomb' is being displayed as part of a heritage site accounts that Hang Tuah, one of the famous five brothers recorded in the Malay Annals is being regarded as a historical figure of great significant value. Interestingly, while tourists would come here and get to learn more about Malaysian history, locals around have little or no knowledge of the tomb's existence.
Walking down the street further. Towards Jalan Hang Jebat.
A Jonker Gallery. The building is a failed attempt to recreate colonial architecture.
The photos here reveals two different periods of early Chinese settlement. The one on the right is built much more earlier, therefore showing a simple design. The one on the left has certain elements of different cultures, including that of Dutch and Portuguese, if I dun remember wrongly. Certainly showed the development of the town along the time.
Scene and sights of the oldest temple in Melaka and possibly the oldest Chinese temple in the whole Malayan peinsular.
Some photos of the Kampong Kling Mosque. Too bad I can't take photos inside as there was a request to respect the holy ground inside.
Photos of the Hindu temple, which was not far away from the mosque and the chinese temples. It's a temple devoted to Shiva.
Some obscure street corners. As you can see, the buildings have been preserved.
Pictures of an art shop opened by a local artist by the name of Charles Cham. He really did a lot of funny art piece and print them onto the T shirts. Too bad I decided not to buy any, but I would have bought the one 'when is art art and when is art not art' or the piece on 'to lah or not to lah'.
A lizard in the water of the Melaka river. Big one some more.
Some views of the river. The sea used to be nearer the bridge, but due to reclamation... too sad. See the red wall on the left of the bridge? It's a remain of the old Dutch fort wall that was blown up by William Farquhar. Yes, our Farquhar.
It is currently politically correct to promote Cheng Ho in Melaka, given that he was the one who formally declared the Chieftainate of Melaka to the Sultanate of Melaka. Plus point, he's a Muslim. However, we didn't go into the Cheng Ho cultural museum, which according to Farrell, it's quite unorganised.
Here, we see further attempts to reconstruct colonial structures.
Look at the small door in between the two large buildings. The funniest structure in that entire town. Built such that little property tax was to be paid, since the tax was determined by the width it occupied on the road. Quite funny.
An old press printing shop which was left behind by time. Still operating, but not employing the current laser technology.
More views of the river.
Some views on the Millionaire Street. This is a Peranakan Museum.
A rather odd picture out of place. We ended the day trip at around half past 5 and dinner was a treat from Farrell. He asked to take photos with the rat children, cos he's also born in the year of the rat (did I reveal his age?) We toured the night market after that, but that's basically about it for the first day.
The next morning began with a breakfast at Bamboo Hut Bistro, and it started that we trailed the old fort wall,or what had used to be the old fort wall and examined the political history. At the obelisk was one set up by the British to commemorate the Naning Wars.
These are photos of an excavation site of the Santiago Bastion built by the Portuguese. To the right should be the old shoreline but now it's a reclaimed land with a modern building on top. Certainly a sore in the eye, wrt to the excavation site.
Old cannons but not from Melaka.
The only part of the old Portuguese/Dutch fort (Fort A Farmosa) that was not destroyed by the British. Raffles managed to stop Farquhar on time. Surely a true heritage.
An old colonial school. Would have looked like the kind of old colonial school we have in Singapore.
More pictures of the A Farmosa fort gate. Notice the hill behind it. It's where the center of power in that region usually hang around.
This is the top of Bukit St. Paul, where the old Portuguese church of St Paul (or what's left of it) and the lighthouse built by the British are located. From this hill, one can see the sea, or what's known as the Strait of Melaka, the pathway of the old maritime trade in this region. However, because of the reclaimed land, one can only catch the glimpse of what a Portuguese official or a Dutch official would see from the top, but not the whole picture. A sad reality.
An old armored car used during the Emergency.
This is a recreation of the Sultan palace from before the colonial period. It's a cultural museum depicting Malay culture.
This is a large phony garden built on reclaimed land. It's built on what was supposed to be the original shoreline of the river leading out to the Strait.
This is an old Dutch cemetery, ironically, the most prominent tomb is one erected to commemorate the 2 British officials who died during the Naning Wars.
This couple, apparently participating in a gameshow similar that of Amazing Race.
Remains of A Farmosa... some of the lazerite stones which were used to build the fort wall.
Farrell's one minute of fame in Malaysian TV. As the couple exited the cemetery with us, he asked them if he can help, and they just ran off. We walked off on a different direction, then the couple ran back to look for Farrell for help. We were quite amused on this episode.
The fountain and the clock tower at the square. The fountain was built as a direct assertion of British power while the clock was an unusual donation by a Chinese merchant. After this, we broke off for lunch at Geographer's cafe, where we had an interesting round of presentations. Certainly a lesson out in the 'wilderness' where the presenters had no projection of their slides.
After lunch, we went back to Stadhuys Square and entered the ethnographic museum. That is an old drainage system.
The painting beautifully depicted what Melaka used to look like. I was wowed by the shoreline.
This is the funniest thing I ever see in Melaka. Why? It's from the Democratic Government Museum. It says, 'Facism was used to used to popularise Stalin in Russia'. Funny stuff. Firstly, it's meant to be fascism, not facism. Probably some new ideology that we history majors have not heard before that was used in Russia... and it's not Russia but USSR... and what does Stalin has to do with Fascism? For those who are in the blur, the ideology of Fascism is particularly an anti-communist ideology and Stalin was a communist... The only explanation that we had was that the word 'Facism' is a new ideology. It has to do with your face... go figure that out.
This is a Dutch excavation site, digging out the remains of the old Dutch bastion, which was, of course, destroyed by Farquhar. They are trying to do some reconstruction of the bastion too. After this, we were done for the day, and we went OTOT. The night was good. I followed Shaun and Kok Boon to Makhota shopping centre. We visited the MPH there, running into Jaya and Farrell there as well. We found this very funny book by the name of 'Where monsoon meets' and it presented a very skewed version of the Malayan independence history. Funny stuff and Farrell actually bought it after we showed him the stuff. The five of us also went off to watch Liverpool vs Barnsley that night. Good interaction. The conversation between the five of us eventually turned spiritual, as Farrell saw Shaun's bible and we begin to talk about our own faith.
The morning was a disaster for me and Farrell, and Eisen as well. But we decided to get on with life and board the river cruise which brought us up the river of Melaka. I shall not show any more photos than necessary, cos there are just too much to upload and they are quite repetitive.
This is a reconstructed Portuguese caravel. It houses a maritime museum, but I didn't go in there.
This is Christ Church Melaka, an Anglican church. They were holding their mandarin service there when we visited. A small congregation. And after this, we packed up and left Aldy Hotel, and head back to Singapore. We had another round of presentation on the bus and it was a rocky one.
Nevertheless, that sums up an exciting field trip. I got to know my history classmates better, though I will only be seeing 4 of them next sem as the rest would graduate this sem. I also get to know Farrell better, and he gets to know me better as well. At least now I no longer dread the prospect of talking to Farrell one to one.
Will blog again soon. And will show you the photos from Sarawak as well.
Checking into the hotel, that's Prof Farrell. And the hotel that we stayed throughout the weekend was called Aldy Hotel. Wonderful place. Right at the heart of the historic Melaka.
Some female classmates waiting to check in...
Some guys here. Not a very good pic taken, notice my finger? More to come.
My room, 311. I was the only one sleeping in this room. So effectively, I have privacy. The only downside is that it gets lonely at night, and sometimes, you get left out when others go out and do things.
This is a view outside my room.
Having a briefing by Prof Farrell at Bamboo Huy Bistro. The boss there is a funny friendly guy. We were preparing to take off to the Old Melaka across the Melaka river to view the social and culture history that has been preserved for so many centuries. Tracing the footsteps.
Well, I did promise more fingers of mine =P The start of our field trip at Jonker Walk. This is an area that has been striving commercially since as long as there was a Sultanate there, especially since the Chinese came to this part of the world.
We pit stopped at Geographer's Cafe for lunch. The whole gang went off to try the Chicken Rice Ball down the street while Farrell and his friend, Jaya, stayed for a bottle of beer.
Some views from Geographer down on Jonker Street. This is an area where the Portugueses, Dutch and British had not disturbed significantly. It was being described as a sleepy hollow by some people. Apparently, for Melaka, this is a place where time stopped.
This is the tomb of Hang Tuah, or rather, a believed one. The fact that the 'tomb' is being displayed as part of a heritage site accounts that Hang Tuah, one of the famous five brothers recorded in the Malay Annals is being regarded as a historical figure of great significant value. Interestingly, while tourists would come here and get to learn more about Malaysian history, locals around have little or no knowledge of the tomb's existence.
Walking down the street further. Towards Jalan Hang Jebat.
A Jonker Gallery. The building is a failed attempt to recreate colonial architecture.
The photos here reveals two different periods of early Chinese settlement. The one on the right is built much more earlier, therefore showing a simple design. The one on the left has certain elements of different cultures, including that of Dutch and Portuguese, if I dun remember wrongly. Certainly showed the development of the town along the time.
Scene and sights of the oldest temple in Melaka and possibly the oldest Chinese temple in the whole Malayan peinsular.
Some photos of the Kampong Kling Mosque. Too bad I can't take photos inside as there was a request to respect the holy ground inside.
Photos of the Hindu temple, which was not far away from the mosque and the chinese temples. It's a temple devoted to Shiva.
Some obscure street corners. As you can see, the buildings have been preserved.
Pictures of an art shop opened by a local artist by the name of Charles Cham. He really did a lot of funny art piece and print them onto the T shirts. Too bad I decided not to buy any, but I would have bought the one 'when is art art and when is art not art' or the piece on 'to lah or not to lah'.
A lizard in the water of the Melaka river. Big one some more.
Some views of the river. The sea used to be nearer the bridge, but due to reclamation... too sad. See the red wall on the left of the bridge? It's a remain of the old Dutch fort wall that was blown up by William Farquhar. Yes, our Farquhar.
It is currently politically correct to promote Cheng Ho in Melaka, given that he was the one who formally declared the Chieftainate of Melaka to the Sultanate of Melaka. Plus point, he's a Muslim. However, we didn't go into the Cheng Ho cultural museum, which according to Farrell, it's quite unorganised.
Here, we see further attempts to reconstruct colonial structures.
Look at the small door in between the two large buildings. The funniest structure in that entire town. Built such that little property tax was to be paid, since the tax was determined by the width it occupied on the road. Quite funny.
An old press printing shop which was left behind by time. Still operating, but not employing the current laser technology.
More views of the river.
Some views on the Millionaire Street. This is a Peranakan Museum.
A rather odd picture out of place. We ended the day trip at around half past 5 and dinner was a treat from Farrell. He asked to take photos with the rat children, cos he's also born in the year of the rat (did I reveal his age?) We toured the night market after that, but that's basically about it for the first day.
The next morning began with a breakfast at Bamboo Hut Bistro, and it started that we trailed the old fort wall,or what had used to be the old fort wall and examined the political history. At the obelisk was one set up by the British to commemorate the Naning Wars.
These are photos of an excavation site of the Santiago Bastion built by the Portuguese. To the right should be the old shoreline but now it's a reclaimed land with a modern building on top. Certainly a sore in the eye, wrt to the excavation site.
Old cannons but not from Melaka.
The only part of the old Portuguese/Dutch fort (Fort A Farmosa) that was not destroyed by the British. Raffles managed to stop Farquhar on time. Surely a true heritage.
An old colonial school. Would have looked like the kind of old colonial school we have in Singapore.
More pictures of the A Farmosa fort gate. Notice the hill behind it. It's where the center of power in that region usually hang around.
This is the top of Bukit St. Paul, where the old Portuguese church of St Paul (or what's left of it) and the lighthouse built by the British are located. From this hill, one can see the sea, or what's known as the Strait of Melaka, the pathway of the old maritime trade in this region. However, because of the reclaimed land, one can only catch the glimpse of what a Portuguese official or a Dutch official would see from the top, but not the whole picture. A sad reality.
An old armored car used during the Emergency.
This is a recreation of the Sultan palace from before the colonial period. It's a cultural museum depicting Malay culture.
This is a large phony garden built on reclaimed land. It's built on what was supposed to be the original shoreline of the river leading out to the Strait.
This is an old Dutch cemetery, ironically, the most prominent tomb is one erected to commemorate the 2 British officials who died during the Naning Wars.
This couple, apparently participating in a gameshow similar that of Amazing Race.
Remains of A Farmosa... some of the lazerite stones which were used to build the fort wall.
Farrell's one minute of fame in Malaysian TV. As the couple exited the cemetery with us, he asked them if he can help, and they just ran off. We walked off on a different direction, then the couple ran back to look for Farrell for help. We were quite amused on this episode.
The fountain and the clock tower at the square. The fountain was built as a direct assertion of British power while the clock was an unusual donation by a Chinese merchant. After this, we broke off for lunch at Geographer's cafe, where we had an interesting round of presentations. Certainly a lesson out in the 'wilderness' where the presenters had no projection of their slides.
After lunch, we went back to Stadhuys Square and entered the ethnographic museum. That is an old drainage system.
The painting beautifully depicted what Melaka used to look like. I was wowed by the shoreline.
This is the funniest thing I ever see in Melaka. Why? It's from the Democratic Government Museum. It says, 'Facism was used to used to popularise Stalin in Russia'. Funny stuff. Firstly, it's meant to be fascism, not facism. Probably some new ideology that we history majors have not heard before that was used in Russia... and it's not Russia but USSR... and what does Stalin has to do with Fascism? For those who are in the blur, the ideology of Fascism is particularly an anti-communist ideology and Stalin was a communist... The only explanation that we had was that the word 'Facism' is a new ideology. It has to do with your face... go figure that out.
This is a Dutch excavation site, digging out the remains of the old Dutch bastion, which was, of course, destroyed by Farquhar. They are trying to do some reconstruction of the bastion too. After this, we were done for the day, and we went OTOT. The night was good. I followed Shaun and Kok Boon to Makhota shopping centre. We visited the MPH there, running into Jaya and Farrell there as well. We found this very funny book by the name of 'Where monsoon meets' and it presented a very skewed version of the Malayan independence history. Funny stuff and Farrell actually bought it after we showed him the stuff. The five of us also went off to watch Liverpool vs Barnsley that night. Good interaction. The conversation between the five of us eventually turned spiritual, as Farrell saw Shaun's bible and we begin to talk about our own faith.
The morning was a disaster for me and Farrell, and Eisen as well. But we decided to get on with life and board the river cruise which brought us up the river of Melaka. I shall not show any more photos than necessary, cos there are just too much to upload and they are quite repetitive.
This is a reconstructed Portuguese caravel. It houses a maritime museum, but I didn't go in there.
This is Christ Church Melaka, an Anglican church. They were holding their mandarin service there when we visited. A small congregation. And after this, we packed up and left Aldy Hotel, and head back to Singapore. We had another round of presentation on the bus and it was a rocky one.
Nevertheless, that sums up an exciting field trip. I got to know my history classmates better, though I will only be seeing 4 of them next sem as the rest would graduate this sem. I also get to know Farrell better, and he gets to know me better as well. At least now I no longer dread the prospect of talking to Farrell one to one.
Will blog again soon. And will show you the photos from Sarawak as well.
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