Gasp! We went to a desert in Malacca (Part 2)

It's a Monday! And we get to sleep as long as we wanted to. We all agreed that it'll be a free an easy kind of day. We all laid in our beds and no one set the alarm clock. Surprisingly, Simon woke up at 8.30++ am and started talking with someone else (i forgot who, you better surrender yourself) and woke most of us up, LOL. Okay, by 9am everyone was up.

We all packed our luggage and moved out from Caryn's place. Due to certain circumstances, we all proceeded to Marion's place. So we moved in our luggage and will be staying there for a night. After settling our stuffs, we were all in our white shirt and tribal patterned pants. It's our group costume for the day.

It was close to lunch time, so we'll call it brunch. Stella suggested The Baboon House. It's another type of cafe in Malacca which apparently is rather famous. I like famous, as long as it does not require me to queue up for more than half an hour, COUNT ME IN.

We had 2 cars, one was Marion's, another one Elise's (Marion's Malacca B.F.F). Elise is a really sporting gal, she happily volunteered her car (we're a large group and Marion's car isn't fitting) and fetched us around.

I was in Elise's car to The Baboon House, and in front of the cafe was a parking spot! Do you even know how happy we were to get that parking spot exactly in front of the cafe? It's like V.V.V.I.P. It's seemingly hard to obtain a parking spot around that area. So yeah, we were really lucky. Marion's car on the other hand isn't, she had to turn elsewhere to look for another spot. Sometimes you have to park real far and walk all the way to your destination, that's one thing i don't like.

We waited for them inside the car, and from the car, we turned our gaze naturally to the entrance of the cafe. A westerner uncle pushed the doorbell which was oddly placed. Another westerner lady opened the door for him. So i assumed that might be his daughter or niece. But later when we pressed the doorbell, the westerner lady came and opened the door for us. So yep, this cafe is operated by westerner i assumed, again.

The Baboon House

But as we sat down, we saw a few Asian working in the cafe too. One thing i noticed about this cafe was that, they put up a lot of sign emphasizing and emphasizing and emphasizing again and again "NO PHOTO".

You know me, you definitely know me, if i'm writing a blog, if i have an instagram account, facebook and twitter account, I'LL DEFINITELY TAKE PHOTOS WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO PHOTOS. Trust me, i get so itched in there, it's suffocating.

The cafe was on point (except for the waiting area it kinda creeps me out), everything was of antique and retro and so many cultures and traditions blended together that made this cafe special.

I deduced two reasons on the NO PHOTO part:
1) They don't want other cafes to copy their design and style
2) They want us to put the phone cameras down and start looking at things with our own eyes. Maybe they wanted their cafe to be special because beauty is in the eyes of the beholder (not the eyes of the camera lenses).

I mean if other cafes really wanted to copy them, they would've tried all kinds of tactics to copy it. So it might be the second reason. I don't know, but i fully respect them by not taking any photos in the cafe. And if i really do, i'll not put it up here publicly, because one sentence really caught my eye in the cafe "Give respect, get respect" something like that.

I really couldn't contain myself when the food lay itself naked in front of me. I COULD contain myself of course, from eating the burger in front of me, but i COULDN'T contain myself from NOT TAKING ANY PHOTOS OF THIS MAJESTIC TUMMY FILLING PIECE OF SAVORY GOODNESS. So that explains the photo. It isn't easy taking this, you can feel eyes on you. I bet the lady knew i took the shot, just that she did not approach me directly and make me lose my face.

Here's my burger after cutting. Thank you thank you, i know my knife skill good.

After eating our brunch, we proceeded to Klebang. At first, our cars turned in to the beach area, we were there to look for the so-called Malacca desert. But really, there can't be deserts in Malaysia, it's the part where they carry out the land reclamation project. We can't seem to find the sand, the hills and hills of sand like what we see in other people's instagram and facebook photos. We decided, "Guys, it's too hot to be taking any kind of photos in this kind of weather, let's go get some coconut shake."

So we continued our journey to get weself some coconut shake. Klebang is famous for coconut milkshake, but we heard that the quality had dropped since they became famous, instead we went for the one in Batu Berendam. It's a shock to see a mountain of coconuts cramped in baskets. I'd wished i could bring one home with me and they wouldn't suspect a thing, THEY HAVE SO MANY!

The amount of coconut they have is shocking.

 And when the shake came, trust me, they taste nothing like coconut at all. HAHA. They tasted more like vanilla (probably the vanilla ice cream on top). They are, undeniably refreshing and totally suitable for weather like this. I could've sworn it's 35 degree celcius that time of the day. It's past noon, around 3pm.

The weather in Malacca had gotten me cray cray as well. My body couldn't quite cope with the changing weather, and of course my constant crave for cold drinks when i'm feeling warm, and entering air conditioned shopping mall when i'm sweating bullets. Finally, my health system collapse. And here i am, sore throat, sneezing uncontrollably and sweating, and yet i sip coconut shake happily like a child who'd gotten the long-awaited cotton candy. And yes, i truly felt the impact that night itself.

Us with the group costume and our pajamas-like tribal pants, with coconuts as our background. 

When we leave Batu Berendam, we went back to Klebang. This time we tried another route, we finally understood that we had to go further in to reach the destination. The car would have to go for a bumpy ride, with sand all the way, sometimes your tire might get stuck, and that's when the passengers would get down and help to push the car.

A land with nothing but sand.

Here's Alvin the assistant with his umbrella.

This place is really good for photoshooting purposes. Here's me acting all model-ish along with the hot breeze hitting me cruelly on my face. But did you know, i ran under an umbrella as soon as the shooting was done. You have to go there on a morning, or you'll definitely become Char Siew by the end of the day. 

That's our boss with her rainbow pants and neon umbrella sitting under a pile of sand. She actually got tired of waiting for us while we were busy posing for our instagram. 

And that's Simon and Marion running towards her. 

It isn't easy running up the pile of sand, but the end result was worth it.

And i've been battling with the wind along with a red scarf. 

JUST GET ME OUTTA HERE.

Here's how we take our groupfie. Just stick the monopod into the sand, deep deep deep inside, and there you have it. A monopod stand. 

Chris and Marion never misses a chance to act out a few scenes from titanic along with the helpful wind.

Obviously we had fun in the desert.

There's so much of fabulous in this photo i just kenot. We were capturing a slow motion shot where we release our hair and sway it to get that slow motion advertisement effect.

After playing in the sand for hours, we all returned to Marion's place and took turns to take our bath. After bathing, we had our dinner, cooked by Marion's mother. It was good food!

Post-dinner, we helped to round up the Tang Yuan. Because next day would be winter solstice.

No colouring, all pure ingredients. I'm drooling.

It's Christovery's birthday the next day. We actually planned a surprise for her and we all assumed she saw it coming. Like i mentioned previously, we have 2 cars. One is Marion's another Elise's. So Elise's car (where i was in it too) went to buy a birthday cake that day after playing in the sand. We kept the cake in Elise's house.

At night, around 11.30pm, we all rested enough and everyone wanted to go to Portuguese Settlement, where you can see many Christmas decorations and lighting all around. We dropped by Elise's house to take the cake first, and then we parked by the road side near a Christmas tree (made up by lights) and we lit up the cake.

Christmas tree made up of lights in Portuguese Settlement.

At first, they dragged on for a long time, we were starting to get anxious as the candle stick was getting shorter as the fire burns on. Then Alvin had to shout for her to come and the girls dragged her along. Little did we know, it just so happened that Simon accidentally stepped on a nail and bled. WHAT.

So there goes our surprise. Chris told us that she can see the candles being lit up from afar. So yeah, it's a fail. But we all made it up by singing her birthday song in different languages at the top of our lungs. She made a wish, blew out the candles, and we all accompanied Simon to a clinic to get his shots. Rusty nails may cause all kinds of troubles.

Of course, regardless of how urgent the situation is (I'm referring to Simon's injured leg) we still managed to take lots of shots and groupfie together before moving along.

And as we arrived back at Marion's place. Chris took out her cake, and her presents and started snapping. We bought the ferrero rocher here in Malacca without her knowing.

Early next morning. It's time we pack our stuff from Marion's and go home. It's been a few memorable day in Malacca visiting all these exciting places and eating amazing food. We managed to eat the Tang Yuan we rounded up last night. It was good. Soft. And i'm older (according to elders) as soon as that small little ball entered my mouth.

This is Elise. And she'd helped us a lot during this few days by fetching us around. Excuse my sweaty face. I was still sick then. HAHA. 

One last groupfie before we leave Malacca. TILL NEXT TIME.

Marion actually shed tears as we board the bus. She then requested to board the bus to give us another round of hugs. SO CUTE.

Till next time Malacca, Adios.

kthxbai.

We said, "Malacca is next."

Have i ever introduced my circle of friends to you? We're all from different parts of Malaysia, and on every semester break we get, we decided that we will visit each other's hometown. By the time we graduate, I assume that we will have had gone to almost half of Malaysia. We would have tasted different types of cuisines, delicacies, and experienced various types of cultures and traditions. Previously, they had visited Klang (which is my hometown for those who didn't know), I can't say i'm a true Klangian, because there are so many places i didn't know.

Friend 1: Hey Anna, what's nice in Klang?
Me: Hmmm, i can't seem to recall if there's any sort of tourist spot there...
Friend 2: Anything nice to eat besides Bah Kut Teh?
Me: Well, i eat the food my mom cooks.
Friend 1: What do you know then?
Me: Basically none.

Yeah, give me all the face palms you can ever give. I deserve the ultimate face palm award. So next time when you come to Klang, please give me time to do my homework. Or you can do me a sweet favor by telling me what's fun in Klang. I know the Little India we have at the town area. Truth be told, i always end up taking them to KL area, where shopping malls dominate the state.

Back to our trip to Malacca. We went there on the 19th. We sat for our last paper on the 18th (it's terrible than vegetable don't ask). We took the ets train all the way from Kampar to KL sentral. The whole journey didn't take more than 2 and a half hours. It was a quick one. We grabbed our lunch at KL sentral and proceeded to TBS. There is where i first take the public bus to Malacca. Not to forget, meeting some really strange people on the way.

Guess Marion's really exhausted from all the late-nighter revision.

In the train to KL sentral.

I think it's lunchtime, there were many people cramming in the KTM otw to TBS. 

As we arrived Malacca bus station, we were happily welcomed by our fellow Malaccans - Caryn and Marion's father. We took both cars back to the place where we will spend the nights - Caryn's place. 

She gladly emptied the house for our convenience and we were really thankful for the hospitality shown towards us. We readied ourselves, and we're off to Malacca's must-visit-tourist-spot, Jonker street.


Caryn dropped us at a shop on the way to Jonker. The shop was without any shop name or label. It was Caryn who told us they sell really famous putu pirings. It wasn't really a shop, though they set up their equipment outside, inside was a living room and just usual how a house would look like. Guess it's sort of like a family business.

This is the first time i was being exposed to putu piring, i didn't know what it was or how it looked like. It was when i held this hot baby in my palm that i know what it truly is. It is made up of coconut flakes and inside of it is the famous gula Melaka. In a way, the coconut flakes is kinda plain, so there's hint of sweetness coming from the gula melaka in the middle of the savory goodness. Overall, it isn't too sweet, it's warm when bitten and i assume it allows you to have a taste of Melaka.

After eating our putu pirings, we finally arrived at Jonker street. 

Trust me, the crowd were more than what we expected. We could hardly walk, placing our feet with caution in fear that we'll step on someone else, and every step taken was with difficulty. Our energy drained in mere minutes and we kept craving for something cold to replenish our body. Though, we stopped with the famous durian puff.

I can't describe how good these are. Durian lovers would definitely love this, and one is never enough.

Everything there is costly, so if you're not conscious about spending wisely, you might find yourself drained of cash and needing to grab more cash to spend. Spending money in Malacca is addicting, so i tried to contain myself.

Apparently, my Malacca friends told us that cafes in Malacca is blooming like mushrooms after the rain. There are many exquisitely designed cafes here that just makes you drunk in their beauty and uniqueness. My first cafe experience in Malacca was given to 13 States of Coffees.

I can't really take in all these, not to say comprehend any of this. How did they do it? how much time did they take? What does the decorations imply? Is there a hidden message?

Questions after questions running in my mind as i stepped in the cafe shop. One thing that never escape my mind: How do they do their routine cleaning?

Some cafes dirtied up their cafe in the form of Art. There are no boundaries for Arts. Dirty, can be a form of beauty. As the saying goes, beauty comes in different shapes and sizes. So i guess Dirty can be one of the beauty categories.

Look how they arranged the pots and plates on the walls. Yeah, i bet it took forever to make it stay there. What about the routine cleaning? Who knows how dusty those pans are. *gasp

I love how they decorated their cafe full with Christmas ambient and the atmosphere is just peaceful and western-ish. 

Marion took us here specifically to eat their curry laksa noodle. So i decided to give it a try. Here's how it looks like without any disturbance to the initial beauty. Fish balls, noodle, onions and other ingredients bathed harmoniously in generous amount of curry and gravy. I'll say it isn't so bad after all. 

 We proceeded to the heart of Malacca, the Stadthuys. It isn't hard to find this place, just spot the red. How many red buildings as ancient as this can you find elsewhere in Malaysia? Probably not as obvious as the Stadthuys. Surprisingly, not many tourist and people are gathering at the Stadthuys that night. So we have the place to ourselves.

Yeah. the funky one at the back is Stella. 

A typical group shot with the tree behind us lighting up illuminating the night. We wish that was the Pokok Melaka. Unfortunately, it isn't. 

Before going back to get our rests, we stopped by at Pak Putra mamak, it's famous for it's naan and tandoori chicken. So that explains why we're not sleeping and munching away on the tandoori chicken. The meat is so tender and the taste is good. The naan is extraordinary too, soft and fluffy. If you are hungry and goes there on an empty stomach in hope to fill up your tummy, i bet this is the right place for you.

After filling up our stomachs, we went back to Caryn's to have a good rest, the time was past midnight and we needed our rest. All the restless days have gotten us exhausted.

 DAY 2

 Today we woke up at 6am because mass is starting at 7.30am. Great, only four hours of sleep. I felt a bit too overwhelming. It's like we slot all the fun in one day and it ended up not being so fun after all when the drowsiness had taken over you.

We got ready and we arrived early at St. Theresa church. As we arrived, there were still plenty of seats for the 8 of us. We went up to the choir area through the spiral staircase (which never fails to amaze me) and we met our CSS senior Cecilia.

Of course, we took a photo with Cecilia. Spot our "dark" themed clothing that day. 

After mass, we took a groupfie together, along with Caryn (grey shirt) and her granny (beside her).
That day. i prayed to Lord papa for everyone's health and many more greatness to come in the coming year. Not forgetting, for my academics and my family's well-being. 

 Situated outside St. Theresa is this super huge and tall gigantic Christmas tree. As usual, the topping would always be a cute little star, as bright as my neon shoelaces.

We headed for the street near Stadthuys to enjoy some rounded chicken rice balls. Because it's so famous and whatnot, we had to queue up in order to get ourselves a seat. We did get in after waiting for a while, and each can only savor one chicken rice ball because they said that they are short in supply and high in demand. So the rest comes in normal rice form (WHY AWWW WHY). I ate chicken rice balls before, like 5 years ago, never had a good experience on that one, so i tried this, hmm, i can say that it isn't so bad after all. But i just don't really like the texture of the rice ball, it's sticky and you can't really taste the rice texture except for a mushy piece of rice squashed into a ball.

After having enough of the chicken rice, we were half full. We were saving our tummy for more food at The Daily Fix Cafe.

Here's bestie standing outside the cafe, it don't look like one from the outside, because the cafe is situated deep inside the shop. It's a long shop. Stretched all the way to the back. Shops in Malacca are all very lengthy. 

They have their way with their menus. They intentionally put water at the side of the paper and tear it to make it look somewhat retro-like. Okay, i'll give them credit for that one.

But the main attention wasn't on the menu, but the content it holds. THE BENEDICT! I shared this one with Stella. It's like what you would normally see in videos and in televisions, a cut, and the yolk will start flowing out like a broken water host. The sauce, is heavenly. 

Here's another set ordered by my friend.

Of course, we never misses an opportunity to be instagram models. Like any other cafe in Malacca, this cafe too is full of retro ambient and soft music. Nyonya plates and chinese flower patterned plates were hung systematically on the wall. I liked how the whole arrangement made me felt what i felt. 

 In Malacca, we can see heavy advertisement of Mamee everywhere. So we went in one of the shops, which appears to be one of the gallery where you can see how they created the Mamee snacks, they let you experience the deep frying of the Mamee snacks (from what i heard) and you get to buy their products there as well. 'course we did not linger there, as we have elsewhere to go.

Where would we go? Of course somewhere with Durian. Anything with Durian. As long as it's durian and it can make us burp durian.

Ladies and Gents, may i proudly present you:

Durian Cendol.

And yes, it made us burp durian.

My comment about the durian cendol is that, it is overrated. It tasted like real durian yes, and it is famous, yes undeniably, but it is sweet. If i were to finish it alone i think i might feel nauseated because of the sweetness that is attacking my taste bud. It tasted like a real durian would, nothing artificial about the flavor, so another thumbs up for that. 

The sun was so bright on our way to Stadthuys (i know i know, we went there last night, but night view and daylight view is totally different!) Everyone looked really asian here. .____.

We were really glad we brought our glasses along. It's a sharpening type of bright.

And the weather is obviously really hot and burning us all over. 

On our way to St. Paul when we found shade, like we found hope, enjoying the breeze, the distant sea, to replenish our depleting energy and sugar storage to continue our journey to the top, until we reach the ruins of St. Paul.

Have you seen a blind girl wearing her shades and walking with a selfie stick as her guide? 

 We were really annoyed with the hot weather, so we decided to go to the nearby shopping mall to cool ourselves down. We found our way to Nadeje. Where all the thousand layered cake lies. And... another round of waiting. I couldn't afford to stand anymore, so i just sat down while queuing.

So, this is the famous thousand layered cake that many were talking about! 

We went home after a long day of walking, and walking, and walking. We bathed, rest enough, took our dinner at an amazing food court, and proceeded to the beautiful river in Melaka. We did not take the 45 minutes boat ride, we just leisurely strolled along the river and have our own sweet time there. Yeah, more walking apparently.

HOW CAN YOU NOT GAIN WEIGHT IN MALACCA, HOW?!
We had our supper - Satay Celup before we end our day. 90 cents for one stick. SO NOT WORTH IT BUT IT'S SO GOOD HOW.
Sometimes you gotta spend some money for some happiness.

Here's a pleasant photo of our kangkungs bathed in peanut sauce. They're good, just not fully cooked yet. *roflmao.


Stay tune for day 3 and more...

To be continued...

kthxbai