Posts filed under 'Historical Site'
Melaka’s latest tourist attraction, Menara Taming Sari (Revolving Tower), is expected to open to public on 7th Apr 2008 (Monday).
Menara Taming Sari is located at Bandar Hilir, beside Dataran Pahlawan Megamall. This 110m high revolving tower was built using Swiss technology at a total cost of RM23mil. It is the first of its kind in the country with a revolving observation cabin, which provides a breathtaking 360-degree view of the entire historical areas in Melaka city.
The air-conditioned revolving viewing cabin is equipped with 80 seats. It revolves as it rises from ground level to the top of the tower. Each viewing session would last 7 minutes. The tower is expected to serve 3 viewing sessions every hour.
In addition to the revolving tower for visitors to enjoy bird view of Melaka city, the ticketing building will also be fitted with 5 commercial outlets, which includes cafe, restaurant, and souvenir shops.
Today, 2 days before the scheduled public opening, engineers are working on some final engineering and mechanical touches on the revolving tower and conduct hourly testing, to ensure that it is completely safe for public visitors. During my visit, the cabin air-conditioning equipments were being tested.
Admission Fees for MyKad Holders
RM10 for adults, RM5 for children below 12 years old, and RM7 for senior citizens above 55 years old.
Admission Fees Visitors without MyKad
RM20 for adults, RM10 for children below 12 years old, and RM17 for senior citizens above 55 years old.
Operating hours: 10am to 10pm daily
A Little Bit of History
Menara Taming Sari was supposed to be built near The Stadthuys (Dutch Square). But, the plan was stopped and relocated, when an ancient Portuguese wall - Middleburg Bastion, was discovered on the site.
April 5th, 2008
From my childhood till adolescence, the Sungai Melaka (Melaka River) I grown up with was dirty, smelly, and poorly maintained. However, in recent years, thanks to continuous state government and city council initiative, Sungai Melaka is now given a fresh new picturesque appearance. This is an applauding change for the benefit of Melaka tourism.
5 years back, I wouldn’t agree to take a river cruise at Sungai Melaka, or spend an evening strolling along the riverside. However, now that Sungai Melaka surrounding environment is upgraded, and I’m glad that it’s worth spending some relaxing free time at Sungai Melaka riverwalk without hesitation.
Sungai Melaka conversation exercise is not just confined to the area around Dutch Square and Old Melaka Town historical site, but the whole route of river cruise. One fine Friday evening, I went to the riverwalk at Jalan Bunga Raya opposite Kampung Morten for a stroll. A boardwalk is built along the riverside, by the muddy riverbank. This 380m boardwalk has its entry point situated behind Southern Hospital.
Sungai Melaka is known as one of the very few natural habitats for mudskippers. So, at the boardwalk, it’s pretty easy to spot mudskippers skipping on the muddy ground.
Old Chinese houses and Taoism temple along the boardwalk, opposite Kampung Morten and parted by Sungai Melaka.
Quacking ducks, monitor lizards and birds have also found Sungai Melaka as their home.
Kampung Morten is an award winning traditional Malay village and classified national Malaysian heritage site situated by Sungai Melaka. It is named after an Englishman who donated the land on which the kampung (village) was built, during the late 19th century when Melaka was ruled by the British. It is connected to Jalan Bunga Raya by a bridge called Jambatan Kampung Morten.
Villa Sentosa is one of the biggest houses in Kampung Morten, and as old as Kampong Morten itself. It was built by Tuan Haji Hashim bin Dato’ Demang Haji Abdul Ghani in 1920. Villa Sentosa has now been converted into a private Malay living museum. Guided tours are also conducted for the visitors to view its intriguing collection of costumes, Malay embroidery, furniture, muskets and array of interesting relics.
A Malay house in Kampung Morten which has its roof painted for Malaysia’s 50th anniversary.
The entrance to Kampung Morten from Jalan Tun Ali.
If you bring a kid grown up in today’s urban life to an hour of relaxing riverwalk along Sungai Melaka, I’m sure he/she will learn a lot of valuable lessons which are not found in academic textbook.
GPS Coordinate: N2.20200 E102.25174
January 7th, 2008
Jalan Hang Lekir is one of most accessed streets in Old Melaka town; but surprisingly, it’s the least known by its name! If you’ve been to the heritage town of Melaka, I’m sure you have most probably left your foot print at Jalan Hang Lekir without you realizing its name.
With reference to the following illustration, Jalan Hang Lekir is the lane connecting the renowned Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street) and Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street). If Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock is street of lodging and Jalan Hang Jebat is street of antiques, then I would describe Jalan Hang Lekir as weekend-street of collectibles.
On every Saturday and Sunday morning, stalls will be aligned along Jalan Hang Lekir, presenting visitors with nothing but golden memory collectibles, ranging from antique coins, to watches, oil lamps, black-rubber musical discs, celebrity posters, kitchenware, and more.
If you’re an enthusiast of classical collectibles, you will surely be amazed with the satisfying pool of golden memory triggers.
One of the easiest approach to identity Jalan Hang Lekir, is by this mural 
GPS Coordinate: N2.19615 E102.24580
April 1st, 2007
The Old Melaka town is again dressed with reddish and ruddy street decorations to greet Chinese New Year celebration. The Chinese New Year Decoration Carnival has been an annual attraction in Melaka tourism for many years, and it is always praised by the visitors and local residents for the unique festive atmosphere.
Now, when you step into the Old Melaka streets, such as Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street), Jalan Hang Kasturi, Jalan Kampung Pantai and Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street), you will feel like being part of the festival, even if you’re not celebrating Chinese New Year. The festive atmosphere is simply so dwelling in Old Melaka.
The big red lantern at Jalan Hang Kasturi.
The entrance of Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street)
The drum made of hundreds of small lanterns, at Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street).
The signature stage holding all kinds of Jonker Walk events throughout the years.
One of the most beautifully decorated clan houses at Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street), with 2 giant images of Choy San Yeh (God of Prosperity)
At the Geographer Café, Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street).
2 traditional red lanterns hanging at a house located at Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street).
By looking at the above photos, it’s not hard to imagine how attractive the Old Melaka is in the evening and night, when all the lanterns are lighted up.
Have you showered with this unique festive decoration? Come and visit during this Chinese New Year.
Besides the street as mentioned above, the new Melaka Chinatown - Jalan Bunga Raya, is also part of the street decoration initiatives.
Have you published your photos of Chinese New Year atmosphere in Melaka? Feel free to share your link in the comment.
Happy Chinese New Year . 新年快乐
February 15th, 2007
The construction of Dataran Pahlawan Megamall has unearthed a previously grounded ancient wall, belonging to Santiago Bastion fortress.
Recently, 20th of Nov 2006, the original construction site of Menara Taming Sari revolving tower, has also witnessed an unearthing of ancient fortress wall. Due to the discovery of these archeologically valuable artifacts, construction of Menara Taming Sari is called for a pause on 3rd Dec. This revolving tower project will be continued for construction at another alternative location.
Menara Taming Sari, a proposed revolving tower, is designed to serve as watch tower for tourists, to enjoy the amazing landscape of Melaka historical town. Originally, this tower was planned to be sitting opposite the Clock Tower and Stadthuys.
Currently, there are 3 suggested alternative locations for the continuation of Menara Taming Sari project.
- The tennis courts neighboring to Dataran Pahlawan Megamall and MBMB public swimming pool.
- The land next to the vacant Parameswara Jetty (close to Mahkota Hotel).
- At Pulau Melaka
In my humble opinion, the tennis courts neighboring to Dataran Pahlawan Megamall is the best alternative among all 3 suggestions mentioned above. At this location, tourists will be able to have a good bird view on the Melaka heritage town. At a slightly further extend, Straits of Melaka is skirting the town to give a breezing view. Besides, the density of tourist attractions is focused in Bandar Hilir, and thus tourists are easily accessible to the revolving tower within walking distance. In comparison to alternative location like Pulau Melaka, I doubt if visitors can have a good bird view on Melaka historical town without binocular.
I’ve visited the original construction site of Menara Taming Sari, and saw a few workers digging the ground to continue unearthing the discovered ancient wall. The task must be handled with care in order to make sure that no artifact is accidentally destroyed in the process.
December 15th, 2006
Trishaw, also known as tricycle rickshaw or pedicab, is undeniably one of the unique attractions in Melaka. From what I’ve learned and been told, most of the tourists will be amazed on the efforts of decoration put on the trishaws in Melaka.
In olden days, before the rolling of industrialization age in Malaysia, trishaw was used as one of the main public transportation modes by residents in Melaka. Due to the modernization of lifestyle and popularization of other efficient transportation alternatives, trishaw has eventually been phased out from daily life of local residents. However, fortunately, Melaka is one of the only state in Malaysia especially known for its heritage attractions; this has created another alternative of career opportunity for the trishaw drivers, to focus their service target on tourists.
Most if not all, of the trishaws in Melaka are mounted with the seat cabin side-by-side. Examples of place where you can easily find trishaw services available for hiring are The Stadthuys or Dutch Square, Porta de Santiago, and Equatorial Hotel Melaka.
The trishaws which are mainly serving tourism services are all very well and creatively decorated. In addition to artificial flowers arrangement, most of the trishaws are also equipped with an audio player to play popular songs or music at the passenger’s mother tongue. Not surprising, if you hear the Hokkien song “ai pia jia eh nya” (爱拼才会赢) playing for Taiwanese passengers. Besides, I’ve also seen some trishaws equipped with a small fan to ease the heat on scorching day. To date, the most creative and innovative decoration I’ve seen, is a boat-like trishaw – making the trishaw looks like a wooden boat except that fact that it has 3 wheels 
In Malaysia, there are only 2 states known with trishaws aimed as tourism service – Penang and Melaka. However, the trishaws in Melaka are still crowned as the best looking in the region. Sitting on Melaka trishaw for sightseeing tour is definitely a good experience.
Trishaw Hiring Rate
Due to the mushrooming tourism value of trishaw services in Melaka, some of the irresponsible drivers have abused the opportunity to charge at irregular rate on tourists. Due to a number of complaints received, the Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah (MBMB) or municipal council has taken some measures to regulate the trishaw services in Melaka.
At The Stadthuys, notices on the regulated or standard trishaw hiring rate are visibly seen. On your next visit to Melaka, take a note that the maximum trishaw service rate is fixed at RM40 per hour. Yes, it is regulated to be changed per hour, and never compensate beyond the maximum rate of RM40.
September 29th, 2006
The next time you visit Melaka heritage area, such as the Dutch Square and Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat) of Melaka old Chinatown, don’t just look at the traditional crafted arts found on the old buildings; but instead, pay an attention to one of the most frequently ignored features unique to the old buildings built during Dutch occupation – wall anchor (also known as wall-tie).
Yes, I’m pretty sure that most of you have no idea on what a wall anchor is. The focus of this article is to introduce this architecture uniqueness.
A wall anchor is usually made with metal, and was used in olden day’s vernacular architecture to fix a brick wall to a solid timber frame of a building. The outer fixing of a wall anchor is often a simple shape of ‘I’ or ‘)(’, nautical boat anchor, numeric numbers or alphabetical letters. However, some comprehensively designed wall anchor can also be shaped as merchant’s sign or even the pre-Christian symbols like world trees. The wall anchor is known to be found in many of the former colonies of Netherlands.
Jonker Street, or Jalan Hang Jebat of Melaka, is a good place to look for wall anchors. As shown in the above photo, are a number of wall anchors spotted on a house owned by Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI) of Melaka. All the wall anchors are painted with black on the white color wall.
On the same building, a number of wall anchors shaped like nautical boat anchor and some numerical numbers were also spotted on the front side.
On some buildings, the wall anchors are not significantly notable, as the metal was painted with the wall color.
Do you know that the strawberry-coloured Christ Church constructed by Dutch also has a number of ‘I’ bar wall anchors? Check it out yourself on your next visit
September 16th, 2006
Peranakan, Baba-Nyonya, and Straits Chinese are literally 3 different terms, but these names are all referring to the same unique community - the descendants of the early Chinese immigrants to the British Straits Settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang, who have partially adopted Malay customs in an effort to be assimilated into the local communities. Baba refers to the Male descendent, while Nyonya refers to the female.
The interesting intermarriage between the early Chinese settlers and local Malay has born a unique culture which is not commonly seen, especially in this modernized and urbanized city. Straits Chinese no longer speak the dialect of their ancestors but a language of their own known as Baba Malay – a Malay patois consists of many Hokkien words.
In Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (neighboring to Jalan Hang Jebat/Jonker Street) of Melaka, there’s a small museum comprising 3 adjacent townhouses called the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum. Appearing to be similar in design with other old houses in the old Melaka Chinatown, this privately owned and managed museum is showcasing the best of distinctive cultural values and lifestyle inherited by the Baba Nyonya community and family. It’s not exaggerating to consider this small but comprehensive museum as the gateway of your discovery to the Baba Nyonya cultural establishments.
As mentioned above, this museum comprises of well-preserved townhouses. Thus, you will be finding yourself comfortably uncovering the astonishing cultures as if you are visiting a friend. This is a traditional homey feeling which is very much differing from visiting a conventional museum with items kept inside the cold glasses and enclosures. Housed in a beautifully restored ancestral home dating back to mid 19th century, this museum is a rare treasure which succinctly captures the aura of an interesting era.
The design of this house is influenced by the neo-classical European architecture, with the building mainly framed by heavy Greco-Roman columns. The interior of the house is complemented with a number of priceless old antique furniture made of finely carved hardwood. The furniture is extremely bulky and heavy, but featuring wonderful classic Chinese work of art.
The front area of the interior leads into an open courtyard where sunshine streams into the house on sunny days and raindrops patter during the rainy season. Yes, the olden traditional Baba Nyonya and Chinese village houses are usually having an open-aired courtyard, and some are also complemented with a well to provide water supply for daily consumption.
You will be able to see some of the traditional so-called ‘Nyonya-ware’ or ceramics that were specifically commissioned by the Straits Chinese from the craftsmen in the Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces in China. The Nyonya ceramics come in multi-coloured designs and normally have a combination of green, pink, dark blue and yellow colours.
At the heart of its charm is an archive of costumes and knick-knacks that once served the Baba Nyonya lifestyle.
The entrace rates is RM8.00 for adults, and RM4.00 for children (5-12 years old). For more information, contact Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum at +606-283 1273.
Opening times: 10am - 12.30pm, 2pm - 4.30pm
February 14th, 2006
Pictures of Melaka River at Flickr
Melaka will never be gifted with the glorious history in the past without the existence of Melaka River (Malacca River). It signifies the emergence of Malay Sultanate of Melaka, it marks the beginning and ending of each war, it was one of the main factors attracted foreign colonization, and it was the place where Melaka began. Through hundreds of years of fading memories, the history remaining a fact, while Melaka River was changing its role from a busy major port along the spice-route to tourism spot which tells the story. Interestingly, the Melaka River once was dubbed as “Venice of The East” by European seafarers who are out in search of new conquests in East of India.
Now, without cannons and weapons, visitors can recall the history of Melaka by cruising on Melaka River which passes through the town, in a 40 minutes boat ride, which starts from the jetty located near the Dutch Square.
The Soothing Cruising Journey
There are a number of bridges along the Melaka River, which serving as the main communication medium in the past between residents of left and right riverbanks. The first bridge that will be caught in sight is the Tan Boon Seng Bridge. When the Portuguese was capturing Melaka in 1511, they have first captured and controlled the Tan Boon Seng Bridge to break down the communication line, and subsequently gain a significant advantage to win the war.
Along the journey, you will be able to have a brief pictorial figure on the life of residents staying along both sides the riverbanks. Most of the houses built along the riverbanks during Dutch rule are featuring long and narrow architectural design, because owners of long and narrow buildings did not have to pay tax, unlike owners of long and wide buildings, because of the scarcity of land in the dike-filled country.
Next, you will come to the Chan Boon Cheng Bridge built in 1908, which links the Kampung Pantai (Melaka Old Chinatown) of western bank to Jalan Bunga Raya (Melaka New Chinatown). Originally, it was a steel fabricated bridge, but reconstructed in 1963 with concrete bridge.
After the Chan Boon Cheng Bridge, you will see another pedestrian bridge called Ghostbridge of Malacca, links Kampung Pantai with Kampung Jawa. Sounds weird, but the naming of this bridge is not associated with mythical reasons.
Further up, another pedestrian footbridge called the Old Market Bridge can be seen. This bridge links Kampung Hulu with the former Central Market and Jalan Kee Ann. Until 1991, scene of fishing boats berthing at the old Central Market was commonly seen. However, due to urban growth and modernization, the sepia-toned scene is now a history.
Next is the Jalan Hang Tuah Bridge that links Jalan Munshi Abdullah with Jalan Hang Tuah. On the right bank is a vacant cinema called Cathay Cinema, which was once a famous outing spot in the olden days, but being closed down in the late 1990’s due to the reality of chronographic changes in the young generations. On the left bank, you will see a quiet street called Jalan Kilang with rows of old shops facing the river. It looks hushed at present, but it was one of the busiest places in Melaka by playing the vital role of Express Bus Terminal until early 2004. From the moment the public transportation exchange shifted to Melaka Sentral of modernized facilities, it has lost its glorious days.
The final sight before heading back on your cruise is the famous Kampung Morten located on the left bank. Kampung Morten is a typical Malay village in the heart of Melaka town, which is still very well preserving its cultural colours amidst modernization. Kampung Morten is one of the classified national Malaysian heritage sites. It is considered as a living museum as many of its villagers are still preseving its age-old living style apart from the unique architecture of their traditional houses.
Besides all the historical landmarks along the riverbanks of Melaka River, you should also take note of a reptile specimen living at the muddy riverbanks of Melaka River – Monitor Lizard.
Enhancing the Tourism Value of Melaka River
Since 2005, Melaka state administration is taking pro-active measures to develop the river. When completed, the Melaka River is expected to have a new image like pollution-free water, beautiful gardens on its banks and pedestrian walkways. At present, 12 boats are in used under the Melaka River Cruise programme - 6 40-seater boats and 6 20-seater small boats. The boats are made of fibreglass and able to cruise along the Melaka River even if the water level drops to a mere 0.8m, capable of passing below the bridge at the highest tides.
Boat trips are available daily at every internal of 30 minutes, within the following time window:
- 9.30am to 1am
- 1pm to 5pm
- 6pm to 12midnight
Fare: RM5 for an adult, and RM2 for a kid
GPS Coordinate: N2.19309 E102.24734
February 3rd, 2006
Pictures of Kampung Kling Mosque at Flickr
Whether you are a Muslim or otherwise, as long as you’re interested in the unique architecture of old buildings, you will find it worthy to visit the Sumatran-style Kampung Kling Mosque (Masjid Kampung Kling), built in 1748. Being one of the oldest functioning mosques in Malaysia, the Kampung Kling Mosque has gone through extensive timeframe and experienced changes of names – Kampung Pali Mosque, Kampung Balik Pali Mosque, Kampung Kapur Mosque.
Currently, the Kampung Kling Mosque is sitting peacefully within the busy Chinatown of Melaka (near to Cheng Hoon Teng Temple), surrounded by Chinese shop houses. However, when the mosque was originally erected, it was surrounded by neighborhood of South Indians (Keling/Kling).
The Kampung Kling Mosque is featuring vernacular mosque architecture with regional influence. It is built on a square plan rather than the rectangular or hexagonal plan of most Middle Eastern mosques. Instead of a conventional onion-like dome, the mosque has a three-tiered roof with decorative roof ridges rising like a pyramid in its place. Its minaret, structured like a pagoda, portrays a mixture of East-West architectural influence. The upper 2 layers of the three-tiered roof are covered with green tiles, while the lowest roof has a much more shallow pitch, practically horizontal and is covered by red clay shingles. If it wasn’t painted with green and white as the core colours, it’s hard to tell at one glance from exterior look if it was actually a mosque.
The vernacular mosques portray high level of craftsmanship. This can be seen in the roof, windows, fanlights, carving wall panels, fascia boards and well-designed mimbar with intricate flower motifs, to reflect Oriental influence. All the unique crafts are done by Malay craftsmen. When it was first built, there are 20 wooden side pillars, 12 wooden central pillars and four wooden main pillars. The woods used to construct the wooden pillars were imported from Kalimantan in Indonesia. Then in 1872, the pillars except the four main pillars were replaced with concrete.
In the mosque, there is a set of lamps dating back more than 100 years ago, and estimated to worth at the value of RM 150,000. This lamp set is said to be the only one in Malaysia, still functioning until today, and kept in good condition.
GPS Coordinate: N2.19679 E102.24752
January 31st, 2006
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