Posts filed under 'Attractions'
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
Almost a month ago, I’ve posted a few pictures taken on the night before opening of Dataran Pahlawan Megamall. In the previous post, I’ve also briefly introduced the ambitious plans laid out for Dataran Pahlawan project. Since the presence of this new attraction is Melaka in quite significant, and everyday this site has got a number of visitors coming in via various web search for Dataran Pahlawan, thus I’ve decided to post up more pictures to fulfill my readers’ visual satisfaction haha 
The current DeepaRaya festive season is a good time for photography, as it looks happening everywhere haha. All the following pictures are taken on 21st Oct, the Deepavali night.
Due to the almost-a-week of festive season, Bandar Hilir - the place where Mahkota Parade and Dataran Pahlawan are located, is full of crowd and traffic. It was pretty hard to get a parking slot along the main road, but luckily I did.
The main entrance of Dataran Pahlawan Megamall.
Again, a picture for the 24 hours drive-through McDonald’s fast food outlet in Dataran Pahlawan Megamall.
There are a number of unique Takraw-like corridor lamps at Dataran Pahlawan. But, they were not lightening up. Probably the wiring work is not yet completed.
At the main entrance of Dataran Pahlawan Megamall, I personally find this stairway design to be a little bit weird. It’s a good effort that Dataran Pahlawan management actually taken into consideration the accessible building design for the wheelchair and baby-chair users, by laying out a Z-style wheelchair stairway. BUT, the design is weird, as this Z-style sloping stairway is actually incorporated together with a normal staircase, spanning across the steps diagonally. If the walking visitors are not paying attention on the steps, he/she might be easily falling down, due to the unequal depth.
Besides, the floor finishing of the sloping stairway ought to be more slip-resistant to prevent unwanted accidents.
Inside Dataran Pahalwan Megamall, the outlets in ground floor are mostly occupied, with dominated with fashion and apparel sector.
A small stage at the concourse.
At present, there’s nothing much attractive for photograph shooting at Dataran Pahlawan yet. But, I’m glad that when I saw the re-furnished Malaysia’s Vision 2020 Time Capsule. The main hibiscus-like Time Capsule remains its physical appearance as it was before. However, there’s an addition of fountain and wall sculptures now.
Sculpture of multiracial Malaysia.
Sculpture of Zheng He / Cheng Ho, a famous Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who made the voyages collectively referred to as the travels of “Eunuch Sanbao to the Western Ocean”.
Due to Deepavali celebration, a rangoli painting made with motif of Dataran Pahlawan logo was laid on the floor.
The Digital Domain of Dataran Pahlawan, touted as Melaka’s answer to Low Yat Plaza, is opening soon.
Continuous Updates
The team at AmazingMelaka.com will continuously update relevant information and latest progress of Dataran Pahlanwan Megamall, be it positive or negative aspects. Well, this is inline with our objective of existence, to provide up-to-date tourism information that you can’t find elsewhere.
During the photography session on 21st Oct, we’ve also visited a number of other places previously discussed and written in AmazingMelaka.com, and publish some latest pictures to better complements our contents.
GPS Coordinate: N2.19028 E102.24993
October 22nd, 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
How does the Dataran Pahlawan Megamall looks like on the night before official opening set on 25 Sep 2006?
Outlets facing the main road were well-lit, mall cleaning staffs were busy washing and polishing the floor, and outlet tenants were busy with some last-minute preparations as well.
Dataran Pahlawan Megamall of Melaka is a new retail, entertainment and gourmet centre located at the core of heritage area – Bandar Hilir, directly opposite Porta de Santiago (A’ Famosa Fortress). Prior to the establishment of this modern complex, it was a green field called Padang Pahlawan, the place where Malaysia’s Father of Independence Tunku Abdul Rahman made his official historic announcement about the success of gaining independence for Malaya from British government.
The Dataran Pahlawan Megamall project is envisioned to be one of the most happening tourism attractions, and the largest shopping mall in Melaka. Currently, the first phase which primarily comprises of fashion and gourmet retailing lots is completed and ready for business commencement. From the main road, familiar names like Esprit, Padini Concept Store, MNG, Mango, Nike, Camel Active, Roxy, Quicksilver and Seed are spotted.
Besides, McDonald’s fast food is also occupying one of the most eye catching locations for 24 hours operation.
Carrefour has also signed an agreement with Dataran Pahlawan Megamall as one of the key anchor tenants. Carrefour is expected to begin its operation in Dataran Pahlawan in first quarter of 2007. This means that, Melaka will have all the 3 major hypermarket operators offering competitive prices.
When all the phases of Dataran Pahlawan project are completely developed, there will also be a Digital Domain selling trendy gadgets and digital devices, as well as a Gold Mart or Gold Trade Centre selling gold and jewelry.
Some cultural and heritage conservation advocates worry that the commercialized Dataran Pahlawan concepts will fade out the heritage colours of the core historical site in Melaka. In efforts to achieve a balanced development between heritage conservation and tourism modernization, the ambitious Dataran Pahlawan Megamall project has the following plans aligned:
- Padang Pahlawan is reborn at the at roof-top.
- Development coverage includes the existing Tun Mahathir’s Vision 2020 Time Capsule. Currently, the significance of Time Capsule is less known among tourists, but I hope the megamall will play a good role in promoting this legacy of modern time.
- Sculptures depicting the traditional life and olden days, such as bullock cart and wau (Malaysian kite), will be built and displayed.
- Sea Wall depicting the glorious Harbour Wall of Melaka Sultanate will be constructed.
For sure, all these vibrant plans which are more than a shopping mall, will take some time to be completely constructed.
Updated on 22nd Oct 2006
Click here for more pictures of Dataran Pahlawan Megamall
GPS Coordinate: N2.19028 E102.24993
September 24th, 2006
The serene view of fishing village, the docking and undocking of fishing boats, the life of fishermen, are usually the pictures that we’ve forgotten or ignored in our bustling city life surrounded by skyscrapers. In places like Kuala Lumpur federal territory, scenic beach, streams, and country sites are almost non-existent. Fortunately in Melaka, despite the recent rapid economic growth and development, occupation-based settlements like fishing villages are still preserved.
On last Saturday, during a fine evening, I went to a stream mouth neighboring to the town, called Muara Sungai Duyung. It is easy to locate the place. Just heading upwards from Ujung Pasir to the direction of Padang Temu, and you will see a big sign board written Muara Sungai Duyung, pointing to a small lane on your right. That’s the place where a number of fishing boats are docked and undocked everyday, and a significant community of fishermen is making their living.
Direction to Muara Sungai Duyung
At Muara Sungai Duyung, the fishing boats caught in sight are of varying sizes. The small motor boats are apparently only suitable for fishing activities at shallow stream to catch small fishes. On the other hand, the bigger and all-weather fishing boats allow the fishermen to reach deeper sea for bigger local fishes, such as groupers, Jenahak and herrings.
The small wooden hut used by fishermen to store fishing equipments
Fishermen preparing for trip
Fishermen heading for a trip on small boat
Fishing nets
Fishing traps
Malaysia national flag flying at the dock
Fishermen preparing and fixing fishing net
A small wooden bridge at the dock
Source of Fresh Catches
Every evening, especially weekends, there will be a crowd of local residents waiting at the dock for returning fishing boats, to look for fresh catches of the day. If you’re particular about the taste and meat textures of the fish you eat, this is definitely one of the good places in Melaka where you can find fresh catches that have never been frozen.
Comparing to the fishes sold in wet market which has been frozen during transporting, fresh catches taste sweeter and finer. Of course, fresh catches come at a price much higher than those sold in wet market.
Besides Muara Sungai Duyung, there are also a few places in Tanjung Kling and Klebang where you can get fresh catches of fish.
Ikan Bakar at Night
When Malaysian thinks of seafood, ikan bakar (BBQ fish) will usually be one of the most drooling dishes. As a fishing village, when the dawn falls off, you can also find two ikan bakar restaurants at Muara Sungai Duyung - Medan Ikan Bakar Muara Sungai Duyung, Anjung Muara Ikan Bakar.
Between the 2 mentioned ikan bakar restaurants at Muara Sungai Duyung, personally I prefer the Anjung Muara Sungai Duyung.
As shown in the above direction map, you have to go through a river-side road to reach the ikan bakar restaurants, whereas the river should be on your RIGHT. The river-side road is relatively dark at night, but busy traffic during weekends.
At the end of the dark river-side road, you will see a brightly-lit ikan bakar restaurant on your right. DON’T go to this one. You should go to another ikan bakar on your LEFT, which is the not so brightly-lit Anjung Muara Sungai Duyung that I’m referring to. The seafoods are fresh catches, and reasonably priced. Personally, I find Anjung Muara Sungai Duyung to serve better foods.
September 24th, 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
When you are passing through the Leboh Ayer Keroh, the Jaya Jusco shopping centre will surely be caught in sight as a main landmark. Opposite Jaya Jusco, there was also a shopping complex known as Kotamas. In the initial stage of Kotamas lifespan when occupancy rate was high, it was quite a popular shopping destination. However, good day doesn’t stay long, and Kotamas eventually ended up as a popular stop for express buses coming into Melaka, instead of achieving its intended objective to attract shoppers and merchants.
Due to tough financial difficulties facing by the managing corporation, Kotamas has finally ended its operation in late 2005. Recently, Melaka Sentral Sdn Bhd, the State Government-owned company, has acquired ownership of the shopping complex. The State Government is currently renovating the building, and it will be re-born with a new life as Melaka Mall.
At the moment of this writing, the signage of Melaka Mall has already been fixed on the building. Anyone passing by Jaya Jusco or Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah city council will be able to spot the new signage of Melaka Mall, despite its on-going renovation work. At a quick glance, one can tell that the new Melaka Mall logo has a similar feel to that used for Melaka Sentral.
According to plan, Melaka Mall will be featuring a bowling alley, cinema, and even a hotel, in addition to shopping outlets. However, this should not be treated as the latest and updated information, as the plan might have been changed since its initial acquisition process.
More relevant information about Melaka Mall will be available and updated here at AmazingMelaka.com from time to time.
Updated on 22 Oct 2006
The renovation works are done, and now Melaka Mall is offering for shop lots rental.
GPS Coordinate: N2.23233 E102.28244
May 1st, 2006
Any visitor passing by the Jaya Jusco Melaka shopping complex or Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah (MBMB) city council will surely be attracted by a breath taking recreational square built by the roadside.
This recreational park, named as Dataran Bandaraya Melaka, is a new attraction built in year 2005. It’s situated in front of the MBMB building. Costing RM4.5 million, the Dataran Bandaraya Melaka is featuring rows of water fountain and an array of about 40,000 plants. Besides, a fountain similar to that seen at Bugis Junction Singapore is also playing its rhythmic dances every evening.
The relaxing atmosphere complemented with excellent landscaping, makes Dataran Bandaraya Melaka a good place for family outing. When the sunset skyline is faded off and the artificial light sources are lighting up, this recreational square will be full of crowd – parents and kids, teenagers and friends, as well as couples. The kids will be especially trilled with the musical fountain, as they are playing around with the rhythmic water dancing on the ground, and getting their bodies wet like having shower. The scene of happy family hours is simply surrounding the environment.
Click here for the location map of Dataran Bandaraya Melaka.
GPS Coordinate: N2.23306 E102.28115
April 12th, 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
Next Page
Previous Page
