Morning Jog along Malacca River in Malaysia

With the pandemic behind us, many people have scaled down on exercising and the same goes for me too although I did try to cater for some exercises whenever I am overseas. For me, the best exercise is to jog so that I can soak in the unique sights outside of Singapore.

Listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Melaka (or Malacca) is no stranger to Singaporeans. However, my last visit was in 2018 and even then, my stay at Hatten Hotel was still quite a distance from the main historical district. 

The Church of St. Francis Xavier; built in 1849, it was under renovation back when I took the picture in October 2023. I forgot to mention that my jog was indeed about five months ago and the time was about 7.20 am. 

Insomnia is a bitch and since my eyes can't shut until night falls, I figured it would be more productive for me to jog to start the day. I didn't regret as the streets and pavements were devoid of people! 

Christ Church Melaka - Malaysia's oldest functioning Protestant church that was completed in 1753. See that "I Love Melaka" sign? Would you deem that a modern eyesore given the surroundings that was steeped in history?

Red Square - the literal icon for Melaka! 

And the rising ball of fire adding to the charm.

It was still the zodiac year of the rabbit back in October 2023. Should I revisit Melaka again next month to check if this gigantic animal has been changed to the current zodiac anima; the dragon?

Surprisingly quiet Jonker Street. Surprise as many Singaporeans would come by Melaka on weekends; to be frank, the famous street isn't as crowded on weekdays, except on Friday, when the night market cease to operate.

San Shu Gong - the brand that visitors would go for whenever they need to purchase food souvenirs from Melaka! If you couldn't decide what to buy, ask for samples! 

Jonker Street's Chinese name is literally translated as Chicken Factory Street. Why!? What I do know is that the parallel Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock is known as the millionaire street; so contrasting.

Jogging along Malacca River, with heritage buildings flanking me on both sides. I was mindful to be careful as a slip of the feet means a direct soak in the river! 

Sighting of wildlife; Malayan Water Monitor! 

Twin spires from the Church of St. Francis Xavier, and the rising sun. According to Wikipedia, the design of the church was "modeled after the Cathedral of St. Peter in Montpellier, Southern France".

A short section of the 40-kilometer long Malacca River! 

Ahead was 163-meter tall The Shore Sky Tower.

Striking pottery blue building! Housing an eatery known as Baba Kaya, I actually bookmarked this as a potential venue for food but we simply had too many choices in Malacca! Next time! 

Continuing my jog along the back alley of the historical buildings. Long time ago, this promenade was non-existent, with serious water pollution. Glad to see so much improvement over the past one or two decades! 

The same Malayan Water Monitor? 

"Rainbow" under the Hang Tuah bridge. Given the LGBT references and the sensitivity in the Muslim-majority country, I am wondering if the undercarriage of this bridge had since been repainted.  

Abandoned building in Malacca; with its prominent position as a tourist attraction, this was such a waste of land! Imagine using it to build a bed & breakfast or even a cafe to earn tourist dollars! 

Old Bus Station Bridge; quite an interesting design as it seemed more like a row of houses that was built across the Malacca River.

A Ferris wheel in a small amusement park that's no longer operational.

I was wondering about the track and asked my sister about it; turned out it was supposed to be for a monorail which was opened in 2010, and had been suspended since 2020. 

Must have been my lucky day; third occurrence with the Malayan Water Monitor although I am unsure if they were the same one! Anyway, I had to slowly jog past it, but with the alertness to sprint should it suddenly charge towards me! 

Looping and jogging back to the Old Bus Station Bridge.

More photographs of the bridge. Should it have a roof, I am guessing that those homeless may consider sleeping there at night. 

Pretty view of the buildings alongside the river promenade. With some painted with murals, it's hard to take photographs given the narrow pathway.

There's a remedy! Station the photographer across the river and shoot the photo from there! Try to visit early in the morning so that there aren't too many people. 

Continuing my jog! 

Finally about to reach my hotel for the visit in October 2023; ibis Melaka. Located in the Little India of Malacca, the hotel is also not that far from Jonker Street, which is just about 600 meters away. 

Nyonya Secrets @ Melaka in Malaysia

Breakfast on the first morning in Melaka should have been fulfilled at Nyonya Secrets but I overlooked the operating hours, and had to go to the nearby Kedai Minuman Siang Chiang (香江茶室) instead. 

When we were done, the doors for Nyonya Secrets had opened; and despite the meal we just had, I persuaded my companions to go in for just some "desserts" that wouldn't "harm". 

The restaurant radiated a setting filled with childhood nostalgia although I don't think it would be applicable to those born from the mid 1980s.

Old school snacks, housed in a vintage cabinet that had its four legs standing on two small bowls; a primitive method before refrigeration that was said to keep out ants.

Good, old warmer flask, kerosene lamps and a large bottle of Horlicks. Nowadays, you don't really see advertisement of horlicks, more from its competitor, Milo. 

Jewel and ear biscuits! For the former, I still remember how, as kids, we would only bit off and eat the colorful "jewels". The base would sometimes be discarded. 

Classic comic books, featuring Old Master Q, that can be found at hair salons! It's interesting to note that Nyonya Secrets even provided games like Chinese Chess, Uno etc. I should have played the aeroplane game with my niece! 

Display corner using a re-purposed sewing machine.

Recognized the discarded milo tin and its purpose in a convenience store? It's a sort of pulley system used to keep money "safer" and it is usually attached with bells so that owners would know when anyone attempts to take money out of it. 

See how it works from the above video! 

Photo-taking time! 

Snacks and kuehs at the counter. Nyonya Secrets also served toasts and local food like mee siam, nasi lemak, fried rice, laksa etc. Pity we were too full for such heavy meals. 

Hainanese Coffee - I didn't like the coffee at Siang Chiang and this was so much better tasting! Thick and frothy, this was aromatic and gave me, mentally, a great start to the day! 

Nyonya Kuehs - our desserts which were served in unsustainable plastic boxes. Anyway, would you know which nyonya kuehs we have chosen?

From left to right; they were kueh kosui, kueh ubi and sri muka! I would have loved to order more but my companions were not huge fans of nyonya kuehs, unlike me! 

My verdict on their kuehs; kosui was nice but could have been sweeter and served chill. Kueh ubi had that noticeable tapioca taste with a corresponding rough texture whereas sri muka had a layer of sweet potato and another layer of pumpkin. All of them were not bad even though my favorite had to be kueh ubi! 

Ondeh Ondeh Cake - I can't resist not ordering this as gula melaka was said to be the best in Melaka (hence the namesake) and gula melaka was a major ingredient for ondeh ondeh. 

Turned out to be the best ondeh ondeh cake I had in my whole; cake was fluffy, not dense and I was so so taken by the fragrance creaminess from the desiccated coconuts that gelled perfectly with the tasty, not cloyingly sweet gula melaka! 

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Address

60, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, 

Kampung Jawa, 75100 Melaka, 

Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Hainanese Coffee (Hot) - RM 2.50

Nyonya Kuehs - RM 3.00 pack

Ondeh Ondeh Cake - RM 11.90