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. 

Lynns Food & Beverage (No Pork, No Lard) along Tan Hiok Nee Street @ Johor Bahru [Malaysia]

A slow walk along the heritage street of Tan Hiok Nee in Johor Bahru, we ignored the many coffee shops, Hua Mui, Roast & Coffee, Kopiloco, along the way where could secure a local breakfast.

We stopped in front of Lynns Food & Beverage; a pretty new local dining establishment that opened for business only about three months ago. To be frank, I would have given this a total miss but I noted its perfect review score of 5.0 on Google Map from about 44 reviewers. 

It was a quiet Monday morning and given that Lynns' location was almost at the end of Jalan Tan Hiok Nee; the simply-furnished eatery was devoid of any customers. Nonetheless, I am not prepared to waste my time walking all the way in. And I needed my coffee. 

Scan for the menu and order! Aside from local Malaysian breakfast fare like toast, nasi lemak, mee siam, there's also chicken rice, porridge and even homemade nyonya kueh. It's a pity, however, that nyonya kueh wasn't available then. 

Kopi - thick with less sweetness, this was one of the rare instances whereby the order was made just right; smooth down the throat, not bitter, not sour and at a balanced sweetness to perfectly kick start the day! 

Half Boiled Eggs - despite my love for half boiled eggs, I dislike having to crack the eggs myself. Problem solved at Lynns as they would serve you the eggs, cracked! Again, the perfect doneness with the flavor enhanced by dark soy sauce and pepper! 

Mee Siam - this cost just RM 3.60 (about a S$1) but my taste buds weren't impressed. While it was nice to have a strong, dried shrimp flavor for the sambal; it was more salty than sweet. Overall, not something I would reorder in the future.

Butter Kaya Toast - just look at the kaya oozing from between the toasts! By the way, it was more an optical illusion although I thought it was an ingenious way to get butter and kaya in every bite! 

Toast featured a nice crust with an aromatic bread taste! As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the amount of kaya and butter wasn't much although you are guaranteed to taste both. p.s. My sister and Alex preferred more butter.

Butter Sugar Toast - the same amount of toast but plated differently with the slice of bread slathered with butter, sprinkled with sugar, toasted and then cut into four equal pieces for ease of eating! 

So nostalgic! Maybe because there were more butter used, it was more additive and I almost wanted to order a second serving! Without the set, this toast would have cost RM 3.00; only about S$0.85. Affordable but I should be saving my precious tummy space for other food! 

Roast Chicken Rice - served in a paper boat, this is the first time I am seeing the takeaway paper being used in such a manner! 

Definitely fit for social media although at the back of the mind that is mindful about sustainability; a reusable plate could have been friendlier to the environment. 

Whatever the case, the chicken rice gave me a shock for being so sinfully delicious! It was oily yet I relished every single spoonful that went into my mouth! Chicken meat wasn't juicy enough and I attributed it to the part that was given, which was wing section. According to the service staff, steamed chicken is their signature.

Last thing, the soup was had a thick layer of oil but unlike the chicken rice, this was cloying and I can mentally feel the thickening of those arteries leading to my heart.  

 

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This is now my favorite coffee shop in the areas of Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and CIQ for coffee, toast and even chicken rice (more the rice)! Needless to say, a second visit would be coming very soon! 

Address

31, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, 

Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, 

80000 Johor Bharu, Johor, Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Website

https://lynnsfoodandbeverage.carrd.co/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

As above.

Orchid Garden @ Hua Lu Flower Home in Taiwan

Hua Lu Flower Home was more a themed park rather than a farm and as we had some free time after lunch in one of its resident restaurants; our "loitering" brought us on a path towards an orchid garden.

Another sign which pointed to a combined orchid anthurium garden. I have no idea what anthurium is and had to google to find out that it had over 1,000 species although the one we would commonly see is flamingo lily, which had heart-shaped flowers.

Entrance of the indoor garden.

No mention of anthurium on the sign!

The effects of mist hovering above water in an indoor garden; immediately, it added a visual layer of charm and life to what would have been a boring garden. I guess that's why cloud forest in Singapore does the same thing too, although only at specific timings. 

Dad actually likes orchids and I am unsure if it is related to the fact that Singapore's national flower is the Vanda Miss Joaquim. p.s. there are about 28,000 species of orchids.

Fishes in the pond! The artificial green paddings were so glaring! 

Since the Orchid Garden wasn't at the center of Hua Lu Flower Home, it didn't attract as much attention from visitors. Furthermore, I did notice that the older generation seems to fancy orchids more.

Some decorative features of Taiwan elements; like the main door of a wooden house, a poem on a wooden plaque, and even a rusty bicycle. Good as a photo backdrop.

A beautiful passage surrounded with flowers, including above us. Only lacking wer fairies. Just wondering, would anyone attempt to hang from the branches? 

That's the anthurium; specifically the flamingo lily.

Location - right behind my dad's legs! 

Disjoined from the rest of the garden, this felt more space-age with balls of grass floating from the ceiling, and the mirrors giving the illusion that the area was much bigger.

Making our way out.

Garden was not bad although pretty! 

Absolutely love this! Instead of water, what appeared to be pipes were pouring grass! In reality, the pipes were just ceramic urns. 

Air plants! Imagine if these could glow at night?

They could have been mistaken as spirits or ghost fires! 

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Location

369, Taiwan, Miaoli County, 

Zhuolan Township, Taiwan 

(Within Hua Lu Flower Home)

Map

As above. 

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers