Malacca Trip

Brought my parents to Malacca for a holiday over the weekend. Went via the Tuas Second Link by coach (the first time I ever entered Malaysia via that route) and had an uneventful journey all the way to Malacca.

The weather was hot; bright, sunny and cloudless to the point of scorching. I never thought I would find such a cloudless blue sky in Malaysia given its climate but there it was, hot and sunny like Australia.

Unfortunately, save for the lunch on the last day, all the meals were disappointing, especially at the hotel where we stayed for the night. If you ever go Malacca, don't ever stay at the Hotel Grand Continental, a sorry excuse for a 3-star hotel with its dusty and dirty rooms as:

1. There were tiny cockroaches crawling in the drawers;

2. There were dustballs behind the furniture;

3. The room windows were crooked and do not shut properly, leaving a big gap at the top;

4. The white bath towels are actually more greyish than white;

5. Some of the rooms had very noisy air-condition vents (centralised air-conditioning without individual room thermostat);

6. The air-conditioning was not even cool for most of the time until say 4am in the morning (the hotel had signs encouraging energy conservation, but if that was energy conservation at work then the room rates are way over-priced);

7. My room had a leaking faucet that drove me nuts with the incessant dripping even after shutting the bathroom door;

8. Breakfast was a public health hazard - everything was cold except the milk for cornflakes, and we're talking about nasi lemak, half-boiled eggs and bread. Even the 'hot' coffee was lukewarm. Fortunately, there were toasters so I made egg and margarine toast. More importantly, no one came down with food poisoning.

Walked down Jonker street on the first night. Don't try the so-called 'famous' chicken rice balls there - it was yet another horrible meal experience for me. The chicken was too tough and dry, the chili sauce had too much vinegar in it, and their vegetables were half cooked. Jonker street was really crowded at night (beware of pickpockets) and it was like going back in time to Chinatown in the 1960s, with the night stalls and the old and aging two-storey shophouses on both sides of the street. But for public health reasons again, I did not dare to try the snacks on sale.

I also met that Malaysian kungfu master who could break coconuts with one finger. Pity we had to take the bus back so I never got to see that famous act of his. However, he did manage to throw a normal playing card in a straight line as high up as 8 meters. It was as if the card disappeared in mid-air.

It was also that night that I got hit by bird droppings for the first time in my life. Standing at the fountain next to the historical red brick church and water fountain, I got hit at the back of the neck. Yucks.

It rained all the way on the trip back home, and I saw at least 5 post-accident scenes on the way. back. Honestly, I was rather depressed during some parts for this trip, partly because of the disappointing food, and more because 1) my work has been uninspiring of late and 2) I've been feeling lonely of late. Work has been more of a drag in recent times and at times I feel so lacking in direction that I ask myself: "Why carry on with life if it's like this?"

Hopefully things will turn for the better soon, very soon, please.

DreamCatcher