Me and Mark go roadtripping Part 5

Amaranathan attended school at La Salle with me though we weren’t very close then. Quite understandably we lost touch thereafter and it wasn’t until many years later that we bumped into each other again. I had decided to take Mark up to PJ by overnight train, just to give him the experience and for me to relive some of mine.

It was on an overnight train that I had made my very first trip to Singapore in 1980 and in subsequent years I often rode the old steel wagons between my old and new homes.

Stepping off the train at KL Railway Station that morning with Mark, I heard someone call out my name and turned to see a vaguely familiar face who introduced himself as my ex-schoolmate Amaranathan. Amaran, as he was typically called, was working temporarily in Singapore and was making his weekend trip back to Melaka to be with his wife and family. We’d been on the same train and he’d spotted and recognised me as we disembarked.

A gynaecologist, he had gotten himself attached to the KK Women and Children’s Hospital in Singapore for 6 months, just to get more experience. We met up in Singapore quite often after that and became good friends. When I cycled through Melaka in 2007 I dropped by and celebrated one of his children’s birthdays as well.

Now whenever I go through Melaka I try to meet up with him and my other good friend, Singam. I couldn’t get the two together this time so decided to meet Amaran at night and Singam in the morning. That evening Mark and I drove along the coast up to Bert’s which I used to dine/drink at occasionally some years ago. It’s a nice restaurant/pub by the sea - a seaside bungalow with a large wooden deck right out onto the seashore, large trees in the garden, good food and cold beer.

That night I was corrected by one of the staff - Geragau is not pronounced ‘Grago’ as I thought, but is indeed ‘Ge-Rah-Gow’. We ordered that and some other food and a few beers and had an easy, pleasant evening.

Bert’s was almost a victim of the land reclamation works - when once it sat comfortably by the sea, with the waves lapping against the stilts upon which the wooden deck was built, it suddenly found itself some distance back, beached on the dry sands the reclamation works had suddenly transformed that part of the sea into. I have no idea how they managed it and don’t really want to ask, but they somehow contrived to have a breech made and like magic, a lagoon was formed and although the waves no longer come in like they used to, water is once again prettily a few feet from you when you sit down for dinner.

Amaran and Mark at Bert's

I fear I might have sidelined my dear son a little, as Amaran and I got reminiscing then discussing the current Malaysian situation. Within what seemed like minutes, we’d finished dinner, knocked back a few drinks (not too many as I had to drive) and caught up in that relaxed manner good friends do.
We got back late, were thankful for the private secured carpark and eventually hit the sack ready to get up early for our breakfast with Singam.

Singam arrived the next morning and we strolled off for breakfast at Saravanan, a popular banana-leaf rice place in town. Breakfast was like Chapter 2 of the night before without the meat and the beer, but with all the friendship and good conversation I’ve come to treasure from my friends in Melaka. A walk along the back lane led us back to the Baba House and eventually our own exploring later that morning.

The riverside from the backs of some shops

An old shophouse with a new shop inside

We drove off to Kampung Ayer Salak a place Singam introduced to me in 2007. It’s an interesting village - a Catholic Village in fact, built on land owned or managed by the Catholic Church. Everywhere you turn, there are signs of this village’s religious affiliation. One of the largest of this is the statue of the Virgin Mary built on a slope at a quiet road junction. Mark and I stopped to have a look and this was the first time I noticed that Mary was standing on a serpent. Mark told me that’s how she’s often portrayed.

The statue of Mary showing her stepping on a serpent.

We drove around a bit and then stopped at the St Mary’s Church and Kindergarten. On these sprawling grounds were a small school, an old church, a newer one, a basketball court and a large grotto. Stunning blue skies framed this scene and I thought it was such a beautiful place to attend kindergarten in. Certainly the memories of those first few schooling/play years would be wonderful ones.

The old church

The inside of the new church

The Grotto

The old church

A wider shot showing the new church on the left, the main school buidling on the right and the Grotto in the middle

At Montfort.

Singam is on the board of the Montfort Youth Centre and I told mark how my father used to help out with the one in KL too. We once visited and I remember noticing how nice the young boys there were and how earnest they seemed. My Dad explained then that they knew this was their last chance of making something of their lives and they worked hard at it. Youth probably have much wider horizons now, but the complex times they face must surely be the same. Tough situations lead to some poor decisions and places like Montfort serve an important role in helping pick up lives that have perhaps gone too far down the wrong path.

Kampung Ayer Salak is a peaceful and calming contrast to our typical hustle-and-bustle neighbourhoods and I’ve always enjoyed an hour or two here. But soon the call of food became more strident - not hunger but, shamefully probably gluttony (considering our surroundings) was the culprit I think… We drove back to Melaka town and found Sun May Hiong open and bustling.

The staff recognised Mark and I from the evening before and laughingly brought us our food. And oh what glorious food… I’ll wager no one makes Satay as tasty as this. Apologies to those who don’t eat pork, but the satay here is simply fantastic. The succulence of the meat, the texture and tenderness of the liver, the simple flavour of the pineapple-laced sauce, the smokiness from the charcoal pit… mmmmmmMark agreed…

I took the scenic route back and tried to retrace some of my bike route back but missed the steep cemetery-adorned hills around Batu Pahat. We didn’t miss the 2-storey high trishaw on the border though. Some hours later we were back in Singapore.

It was too short a trip, but in this day and age we take what we can. 4 days might be shorter than ideal, but it’s longer than no-days and for that I’m grateful. Almost as grateful for how despite some foolishness on my part, my son is turning out to be a fine young man. Warm, friendly, creative, intelligent, sometimes moody (though not on this trip) in the way many similarly-talented people are, kind and patient with his old man, I’m learning how to be a friend and less a father and I’m relishing it.

Me and Mark go roadtripping Part 4

I like Melaka. I like its easy confidence in its culture and history and its informality. I like how the old fits in with the new and I like how you can just wander around for hours and make friends so easily. I like how you can find something for yourself, no matter if you’re looking for a drinking-hole tucked away in a corner or a more middle-class eatery by the river.

All this is on the menu in Melaka, sometimes despite the worst  efforts of politicians, cvil servants and planners. Like almost everywhere else in Malaysia, Melaka is not without fault - one of which would be the need for land reclamation. Still, it remains one of my favourite destinations.

And talking about menus, you can find quite an array of cuisines here of course and after dabbling with and abandoning some - like Ikan Bakar where the hype is better than the actual thing - I have a few favourites now. The last trip with Mei and my in-laws unearthed one or two more, but generally I promised Mark some Satay Babi and some Eurasian/Portugese food.

We had booked into the Baba House, a hotel I’ve stayed in many times before. It’s not swanky but the location along Heeren Street is unbeatable, and there’s a free car park. Add to that now the free wifi too and you’ve got a fantastic mix.

Mark in the lounge area of the Baba House.

First thing we did after settling in was to go for a walk. The new riverside project has prettied up the river banks at the expense of a few things, but it’s quite a nice stroll now and that’s what we did before going past that swanky new condo/hotel/retail thing called Casa del Rio. I must say they’ve done a decent enough job with this place and the river-facing side has restaurants and clubs which, as we strolled past, were in the process of opening for the evening and night.

We walked along the new esplanade and into the Kota Laksamana area where Sun May Hiong’s Satay Babi shop is… only to discover the owners closing up for the day. A quick chat ascertained they would be open for lunch the next day so we were not to be disappointed.

We walked back and that’s when we discovered Melaka now has a revolving tower. A tall thin tower was the spine of a revolving elevator whose glass sides gave a panoramic view of Melaka city and the surroundings. I thought it was a rather clever idea.

As we walked I pointed out various landmarks, some of a personal nature and others of historical significance. We imagined what it must have been like in the old days when Melaka was a bustling port and the centre of an empire and when the Portugese then the Dutch and finally the English colonists came and waged war. The river we crossed would have been a hive of activity as well as probably a scene of bloodshed at various points in the last 600 years.

The banks of the river now are a great place to enjoy a stroll. Or a sit-down-and-look-at-the-map-to-figure-out-where-we-are moment...

A new development called Casa del Rio

I have no idea what this fake water wheel is all about...

This dragon floats in the air above the little roundabout. 

The rivercruises have been modernised. You can see the spine of the tower in the background.

Mark near the main roundabout near Christ Church and the Stadhuys.

I've never figured out what this building is along Heeren St. It's set back some ways and looks very nice.

The Cheng Ho Museum was already closed at this point in the early evening so we went past and up the hill. Just outside St Paul’s Church is the statue of St Francis Xavier with his right hand broken off. In Goa, his right forearm - the arm used to baptise and bless his followers - was detached and placed elsewhere. In Melaka, a tree fell across the statue and broke off the right hand in eerie synchronicity…

We wandered around the church and the nearby cemetery, trying to soak in the atmosphere of the place and what it must have been like years ago. I sometimes wish I had had a better History education and that somehow my teachers had made History out to be more exciting. Because that’s what it is to me now - when I vista old places, I imagine the sights and sounds and smells of the place years ago. Melaka is a huge repository of history. Sleepy village, bustling port, centre of an empire, colonial territory, it’s seen it all and sometimes as I wander its streets I wish there was a wormhole or a tear in the fabric of space-time that would allow me a momentary step into what it was 300, 400, 500 years ago…

Mark on the way up to St Paul's Church. The statue of St Francis Xavier with the broken hand can be seen in the background.

Mark at the last remaining gateway at A Famosa.

 Mark reading some inscriptions on a burial chamber.

 The resting place of St Francis Xavier before his body was moved to Goa.

At the bottom of the hill was another museum - does Melaka have the highest concentration of museums in one town centre? - and a motley collection of planes, trains and automobiles. We clambered into the railway engine and found it surprisingly intact. The cabins on either end were dusty, cobwebby and rusty but still had most of the controls in place. The large diesel engine sat in the middle and there was a narrow corridor on either side of this engine through which the driver or engineer could move. It must have been a noisy, throbbing environment with little by way of creature comforts.

A couple of planes and even an airport fire tender represented the rest of the display and standing beneath the twin-engined propeller plane made me marvel how fragile these early airliners looked.

This area was a concreted and tiled area but smack in the middle of the area was a large hole in the ground, barricaded with railings. The excavation revealed some crumbly stonework in the ground and we later discovered these were the remains of the fort that once stood here. Works had revealed these centuries’ old archeological remains and to the credit of the Melaka authorities, all work stopped and the area became a tourist spot instead. I told Mark how it was the same in Rome and that is why you see so few high-rise buildings there - if the builders had unearthed anything, they would have had to stop work and the project would grind to a halt.

We wandered back to the hotel, going through Jonker Street and past The Orangutan House where we'd shopped a little earlier. This is one of my favourite T-Shirt places and I love the work of Charles Chiam who has now returned to Malaysia after years away in Hungary. Both Mark and I bought a few shirts including a couple of ‘I’m Hot’ ones for Mei and Megan.

We rested a bit before setting off for dinner with my old friend Amaranathan.

More on my Melaka friends in the final part.

Melaka Dec 2011 Pt 3

Looking at the Moon

This was the night of the lunar eclipse and Mei and I had a grand view of it from our room balcony that night. The pics are not so good at all but I was glad for a relatively clear sky, giving us a nice starry-night view we can’t get anymore in Singapore.

We can't see so many stars in Singapore anymore due to light pollution. Here you can clearly see Orion's Belt - the 3 stars across. And errr that's the moon in the upper left.

Just that wee bit left of the moon.

A longer exposure brought up the reddish glow of the moon with only that tiny sliver left in full sunlight.

Nothing beats Roti in the morning... except perhaps Roti with friends.

The next morning I had an early start meeting up with two old friends, Singam and Amaran. I think I last met Amaran when I cycled through Melaka in 2007 so it was a very welcome meet up for breakfast at the Saravana near the hospital Amaran is a gynae at. It was great catching up although for just a short while. Amaran was on call and was actually inducing a patient when we met up. I made a comment about smelling of roti chanai and dhalchar in the delivery room and he said he’d rather it be the other way around. Uhm his opinion anyway…

I had a small breakfast - fortunately, for the Lams went on a gastronomic rampage today. We met in town, had some dish which vaguely resembled Bak Kut Teh with Yam Rice but it wasn’t very satisfying. Even my Teh O was a little dull.

A 70-year old list

Mei’s Dad had last been in Melaka as a teenager during the war. He accompanied a relative’s truck up from Singapore. They owned a tea business and the young man had ridden up on the goods truck then spent a short while around Melaka. It may have been a short trip but he took notes and wanted to take his wife back to explore one day. Alas they never did, but he kept his notes and came to Meleka with a small piece of paper bearing the names of various landmarks he’d noted down.

One of those was Jalan Bunga Raya which was just around the corner from where we were and as we wandered off in that direction I asked him what was significant about the road. He said ‘Char Siew’ so not knowing what to expect, we strolled along what seemed to be an old but relatively nondescript street. Despite the fact that many things in this part of town have been there years, the pace of change in Melaka has picked up quite a bit and I didn’t figure we’d have much chance finding this ‘char siew’ place.

But we did. In an alleyway between two rows of shops was a little food street. A curved metal roof between the two corner shops transformed the lane into a sheltered oasis with 3 pork shops and a fourth stall which had tables and chairs laid out before it. The 3 pork stalls sold a mix of roast and barbecued pork, dried sausages and even dried sliced meat. I noticed some duck meat in one too. The meat all look extremely yummy and but only one stall had a few stools in front of it for patrons to eat. Then we discovered that we could buy what we wanted and sit in the coffeeshop next door to eat it, provided we bought some drinks as well. So Jeff bought us RM10 worth of Siew Yoke (roast pork) and we nipped over to the coffeeshop next door… which we discovered had yet another pork stall!

Looks OK and tasted so-so. It certainly whet our apettite for more though!

Jeff hadn’t bought any Char Siew (barbecued pork), but with my prompting bought some from the stall in the coffeeshop and more roast pork. The Char Siew had some fat which made it very delicious indeed and both batches of Siew Yoke were still warm and tasty too. I’m glad my father in law kept notes and now I have two places to go in Melaka for good, but probably unhealthy, food.

Yes, I think there's a duck mixed in with all that pork.

Now you know where to go, eh?

We’d had our fill and decided to wander around Jonker Street again whereupon we were promptly tempted by another round of Chendol. We succumbed of course.

Shredding (at least that's what I think it's called) coconut. Or is it 'Shaving'?

The trip back was easy and despite a detour to Lima Kedai to pick some stuff up from my brother’s place, and subsequently turning up at immigration just about when we expected the crowds to arrive, the traffic was smooth and quick at both sides of the second link and we were home in Singapore in good time. A very nice weekend trip indeed.