Day 4: Melaka
I arrived super early in Melaka and it was still dark since they have a pretty late sunrise and sunset here as compared to the Philippines. After waiting some time at the bus stop, I decided to go to a nearby restaurant that is actually open for 24 hours. I had nasi lemak and iced Milo. Hihi. It’s a nice place actually cause the waiter would come to you and get your order and then once you’re done, you pay at the counter near the exit.
When the sun was finally up, I started walking to the terminal because there is actually a mall inside and I wanted to check it out. I was originally planning to take Bus #17 just like what I read on the internet because it only costs RM1.50 but after waiting for a while, nothing came. I decided to book an Uber instead going to my hostel.
I knew it was still super early and the check in at Modern Cave Boutique Homestay is not until 2pm. I went there anyway hoping they’d let me check in early or at least leave my stuff so I can start my tour. In the beginning, they told me that they can’t let me check in early but after a while, they said they have a vacant bed so I was able to check in early. I was able to check in at around 9am I think. I rested for a bit since I didn’t really sleep on a bed the previous night – I spent 6 hours in an overnight bus. I just had to stretch my body for a bit. It didn’t last me for about an hour though. I only had 2 days in Melaka and I was excited to do my day tour. I took a shower, changed into a dress and went my way.
Modern Cave Boutique Homestay is so pretty! It’s like a really cute comfy big house, with lots of places to hang out in. They have free coffee, tea, and bread. The bed is comfortable and you get your own small vent for the AC so you don’t feel too hot if you want to shut the curtain fully. What’s also great about my homestay is that it’s in a residential area but still close to the center of town where everything is. I basically just walked to everywhere.
Before you even get to the Dutch Square, there’s already a lot of things to see. You have a nice view of the Melaka River, you the Hard Rock Café and the Jonker Walk sign.
It’s so easy to spot the Dutch Square because everything is red. In this area, you have the Melaka Clock Tower, Christ Church, and the Stadthuys. There’s no entrance fee on any of these places except for the Stadthuys, which is RM10. The Stadthuys has two museums inside, hence the entrance fee. There is also a tour guide and I was going with them and listening in, but after a while, I decided to go rogue and check out the place by myself.
View from the Stadthuys 
I have a lot of these photos 
If you walk further behind, you’ll see the A Famosa and St. Paul’s Church.
There’s a mall nearby called Dataran Pahlawan Mall so that’s where I went for lunch, and to get some cold air because it’s so hot. I decided to go back to the homestay and just go out again after the sun has set.
This was super spicy! 
Uhm Tom Rodriguez, what are you doing here? LOL.
I ended up sleeping so much and I went out at around 8pm. My plan for the night was to do the Melaka River Cruise and have dinner at the Teddy Bear Café. It’s more expensive to do this tour during the weekend, I paid RM23 for the ticket. The ticket counter is located near the Hard Rock Café and you take the ferry at the Muara Jetty which is not too far from there. The cruise takes 45-minutes and the commentary starts on the return jetty. I’m glad I did this during the night because the lights were amazing, especially on the bridges. It’s good to see the different sights at night as well. We also passed by a traditional Malay village called Kampung Morten.
After the cruise, I started looking for the Teddy Bear Café. I really had a hard time finding the place and I was in a rush because I know that the café closes at 10pm. I got there at around 9:20pm, but unfortunately, they told me it was already closed. But it was kind of a blessing in disguise because I got to take a lot of photos in the café without anyone around! I definitely had a blast hanging out with these teddy bears!
Going back, I passed through Dataran Pahlawan again and so this cute area in the mall that I didn’t see earlier that day. Funny story, while I was taking photos and this teenage boy came up to me and asked to take a photo with me. I found it weird but then I said okay, so I went to pose with him. But he wanted me to use my phone, so is he thinking that I want a photo with him? I went with it and took the photo. LOL.
Ok, once I was out of Dataran Pahlawan, I totally got lost. Since it was pretty late, the shortcut from the A Famosa / St. Paul’s area is already closed. So I had to walk around to the Dutch Square which was quite long. I was scared at some point because there was nobody else but me and I even passed by the Dutch Graveyard. I was literally scared and counting down the meters on Google Maps. I was so relieved when I finally saw the Dutch Square and I’m back in the civilization again. LOL. It was already after 10pm at this time so I was pretty scared. But it was nice to see Dutch Square at night as well. Also, it was the perfect time to visit the Jonker Walk Night Market.
This was before I got lost. LOL. 
Buskers at Dutch Square during the night
The Jonker Walk is pretty cool. It’s really just like any normal night markets, lots of food and interesting things to buy. But I like that they have their own radio station and that there is like a park where you can hang out and eat your food. Night markets will always be fun! I also love how it’s not super crowded even if it’s a Saturday.
After walking a lot, it was time to rest and my first night in Melaka.
Day 5: Melaka
It was another day tour and I decided to go to the other side of the river. This is actually the area that is closer to my homestay. I visited Chen Hoon Teng Temple, Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple, and Masjid Kampung Kling.
I also saw the Orangutan House along the way. I just took photos from outside the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum.
There’s also a lot of street arts in Melaka, like Penang. They would paint the whole wall! If only all parking lots look like this!
I was planning to do the make your own cup noodle thing at Mamee Jonker House, but I realized it’s more like for kids. I was kind of embarrassed to do it, so I didn’t. Just took a few photos and looked around.
I think one of my favorite places in Melaka is the Melaka Sultanate Palace. The Melaka Sultanate Palace, which also serves as a museum, is actually a replica of the real one. The real palace, which was built without nails, was apparently struck by the lightning and was destroyed.
Also, I spent so much time in the garden. First of all, there were barely any people so I was able to whip out my tripod and take photos.
Since the palace is just in the St. Paul’s church area, I was at the Dataran Pahlawan again for the 3rd time. I had lunch at Jom Coffee and I tried this drink cham, which is coffee and tea basically. It’s the first time I’ve tried it and it’s so freaking good! Also, it was so hot and needed to cool down at the mall.
I saw this colorful wall the previous night while on the river cruise and I just had to come back and take photos here! By the way, those doors are real. From time to time, some uncle would tap their card on the door and go inside. LOL.
Some other stuff I saw on my last day in Melaka.
Since there wasn’t anyone when I passed by Hard Rock Cafe again, I took some selfies. LOL.
That was my last stop before going back to my homestay to get my things and go to Melaka Sentral and take a bus to Kuala Lumpur. Ok, this was a miscalculation on my end. I wanted to take my time in Melaka so I didn’t buy any ticket to Kuala Lumpur in advanced. It totally slipped my mind that I was there during the weekend and that’s what most people do – they go to Melaka just for the weekend and go back. Long story short, when I got there at around 3pm, there were no more tickets for buses going to Kuala Lumpur. I tried if I can book anything online but there wasn’t anything at all. I gave up after some time and just accepted that I will be staying in Melaka for one more night. I bought a ticket for the first bus in the morning to Kuala Lumpur and just looked for the cheapest hostel on booking.com.
I found Chestoe Guesthouse and it was really cheap. It was RM22. I paid 3 times for my bed at the Modern Cave. The guesthouse is an old ancestral house with high ceilings. There weren’t a lot of guests on the night that I was there, there were like two other pairs of shoes at the door. I stayed in a room with 4 beds but I was the only one the entire night so it felt as if I had my own private room. It was really quiet there so I actually wished I was with someone in the room. The location was pretty good though. It was on the main road and very close to the other end of Jonker Walk.
Since I wasn’t able to go to Kuala Lumpur that afternoon, I had the chance to go to Melaka Straits Mosque during the sunset. I was supposed to go there during sunrise but didn’t wake up early. I never woke up early during this trip. LOL. I’m so glad though that I was able to go here because it was so beautiful. See, when things don’t go as planned, some other good things happen. I stayed here for about an hour, just taking photos of this beautiful sight and chilling while drinking A&W rootbeer.
I capped the night by going to Jonker Walk again for some snacks.
I did end the night early because my bus to Kuala Lumpur was scheduled at 6am. (I am merely basing this on my Uber trip that day, and my WhatsApp messages with my friend.)
