Melaka Travelogue (Part 1, Day 1)

MALACCA GLOBAL CLASSROOM

Part 1: Limkokwing University Melaka also known as Lisbon Hotel

Day 1: Monday, 20th May 2013

   This is my first time blogging so yeah, I'm a newbie! I've never tried blogging before but this assignment sort of encouraged me to make one and its a really good start! I didn't travel with the Global Classroom from Limkokwing University as my hometown is Malacca itself. I grew up in this beautiful historical place and what makes me special is that I'm a Eurasian. And to add to that, my Portuguese ancestors colonized Malacca from year 1511 to 1641 which is equivalent to more than a century! So, that's how I'm here in Malaysia today! =) I know a lot about Malacca, so I'm sure you would be interested to read & get to know more about this beautiful place.

   It was a hot & sunny day. The Limkokwing Academy of Creativity and Innovation campus in Malacca which was also used to be known as the Lisbon Hotel is situated in the Portuguese Settlement. It was a walking distance for me. When i got here, i met up with my fellow course mates and we had a briefing by Mr. Richard Hendricks who was one of the committee members in the Portuguese Settlement. He briefed about the history of Malacca, how the Portuguese people came here in 1511 and the history of the settlement. There were many interesting facts stated.

   Malacca was founded by Parameswara who was the first Sultan in Malacca. He named Malacca after watching an incident under a tree he was resting on, where one of his dogs wanted to attack a mouse deer but in self-defence, the mouse deer pushed the dog into the river. He was inspired by this incident, so, he named the placed "Melaka" after the tree he had rested on which is called the "Melaka Tree". Parameswara established Malacca as an international port and became the first Sultan.

   The Portuguese Settlement however is located in Ujong Pasir. It is a home to a small ethnic community called the Eurasians also known as "Kristang". We speak the Portuguese language (kristang language) and majority of us are devout Catholics. The Portuguese conquered Malacca from the year 1511 to 1641 which results in the Portuguese men settling here and got married to many different kinds of races such as Malay, Chinese and Indians which produced a mixed Eurasian community. In the 1930's, a French missionary established a fishing village next to the sea (Straits of Malacca) with originally 10 simple wooden houses at first and was originally called St. John's Village. This village then attracted many other Eurasians to live here as well so the village had expended. Today, this village is called the Portuguese Settlement which preserves our religion, culture, language and traditions.

    In addition, the Portuguese Settlement is most lively during the Water Festival (Intrudu), San Juang and San Pedro (St.John and St.Paul) feast and also on Christmas season. The Water Festival which is called Intrudu in Kristang means 'introduction'. It is a tradition where everyone throws water at one another. It normally falls on a Sunday in the month of Febuary preceding Ash Wednesday which marks the start of Lent that leads up to Easter Sunday for us Eurasian Catholics. The feast of San Juang (feast of St. John the Baptist) falls on the 23rd of June. During this feast, we Eurasians would light many candles (signify the Saint who led our way) outside of our house and wear green to signify innocence and purity. The feast of San Pedro (feast of St. Peter. who was the patron Saint of fisherman) falls from the 27th-29th of July. During this festival, there are many food stalls available, there will be Portuguese cultural dance and music on stage, game stalls, stall selling clothes, live band on stage, dance competition and many more! There are many people during this festival! Lastly, during Christmas season, the houses in the settlement would be decorated with many kinds of Christmas decorations and colourful lights! It is a very stunning sight to see and this attracts many people to come over just to see the lights and decorations. Very big crowd! So, if you plan on driving here, come early in the evening and park your car in the settlement or else you would have to park your vehicle further outside and walk in. Visit Portuguese Settlements during this big and interesting events! You won't regret! =)

  If you take the taxi from Malacca Town to the Portuguese Settlement, it will cost you minimal RM15. The Panorama Bus ticket is only RM1 from Malacca Town to Portuguese Settlement.    

Map of Portuguese Settlement.

The Limkokwing Campus in Melaka which was also known as the Lisbon Hotel

A board placed in the campus

The view in the campus

Beautiful fountain


The sunset view here is very beautiful indeed and the sea breeze is so cooling. It's a really lovely campus to be in.

Love the view!

Another stunning view!

The island over there is called Pulau Melaka

There are about three fake cannons in the campus.

   I'm sure this will be an awesome and relaxing place to continue your studies. This campus offers interesting Professional Diploma courses. If you're interested to further your studies here, please call (+606) 286 9988 or if you would like to visit the campus here, the address is Jalan D'Albuquerque, Portuguese Settlement, Ujong Pasir, 75050 Melaka, Malaysia.

    If you're from Kuala Lumpur and you plan on taking a bus to Melaka, head to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) bus station at Bandar Tasik Selatan, Kuala Lumpur. You can take a taxi or your own transport or even take the LRT, KTM, ERL (KLIA transit) which will drop you off at Bandar Tasik Selatan. From the station, choose which bus you plan to get on. There are many bus operators such as Metro Bus Express, Transnasional Express, Delima Express, Star Mart Express and many more. I suggest you try to get your bus ticket from Metro Bus Express as it costs RM9.00 which is a reasonable price and the condition of the bus is moderate. Make sure you choose the right time to depart from there to Malacca.

   The bus that you get on will drop you off at Malacca Sentral (Melaka Sentral), Jalan Sentral, 75400 Malacca Town, Melaka after a two hours journey. There are many kinds of facilities in Malacca Central for example food stalls, clothes stalls and ATM machines. From there, take a taxi or Panorama Melaka Bus which will bring you around Malacca Town or to the hotel that you want to stay in. The taxi chargers may costs in between RM10-RM15. For Panorama Bus Melaka, the ticket may costs you about RM1 or RM2 and you can decide whether you want to take the normal bus or double-decker bus.

   There are many hotel choices available such as Bayview Hotel, Holiday Inn, Renaissance Hotel, Equatorial Hotel, Casa del Rio Hotel, Hatten Hotel and many more. If you want to stay in a Mediterranean inspired boutique hotel which provides high quality accommodation and best rates, Casa del Rio Hotel is the perfect choice. It is located at 88, Jalan Kota Laksamana, 75200 Malacca. From Malacca Central, you can take a taxi to this hotel. You can book your room online at http://www.casadelrio-melaka.com/ or e-mail at reservation@casadelrio-melaka.com. You can also make your bookings through phone line by calling +606 289 6888. If you plan on staying in hotels which are of your own choice, you can always search online from the lists of hotels I mentioned earlier. =)

Have an adventure by going on a vacation in Malacca, a historical city with many different cultures!

Hope you enjoyed this very first blog I've done. ;)

Please read Part 2, Day 1 to get to know more about my adventure in this beautiful city, Melaka!


TO BE CONTINUED BLOGGERS! <3