WPC – Name of the Bridges

Located strategically in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula in the bank of Strait of Malacca, which has been famous for centuries as a culture haven of various nations in the world, no wonder if Malacca was entitled as one of the UNESCO World Heritage city. Here tourists can see and interactively feel the cultures from the origin countries that gave colors such as Portuguese, British, Dutch, Chinese and its own Malay culture, which entirely formed a wonderful harmony.

Because of its fame, my husband and I took a weekend getaway to the beautiful Malacca some time ago. Of course we took the cruise along the river that divides the city, one of the ‘must have’ lovely things when travelling to Malacca. Even a Hollywood star Sean Connery once took several scenes here for the movie Entrapment.

Kp. Morten Bridge

Old Bus Station Bridge

Datuk Mohd Zin Bridge

The boat departed from Muara jetty, next to Quayside Heritage Centre. It is close to the Maritime Museum that is easily recognizable by Flor De La Mar, the big replica of a Portuguese ship . From here the boat took us upstream as far as Taman Rempah or Spice Garden jetty where the boat turned around and brought us back to Muara Jetty again.

Along the river we can see the heritage civic district at the foot of St Paul’s Hill, the residential and commercial district of Heeren Street and Jonker Street, past historic buildings, old warehouses, interesting mangrove stands, churches, and villages.

Do you see the name of the bridges in blue? (‘Jambatan’ means Bridge)

But the interesting part of taking the cruise was seeing the name of the bridges along the river that came from the various cultures. The names of Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, or Datuk Mohd Zin surely came from the Malay history. How about Kampung Jawa or the village of Javanese? Or Kampung Morten, a ‘kampung’ or a village named after the British Land Commissioner, FJ Morten, who had contributed to the opening of the village? And Chan Koon Cheng bridge, we can easily identify the origin culture, although it is located in front of the church of St. Francis Xavier.

The cruise itself last about 45 minutes from 9:00 a.m – 12:00 a.m daily.
Admission Adult RM15 Child RM 7

Hang Tuah Bridge

Hang Jebat Bridge

The Chan Koon Cheng Bridge

Kp. Jawa Bridge

WPC – Look Up At The Ceiling and Roof

 

Who will look at this top decor?

The detail decor on the top part of wall

The Cheng Hoon Teng temple, -the oldest functioning temple in Malaysia-, is a Chinese temple which is practicing the Three Doctrinal Systems of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Located at Jalan Tokong, just a stone’s throw from the famous Kp. Kling mosque and an old Hindu temple, this richly decorated temple made the neighborhood named as Harmony Street in Malacca, a UNESCO World Heritage City in Malaysia.

Furthermore, this religious building got an award from UNESCO for outstanding architectural restoration. It’s not surprising because this temple has a lot of intricate beauties.

The detail decor on the roof

Another decor on the roof

the richly decorated temple’s roof

People usually overlook the art on the top part of the temple, but I gave myself chances to look up and enjoy the art of the red lanterns hanging on the ceiling, and also the images of warriors, dragons, animals and other mythical creatures on the temple’s roof.

Hanging on the ceiling

The red lantern on the ceiling

As my entry for the Daily Post – Weekly Photo Challenge with the topic of Look Up

 

WPC – Today Was a Good Day to Walk Around Malacca

A Start to Walk in Melaka

St. Christ’s Church

A Rickshaw in Melaka

Melaka, or Malacca, as a UNESCO World Heritage city, attracted my heart with its mixture of cultural trails of many countries that gave colors, from Portugal, England, Dutch, China and Melayu itself. That was the reason my husband and I visited Melaka this year. And for getting the ambience and the beauty of Melaka, my husband and I spent a good day to walk around Melaka.

We started from the Dutch Square, where Christ Church and all red buildings are located. Here we can hire rickshaw with various flowers decoration if we’re too tired to walk. Then we followed a path to reach St. Paul’s Church on top of a hill. There stands a statue of St Francis Xavier with his arm cut-off.

St Paul’s Church

A Nice Path from the Top of the Hill

The Replica of the Sultanate

Porta de Santiago

The Independence Building

Museum Islam Melaka

Following the nice path down the hill, my husband and I reached the replica building of the Sultanate and a ruin of fortress that’s called Porta de Santiago.

Continuing the walk, passing the museums we are back to the Dutch Square again. Then if we walk across the bridge, we will be in Jl. Hang Jebat which is famous as Jonker Street. It is famous of a night market along the road and full of food stalls and various selling kiosks.

Kp. Kling Mosque

On the way to Harmony Area

Incenses in Cheng Hoon Teng temple

It took several minutes of walking to reach the Kampong Keling mosque, the oldest mosque in the area. At the end of the road is the Cheng Hoon Teng temple, a famous Chinese temple which is always crowded with the visitors. And there is a Hindu temple next to the mosque. What a beautiful harmony in that area.

My husband and I did not have any difficulties to have a good lunch because we can find many restaurants in the area.

A Nice River Bank

Melaka River Cruise

Melaka River Cruise near Kp. Morten

In the afternoon, we enjoy a river-cruise through Melaka River and feel the fresh atmosphere of the river and the nice environment of the river bank. It took almost 1 hour to have a good cruise along the river.

Church of St Francis Xavier

A fresh cool place in the hotel

Closing the Nice Day with a View

Going back to the hotel, pleasant cool water in the swimming pool is so tempting during the hot sunny days. Well, a fresh soaking after a nice walk will complete our day and relaxing as well. Hmm… it’s really a good day…

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In response to Weekly Photo Challenge with the theme Today Was a Good Day