Jonker Street, Melaka

The State of Melaka today is a tiny backwater and the third smallest state of the thirteen states that make up the Federation of Malaysia.

Founded in 1400 by Parameswara, a Majapahit Prince and the Last King of Temasik (now known as Singapore), Melaka grew to become a thriving seaport and trading post under the reigns of its rulers, who eventually converted to Islam and founded the Sultanate of Melaka. By 1511, by the time the Portuguese led by Alphonso d'Alburquerque arrived and conquered the city, the Sultanate held sway over vast territories covering much of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatera. 

The Portuguese occupation of Melaka lasted from 1511 until 1641, a period interspersed with frequent skirmishes with the other local powers of the Malay Archipelago, including Johor, Acheh and the Javanese. Eventually the Dutch, conspiring with the Johor sultanate succeeded in expelling the Portuguese from Melaka.

The Dutch occupation of Melaka lasted until 1824, when the Anglo-Dutch treaty was signed between the Dutch and the British, resulting in Melaka falling into the hands of a third colonial power.

Remnants of the Dutch occupation can still be seen in Melaka today, including St.John's Fort, St Peter's church, the Stadthuys, Chris Church and the Dutch Graveyard.

Another legacy of the Dutch include some of the original road names, some of which are still commonly in use today, despite the change of their official names to local ones. Heeren Street, which is now known as Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, is an example of this. "Heerenstraat" was Melaka's original millionaires row, for the Dutch "gentlemen" and "masters" in the upper class of society.

One street down, parallel to Heeren Street was Jonker Street, from the Dutch word for noblemen, "jonkheer". This was the street where young nobleman who had not quite yet made it to the upper crust resided. Now known as Jalan Hang Jebat officially, Jonker Street has completed its transformation into a tourist attraction with its various restaurants serving local treats, antique stores and a weekend tourist market selling trinkets and cheap knock-offs.

Jonker Street today.

One of many shops along the street.

Many of the pre-war shop houses are still lived in by the original residents, whilst others have been renovated into modern shops. But you can still find antique shops and coffee shops which still give an authentic feel amongst the newer shops selling knick-knacks and souvenirs.

Roadside stall selling crunchy sun-dried barbecued squid.

Roadside vendors selling local treats such as barbecued squid, cendol, nyonya kuih, mua chi, otak-otak and other delicacies line the street.

Night market ("pasar malam") on the weekends.

Jonker Street comes alive during the weekends, when there is a night market from 6pm to 12pm. The night market operates on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Dato' Wira Gan Boon Leong's statue guards the public toilets (!)

At roughly the centre of Jonker Street is a small park in between the pre-war shop houses with a statue of Dato' Wira Gan Boon Leong flexing his muscles. Dato' Wira is a local politician who in his younger days was a bodybuilder and former Mr Malaysia. Curiously, his statue now guards the public toilets in the small park.

Durian Puffs anyone?

One of the stranger things to try are the "one-bite durian puffs", which are sold at a shophouse opposite the Geographer Cafe.

Quite the queue for the puffs.

Wonder why you have to eat it in one bite?

Apparently the reason it is called "one-bite". is that you are supposed to eat it in one mouthful, or you are liable to have a big mess all over your shirt!

Cendol being made by a roadside vendor.

Cendol is another Melaka staple, which you can eat at one of the popular shophouses such as Jonker 88 or San Shu Gong. Or just order it from one of the roadside vendors.

Cendol - Shaved ice with palm sugar, coconut milk & green vermicelli.

At the junction of Jonker Street and Harmony Street is a performance stage, where at the weekends, one of the many clan associations may put on a show. While we there, it was a rather strange one of an elderly man dancing and a woman singing....

The performance stage at the confluence of Jonker Street and Harmony Street.

Jonker Street is best visited after 6pm on the weekends when the night market is in operation. But even if you can't be there at the weekends, it is still worth a visit during the day. A visit to Jonker Street can easily be combined with the adjacent Heeren Street which is quieter and architecturally more interesting with its pre-war shop houses and boutique hotels.

The adjacent Jalan Tukang Emas ("Goldsmith Road"), which has been nicknamed as "Harmony Street" due to the presence of a mosque, chinese temple and hindu temple, is also located parallel to Jonker Street and can be similarly be visited as part of the heritage trail of the inner city.

Baba Charlie's, Melaka

The Peranakan or Straits born Chinese are the descendants of Chinese immigrants who first came to the Straits Settlements from the 15th century onwards. Intermarriage and intermingling with local Malays and exposure to the Dutch and British over the centuries has created a unique sub-culture which is a mix of Chinese, Malay and Western influences.

Also known as the Baba and Nyonya, the Peranakan in Melaka are one of the oldest in the region. Despite being ethnically chinese, the Peranakan have assimilated Malay form of dress, language and food into their culture.

One such example are the Nyonya Kuih. "Kuih" are bite-sized sweet or savoury snacks that are served during tea time or as an after-meal dessert. The Peranakan have modified traditional malay kuih into delectable treats now known as Nyonya Kuih.

In Melaka, one of the names synonymous with Nyonya Kuih is Baba Charlie. Operating from his house in Tengkera, Baba Charlie makes and supplies nyonya kuih for night markets, private functions, restaurants and even hotels.

You can actually visit his house in Jalan Tengkera Pantai 2 and purchase these treats direct from the source. The house is located in a small lane located off Jalan Tengkera near where the old Tengkera Mosque is located.

Jalan Tengkera Pantai 2

Baba Charlie's House

The Kitchen

The various types of Nyonya kuih available

Clockwise from bottom left: Kuih Koo Hitam, Kuih Koo Merah, Pulut Inti, Rempah Udang, Popia, Kuih Lapis, Kuih Bingka Ubi and Kuih Kochi Putih

Dodol and Gula Melaka

Nyonya Kuih Chang

Roll Tarts

Curry Puffs and Ondeh Ondeh

Baba Charlie's is open daily (except for Thursday) and closes at 3pm.

Baba Charlie Nyonya Cake

Address: 72, Jalan Tengkera Pantai 2, 75200 Melaka 
Telephone: +6019-666 2907

Rasa Ria Nature Reserve, Sabah

The Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort is one of the top resorts located in the Greater Kota Kinabalu area. Its actual location is in Dalit beach, near the town of Tuaran and is about 28 km to the north of Kota Kinabalu.

Dalit Beach is perhaps one of the nicer beaches in the area, with a huge long expanse of sand and makes a nice day out to visit, although you can only gain access via through the resort. The resort also has its own golf course, for all the golfers out there.

Dalit Beach

But many hotels have beaches or golf courses; what makes the Rasa Ria different is that it has its own in-house Nature Reserve.

The Rasa Ria Nature Reserve was established by Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort in collaboration with the State Wildlife Department of Sabah with the aim of protecting a 64 acre ecological space to help facilitate rehabilitation programmes for endangered species of fauna endemic to Sabah.

The Nature Reserve also provides educational programmes for local students across Sabah and actively conducts nature awareness and learning activities for visitors from all over the world. Well, basically it is for its in-house guests in particular; but outsiders are also allowed to take part in the activities with prior booking (and payment of course!).

Among the activities you can do include Bird-Watching, Jungle Walks and the Canopy Walk. And of course, the main attraction is the Orang Utan viewing sessions.

Orang Utans are only endemic to two places in the world, the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Unfortunately, these highly intelligent primates are endangered as their natural habitats are decimated due to human population growth and deforestation. 

The Nature Reserve's role is purportedly to rehabilitate displaced orang utans before releasing them back into the wild. Visitors are allowed to view the orang utans during their feeding times, and there are normally two sessions per day, once in the morning at 10 am, and in the afternoon at 2pm.

Queuing up to pay at the entrance

Briefing before the start of the tour

Start of the trek into the reserve

Start of the hill climb

Climbing up the hill. Not too strenuous.

After 10 minutes trek, you reach the feeding platform.

Cute baby orang utan

Baby seems more interested in playing then eating.

Look at me!

Man-of-the-Forest

Advance booking is required to attend any of the activities at the Nature Resort, and needs to be confirmed 72 hours before the actual activity takes place.

Non-Malaysian non-guests are charged RM 65 per person (as of Aug'2013) and you are advised to be at the Centre 30 minutes before the stated times. You are advised to wear good walking shoes, long sleeves and pants or use mosquito repellent but we got by using none of the above without too much difficulty or inconvenience. Free bottled water is given at the end of the trip, which can last for up to 1 hour. You are allowed to leave the platform early if you had your fill of viewing the orang utans.

Update 31 Jan'16: Shangri-La has announced the successful completion of the Orang-Utan project and all remaining orang-utans at the nature reserve would be rehabilitated back to Sepilok by April 2016.

Shangri-La Rasa Ria Nature Interpretative Centre

Address : Pantai Dalit Beach, Tuaran, Sabah, 89208, Malaysia

Telephone :  +(6088) 797 888