Malacca Day 1 Part 1: Hotel Equatorial + A Famosa + Bukit St. Paul

I need a short getaway trip to take a breather from the stressful city.

I have been feeling super stressed lately and I really need a break to relieve my stress. That's when I decided to accept my cousin's suggestion to go on a short trip to Malaysia just 6 days before our trip. It was a last minute plan to visit Malacca given that we only have a weekend to spare.

Woke up super early that day at about 6.40am.
Why I say is super early because I don't even wake up that early for work. But the thought of waking up early and know that it will be a relaxing day got me looking forward.

Arriving at Golden Mile Complex before 8am.

I just brought a backpack and a small sling bag along with me for the 2D1N trip.

Waiting for our coach. We booked our coach tickets with Transtar Travel.

We boarded our coach at 8.20am.

Malaysia, here we come. We traveled to Malacca via Tuas Checkpoint.

It was a long bus journey, took a nap in the coach.

After about 3 hours of rides including the jam at Singapore and Malaysia custom, we stopped over at Yong Peng for a half an hour break.

We had lor mai gai (Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken) at the food centre.

Though it looked simple, this is one of the best lor mai gai I ever tried and one of the best meals we have in Malaysia.

Our very first group photo took while waiting for our coach.

Traveling with my grandma, 姑姑, 姑丈, cousins and cousin-in-law.

This was my second overseas trip with them. Still remember our first overseas trip was to Genting which was 19 years ago. Look forward to more overseas trip with my family ♥♥♥

Oh yes, finally we reached Malacca.

Melaka is the Malay name of Malacca, one of the states in Malaysia.

Malacca is famous for their rich historical and cultural background. I can't wait to get down and explore the area.

We finally arrived at the doorstep of Hotel Equatorial Melaka.

Wow, the hotel looked really refined and luxury from the outer. Of course it looked luxury, it is a 5 stars hotel located in the hub of Melaka city and just 500m from Jonker's Street. The hotel is 22-storey high featuring 496 rooms.

We dropped off opposite the hotel at 2.20pm. We took 6 hours to reach our hotel from Golden Mile. We made it through the long bus journey.

We were loitering at the hotel lobby as there was a queue at the reception. 

The lobby of the hotel has a Peranakan feel.

I love to dress in comfort whenever I go for road trip. A crop tee together with skort, my outfit for a casual look. Since I was traveling on a long bus ride, I want to be as comfortable as I could.

A glimpse to our luxuriously furnished room, we were staying in the Premier room with 2 adjoining single beds. The hotel room made me felt really comfortable upon entering. I could just sit and relax in the room the entire day. Perfect if you are coming here just for staycation.

Awesome view from my hotel room from level 17, offering the view of the Straits of Melaka. 

Spotted a building that looked like Marina Bay Sands at the left hand side of the picture.

Too bad we were in a rush. Just take a quick view of the room, dropped my bagpack, go for toilet break and proceed to head out for our activity. Everything done in 5 minutes.

Shall give you a tour of my room in the next post when I reached hotel in the night.

We booked a day tour and a mini tour bus was already there waiting for us at the lobby.

On board the mini bus.

Look at all the happy faces. Oh yes, we can't wait to begin our adventure in Malacca. Here we go.

Time checked, it's 2.47pm. Off for our late lunch for our first stop.

Come to Malacca of course have to try their famous Chicken Rice Ball.

Our tour guide drove us to Heng Hainanese Chicken Rice Ball at Taman Melaka Raya.

The plates of good food at only RM70 for 8 of us

Away from the tourist areas, I find that the price charged here is very reasonable for 1 whole chicken, stir fry cabbage and rice balls.

I like the roasted chicken, the meat was tender. 

Now that our energy have been recharged after the meal, time for some sightseeing. I actually enjoy sightseeing very much, it allows me to understand more about the country's culture and explore different places of interest.

This elegant Dutch colonial mansion caught my attention from far.

Little did I know this is a museum.

This fine building is none other than Proclamation of Independence Memorial, a historical monument. The building used to house the Malacca Club, the social centre of the British people in British Malaya.

On the left is The Pirate Adventure, a pirate’s theme immersive indoor attraction.

Here at A’Famosa, Malacca’s top sightseeing spot.

The gate is probably one of the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Asia.

KP and I took a photo with the cannon guarding the gate house.

With KP and Sara.

Way to go, we were climbing up St. Paul's Hill (Bukit St. Paul).

The youngsters made it to the top of St. Paul's Hill while the elders were waiting for us at A Famosa.

Though it has quite a number of steps up, it just took about 5 minutes walk up from A Famosa.

This used to be an old church - St. Paul's Church. The exterior and interior is mostly of ruins, and it has roofless. This place has a long history of the Portuguese and the Dutch.

Bukit St. Paul offers an awesome view of the city.

One last photo of the church  before we headed down the hill. The colonial architecture, Portuguese fortress and run church offers us a glimpse of Portuguese settlement in Malacca.

Other activities that you can do at A Famosa includes riding a horse carriage.

Next, we drove off to search for shops that sell local pastry products. Grandma and aunt were happy customers sampling and buying the local products.

Aunt was craving for durian, so durian makan next.

Opening 3 durians.

Everyone was happily eating the durians except Kheng Loon and I. Both of us are not fans of durian.

Oh, the lady in blue in the back of the picture was our tour guide.

Happy moments always passed so fast, it was already 5pm. Three-quarter of the day has gone.

I started to love travelling. Every little things got me fascinated, it gave me so much joy exploring every new things that I saw and admiring the foreign places that I never come across.

That's all for my post today, stay tuned for part 2.