One of the famous destinations on list for locals and tourist for a short vacation is Malacca – the historical town. The place might be small but the attractions are endless!

1 – Explore Malaysia at Taman Mini Malaysia & Mini ASEAN Explore the different types of traditional Malaysia houses representing 13 states from Sarawak’s Iban Long House to Negeri Sembilan’s Long Roofed House the only house in Malaysia to have a curved roof reminiscent of the Minangkabau roof of Sumatra. Also, you will be able to find other houses from other ASEAN countries.

2 – Take a River Cruise along Malacca River Malacca River has the boat tour that probably take about 45 minutes or an hour to complete the sight-seeing. A tour guide will highlight the interesting places! Interested tourists have to check on the operating hours as the cruise only available during high tide.

3 – Explore Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum Baby Nyonya Heritage Museum is a museum located behind Jonker Street that displays the history of the ethnic. Baba Nyonya are Chinese who adapt much of the Malay cultures since the time Admiral Cheng Ho settled down in Malacca.

4 – Shop for Local Products Don’t forget to shop for local products at Sam Suk Gong or Tam Kim Hock. These are the two famous shops that tourists would love to go and carry home the MUST BUY local products like “shrimp paste” or “pineapples cookies” or “gula Melaka” or even the “durian candy”.

5 – Get a Bird-eye View on Malacca from Eye on Malaysia Eye on Malaysia which has shifted from Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur is now located in Kota Laksamana, the mouth of Malacca river. It could be a pleasant experience being able to view Bandar Hilir Malacca from the top of the world!

6- Have Wild Wild West Fun at A’Famosa Resorts Not to be mistaken with the historical monument, A Famosa, A’Famosa Resort is a place worth visiting for the whole family. The offers include an international 27-hole golf course, Cowboy Town, Animal World Safari, Water World Theme Park, Equestrian Club, Resort Hotel and much more.

7 – Find Shopping Galore at Jonker Street Jonker Street is the chest with the hidden gems. It is the most happening and busiest street at night with bars and hawkers stalls-mouth-watering local delicacies could be easily found here. Also, performances can be seen on every Saturday.

8 – Experience Authentic Portuguese Food at San Pedro Find the oldest Portuguese restaurant in Malaysia that offers home-style Portuguese fare at San Pedro Restaurant at Portuguese Settlement Village. Try the Devil Curry and Portuguese-style Baked Fish in spice paste and squid fritters. If you enjoy spicy seafood by the beach, this is your spot!

9 – Check Out The Stadhuys The Stadhuys, also known as the Red Square is a historical structure built by the Dutch occupants in 1650. Situated beside the Christ Church, supposed the oldest remaining Dutch historical building in the Orient, is now the home of a Museum of History and Ethnography

10 – Visit the Famous Portuguese Monument, A Famosa A Famosa is a fortress built by the Portuguese in the 16th century which also meant”The Famous’” in the language. The only standing part of the fortress now is the small gate house, Porta De Santiago. Here, you can also find many stalls selling souvenirs for you to bring home.

Also worth checking out:

Shop at Dataran Pahlawan Megamall Dataran Pahlawan Megamall, a newly opened shopping mall in town, is usually packed during the weekends. The locals as well as the tourists enjoy going to the Dataran Pahlawan’s field for photo session or just merely sit down and enjoy the view there.

Visit the Malacca Sultanate Palace Malacca Sultanate Palace is the place that cannot be missed upon visiting Malacca. It is located at the foot and St. Paul Hill. The building was constructed using only wooden pegs and with no nails.

Drop by Sam Po Kong Temple Sam Po Kong Temple was built in the year 1975, on the foot of Bukit China. It was named after a lengendary fish, Sam Po Kong which stopped one of the admiral’s ship from sinking.

Check Out Taming Sari Tower Taming Sari Tower is the signature tower in town with 110 meters tall. Passengers are able to view Bandar Hilir Malacca within radius of 5 kilometers away!

Visit Hang Li Po Well Hang Li Po Well was named after the Chinese princess, Hang Li Po who married to the Sultan Mansur Syah, the Malacca king at that time. The locals believed that wishing upon the well will grants good fortune and luck.

Technorati Tags Attractions, Malacca, Malaysia, Melacca, Things, tourism

It could have been a dream come through: Wan Azizah: the first female PM of Malaysia.

A woman AND a clean person not "mudslinged" by sodomy nor murder allegations nor having a son in law who suddenly becomes big in Scomi…

Also imagine the image and message that could have been sent to the Islamic crusaders in the west:

a woman ‘wearing a veil’ makes it all the way on top in a peaceful Islamic state.

Don’t get me wrong here: I am talking about "image". A veil in the eyes of a westerner in the street is still linked with the burka’s worn in Afghanistan, therefore connoted to extremism and terror…

And when people get jailed before proven innocent like Anwar Ibrahim a few weeks ago, I can imagine that people don’t give much of a damn about what westerners think about their image…

But the dream is back in the drawer

No need to speculate about what could have been.

Wan Azizah today resigned as member of parliament for the seat but will retain her post as PKR president.

Anyway, the democratic process in Malaysia is much different from what we are used to in Europe, so we do understand that PKR runs like a train in stead of gluing persons to seats in parliament.

I mean: this is a clear move in favour of what the party PKR stands for or fights for.

A very different strategy than UMNO’s. UMNO members keep on saying they put all their trust in their leader, when at the same time elections clearly showed the rakyat has a complete different opinion …

Technorati Tags Anwar Ibrahim, wan azizah

Unfortunately we are not talking about edible rice, but about Condoleezza Rice asking the Malaysian Government for more transparency in the Anwar sodomy case:

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today urged Malaysia to ensure a "transparent" investigation into sex misconduct allegations against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Great idea but limited…

Great in the sense that Malaysia is yearning for the transparency Abdullah Badawi promised Malaysia in his previous election campaign.

But limited… Why should we limit transparency only to the Anwar case or to the Malaysian government in general?

Why can’t we get some US transparency like:

• why US had to topple Saddam Hussein this time and not the last time during Bush senior?
   
• why lots of Iraqi soldiers come from the lower class in the US?
   
• what US is doing in Afghanistan, knowing:
   
• that’s the place to be to control opium produce worldwide
   
• that US is the biggest consumer of opium based heroine
   

Transparency for all would be great for the people so they can vote with wisdom in stead of voting out of sentiment

Technorati Tags abdullah, abdullah badawi, afghanistan, Anwar, Anwar Ibrahim, badawi, condoleezza rice, iraq, Malaysia, malaysian government, Saddam Hussein, sodomy, transparency