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Friday, October 30, 2009

Melaka Excursion

Melaka Excursion 25.Apr.2009

My sister and I arrived a day earlier in KL than Nelly. Nothing much to do in KL... and I've been wanting to go to Melaka for the longest time. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to go there.
Going to Melaka was like an amazing race adventure...
Melaka Snapshots

From a KL Sentral we asked a couple of people on what bus are we going to take to get to Puduraya Bus Station. After getting 2 different directions from locals, we hopped on a bus and told the driver to drop us Puduraya. The driver was speaking to us in Bahasa, I can only understand bits and pieces of what we was saying. A few minutes had passed a kind lady standing beside the driver told us that we could get off now and just walk straight ahead, pointing to a building at the end of the road. we obliged and got off the bus not knowing which building is she talking about.

Jaichey (my sister) and I continued walking to the direction the lady pointed. As we were walking, I heard 2 women talking in a language I easily recognize as Filipino. Without hesitation, I asked them how to get to the bus station. They pointed in the same direction as the previous girl did but we still can't figure out what building are they talking about. The 2 filipinas were kind enough to accompany us until we were just a block away from Puduraya.(God bless their hearts!) so, we finally found the bus station!

Inside...there are endless rows of ticket booth offering seats to Singapore, Johor Bahru, and other domestic routes. We managed to catch a 1 pm bus to Melaka. It was a 2 hr drive without traffic. at 3 pm we arrived at Melaka Sentral.



result of 2 hrs travel


I thought the tourist spots such as Stadthuys, Melaka Church and others are just nearby the station. I was wrong! Then I realized I forgot my walking tour map at the hotel. (ugh! so much for preparation!). Thanfully, there was a tourist information counter at Melaka Sentral but the girl manning the counter is not that friendly. We asked a couple of questions on how to get to the tourist spots, she just said to wait at platform number 17. We've read from the brochure that there's a hop-on hop-off tourist bus. We asked the girl about this and she told us that we can't take the bus from there.





flag on the bus
so we just took her advice and waited at platform 17...we waited..and waited...and waited for a good 30 minutes, watching every bus on other platforms come and go every 5 mins. I was getting ready annoyed and frustrated as minutes passed by. I was about to give up, told my sister (jaichey) that we will have go back to KL. Just as my hope starts to fade, I saw a red bus. The hop-on hop-off bus dropping off passengers across platform 8. I immediately ran towards the bus (they must've have thought I'm a deranged woman!). I showed the driver the pictures of the stadthuys and he nodded and said 15mins. Anxious to get to the bus, after 10 minutes I asked the man seated infront if we could board. he said, we can board.



A 10-minute ride and we we're in the city. we were so excited to explore the city. Finally!


Melaka Heritage City

Melaka is very laid back compared to KL. Traces of Dutch and Portugese occupation are still very much visible, i.e. Stadthuys. Stadthuy is the official residence of the Dutch Governor but now it houses a History and Ethnography Museum.

Stadthuys from afar


Christ Church


The Dutch built several buildings including this as a place of worship as they did not have any church for themselves. This church is one of the most attractive heritage in Melaka.


Melaka Church

Gailie and Jaichey






Melaka Side Streets
We also went into the side streets and found some interesting shops. Its nice to see a fusion of Malaysian Chinese and European Architecture.









We lost track of time, its 6pm. We need to catch the 7pm bus to KL because we're meeting Nelly around 9pm at KLIA. We managed to get on the bus at 630pm and didn't realize that since its a hop-on hop-off bus, it circles around the tourist spots before going back to Melaka Station. So instead of a 10 minute ride, it would take atleast 20-30 minutes to reach the station. to add to our anxiety, the driver stopped by a gas station and refuelled. he took his sweet time and cleaned the bus, wiping the front and the side exterior. at 7pm, we reached Melaka Sentral.


we spotted the Eye of Malaysia on our way home.
Next trip, we will alot 1 whole day to explore Melaka. :)

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009

miss me?

over the past days, hinde ako nakakapag sign-in sa YM. tinanggal ko rin ung feature na automatic sign in sa SMS once na naglogged out ka.


di ko alam kung matatawa ba ko... pero natuwa talaga ko... aba, may nakakamiss pala saken. hehe!


* nung magopen ako ng FB account , may message ako galing sa isang concerned citizen. (yihee!) tinatanong nya kung ano na raw nangyari saken. at kung okay lang daw ba ako. nagkwento rin cia kung ano na nangyari sa kanya. sa sobrang tuwa ko, ayun, napareply ako nang bonggang bongga! wahaha!


* isang umaga, nagising na lang ako sa walang tigil na pag-ring ng celphone ko. pagsagot ko...isa sa mga malapit kong kaibigan na nasa Dubai. nagtataka daw sila nun isa ko pang kaibigan bat nawawala daw ako sa civilization. ilang araw na daw ako nawawala sa cyberspace.


* isa pang classmate ko nung highschool ang nagmessage saken. martian: nasa galaan ka nanaman ano? di kita nakikita online. nagulat ako... malapit ko rin ciang kaibigan at palagi din ciang online pero bihira lang kame magchat. minsan lang kame mag usap pag magtatanong lang o may balita sa highschool friends namen. siguro ganun talaga yun, tama lang na makita namen ang isa't isa online kahit di na mag-usap.

natuwa lang talaga ko sa kanila. as in sunod-sunod na araw sila nagparamdam. may nagke-care pala. hehe! :)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

bob ong quote

Gail asked for a Bob Ong quote.....

Kung dalawa ang mahal mo, piliin mo yung pangalawa. Kasi hindi ka naman magmamahal ng iba kung mahal mo talaga yung una.

---> natawa ko nung nabasa ko to.

Monday, October 19, 2009

im baaaack

Its been a month since I posted a blog. been very busy this September...


19-23 September

I went to Guangzhou, China with my office mates. we had tons of misadventures on this tour. and it really tested our patience. Detailed post regarding my Guangzhou misadventures, I'll try to publish next week.


26 September

Who wouldn't forget this fateful day. I was on duty and I haven't had a clue on what was going on in Manila. I get updates and reports from my friends' facebook accounts on what is happening, floods everywhere, waters rising, people stranded trying to go home. I feel helpless. I can't help wondering what happened to my family at home. Back here at work, several airline carriers have diverted their flights in Clark . Our afternoon flight has about 70% no show guests. Most of them are stuck somewhere in Metro Manila and couldn't make it ontime.


can't hardly see the ramp due to strong rain


27 September

The aftermath of Ondoy's wrath was seen all over the news and the internet. It breaks my heart to see our beloved countrymen being trapped in their own houses, missing family members, houses and cars carried away by the strong current.

God is good. Let us count our blessings. Ondoy happened on Saturday, so most of the kids are safe at home. I could just imagine parents worried sick about their children being stranded in school or on their way home. The continuous rain occurred during the day, not at night when it's really dark and most of us are asleep. I continue to pray for our countrymen and our beloved Philippines. God Bless us all.








When the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with You above the storm

Father you are King over the flood

I will be still and know You are God

03 October

Pepeng, another strong typhoon hit Philippines. My mom is in Northern Luzon that time. We were so relieved that she was able come home safely. And we really miss her even if she was just away for 3 days. It's hard not to have our mom at home. She make sure that everything s in order, everything is taken care of. As the eldest in the family, I temporarily filled in for her. Boy, it was a big role to fulfill. Sometimes, we neglect our parents, specially our moms. We all know the importance of our mom in our lives, so hug them, say your iloveyou's, cherish every moment.


Hopefully, in the coming weeks I can update my blog on a regular basis.