batu bersurat yang ditulis oleh Robert James.
time tu kertas tak dicipta lagi.

batu bersurat yang ditulis menggunakan printer.

chinatown

believe it or not, this thing didn't exist in 1511.

A Famosa. Jangan keliru dengan kuih samosa kat pasar malam Melaka.

St. Xavier's Church. Sewaktu Sunday's service, banyak
orang portugis komplen kat paderi kata panas.

It was la'er discovered they forgot to build the roof.

Daun pintu sedang lepak 'coffee break'.

Pertembungan antara 1511 dan 2007. Campurkan kedua-duanya,
dan ambil purata.

Senang cerita.

Nasib baik dia tak silap eja jadi '*elaka mall'

surat cinta dari Alfonso Alburqueque kepada bininya,
Melati Alburqueque.

Translation:

'Hai yang. I kat Melake nie..Seronot la Melake.
Makan pun sedap. Asam pedas dier you memang
kener try la.Barang pun murah.'

'Nanti I hantar kapal ambil you kat Catalun. You
packing sekarang, lagi 6 bulan sampai la kapal tu.'

'OK gtg. bye.'

xoxoxo
'Alfonso'
13 Augustus, 1512.

Vandalisme.

'Orang Melakee memang camtuu!!!'

Gila. Tahan napas seminit tu nak ambik foto nih.

This plane actually was planned to bring the atomic bomb
to Hiroshima. Last minit tukar. Tayar tak cukup angin.

Masjid terapung Melakee.


melaka kelaka(r).

It's very highly likely you've heard
about malacca a.k.a. malakat a.k.a. melaka.

And i bet it's through history SPM.

If you haven't heard about it, maybe you've
taken the july paper.

When it comes to travel, i'm the second last person
to be counted in. i'd give all sorts of excuse
imaginable to mankind, and wouldn't commit
to any type of travel outside of PJ.

So, when Izad got married on Sunday, I broke
my vow, and went to Ayer Keroh with me former
housemates. It is, after all, a Sunday, and
traffic on the highway's murder.

but i'm not driving this time, and i'm more
than happy to fork out the benjamins for the
toll. no hal lah bro.

my stereotypical view of malacca is a state
full of portuguese nationals, baba and nyonya,
and all that que sera sera 'whatever will be,
will be'.

back to Izad's wedding.

He got hitched to a Sungei-Petanian, so I just
would like to guarantee him a lifetime full
of bliss and happiness. Lifetime warranty,
brother.

Ha ha.

He's an okay bloke, and
although it's quite strange to not see the
bride during the 'kenduri', I know they'd be
a compatible couple.

Well, the wedding's attended to.

Next. Pahlawan Mall. To the untrained eye,
this might look like just another mall.

Take a look again.

At the back, of course.

A Famosa kat belakang tu! opocot!

A few years back, when they were constructing
the mall, they unearthed a segment of 'the
bastion', apparently a segment of the
portuguese fort. It was preserved. Still is.

I feel like I'm in Lisbon. Circa 1512.

Macam-macam lah ada kat sana.

Museum stem (Filateli?). Although I'm not
sure why anyone would pay to see stamps.

Maybe filateli-philia.

I hope that's not a bad word.

A Famosa. Ahh, how do I describe it?

It's surprisingly....small.

I thought it would span a few hundred metres
but it's just like a monument or something.
I later found out that the rest was destroyed
by heavy bombing.

What a shame. I was about 400 years too late.

Up on the hills, the Xavier church. I'm not
sure about the name, though. A marble bust
of his physique was carved (minus his right
hand), and inside the church, there's a well
for you to chuck in your loose change and
make a wish.

I threw 20 cents. Followed by 10 cents.

There were a lot of epitaphs there. The size
of doors.

They was damn cool.

I ran my fingers along the wall of the church.
The surface undulating, weathered by the
rain. By the development. By the guilt of
the emperors.

You could see the Straits of Malacca from
the church. Where they entered precisely at
5.00am, September 13, 1511, guns-a-blazing,
ending the peaceful spice trade started
a hundred years earlier.

I gained new perspective on Malaya's history
by now.

Dinner.

Yeah!

We chose the most iconic dish available.
The dish, when its name uttered, will evoke
fear and drooling amongst local and Westerners
alike.

Asam pedas jenak.

Or, as the people up north do, 'jenahak'.

To be honest, I never really 'devoured' this
dish. More towards occasional tasting.

I ate some of this cuisine.

And I fell off my chair. It was that good.

It bends gravity.

So, anytime you're around Malacca, do drop
by the asam pedas shop near SM Teknik Bukit
Piatu, and you will leave for home with
a smirk on your face.

If you're not a fan of all things fish,
you might frown.

So, with our belts unbuckled, we headed for
KL.

The traffic was shit.

I got home around 1 a.m., all bruised and
battered from my nomadic Malaccan adventure,
but content with my short course in
Sirah Malakkiyyah.

Que sera sera.