A living town after its kind
In the Bible we read that God said: “Let
the earth bring forth the livings after his kind” a statement that the
offspring shall be like their parents.
Walking on the banks of the Melaka River or
Sungai Melaka bring me to realize that statement. In one day, I couldn’t
complete the walk in a day if you take the starting point from the location of
the Saint Francis Xavier church on Jalan
Laksamana or Quayside Road. The building of this church is beautiful and to
enjoy the holiness, you must step in to take a closer look.
Before, I begin to discover Melaka I get a
map from the tourist information unit located within the Dutch Square. With the
map, I drafted the directions to walk, the locations where I should stop, the
sites which I must see, the food and beverages operators which I must try, what
are the things I must buy and the events or traditions that I must note. One
day walk is not enough to do all that and therefore I make it a 3-days walk.
The idea of walking to discover Melaka
arises from the statement “Melaka, Venice of The East” which I read in a book.
In order to make sure the discovery is an comfortable and enjoyable one, it
would be convenient to put up in guest house or hotel which is close to the
river. Here are some: Casa del Rio, Sterling Hotel, The Gallery, Wana Riverview, The Swiss Garden, Ramada
Plaza, Majestic, and The Pines close to the Spices Garden. To suit my plan, I
selected The Sterling Hotel, a boutique hotel which sit on Jalan Temenggong a road formerly known as Egerton Road.
Repeated from generation to generation, Bee
Loon, a trader who has been giving school-going children the best in shirts and
trousers is a history by itself. Bee Loon is associated with The Sterling
Boutique Hotel.
When the penjajah or the colony masters controlled Melaka, they not only
introduced new languages, new cuisines, or new infrastructure but they also
introduced education. As far back as 1826, Malacca High School was set up. The
old folks told me they wore starched-shirts to school and looking at their old
photographs reflect a sense of discipline.
Across the road, Eng Chee Seng believed in
making mooncakes without preservative added to old families who generations are
tied together in celebrating the Mooncake Festival this Sunday. The floor is
tiled with Indian Kolam before I reached the Madras Café. Adjoining a colonial
shop is the Soya Bean seller started by his grandfather who was born in China.
His worker tell me to finish the drink to enjoy its freshness made from his
home.
The Malay cobbler who sit in a small hut
repairing shoes must have acquired the skills from the Chinese Clog repairer.
Closing up to the river, I see the Chan Koon Cheng bridge and the Discovery
Café behind it. An old man resting on the wakaf
near to the pigeon-corner revealed to me that if the weather is hot, I could
get a bowl of brewed herbal tea when night come. He further added, “The herbal
stall has been there over a hundred years” Marking that homemade herbal seller
on the map, I climbed the stair to the bridge to the old Confucius hall
opposite of Guan Huat Seng.
One of the corner-stones in our
civilization is the system of weights and measures. Guan Huat Seng and many
traders who once served the pre-independence economic activities by using the Dacing.
Like the Nile in Egypt, the Tigris in Iraq,
the Yangtze in China, Melaka begins by its river and this explain why the Dutch
Square, Jonker Walk, the Little India, the Kampung Morten … and so forth prefer
river sites for their homes. Today, many of these homes have open to the public
and each home has a story to tell. The
Nyonya homes has plenty of customs, rites and rules and to see them yourself,
enjoy your visit to the Baba-Nyonya Museum. A living museum, the kitchenware,
tableware and the utensils are dedicated and there are rules on how and when to
use them. Their lifestyle is a result of intermarriages between Chinese and the
Javanese. If you care to understand history, walk over to the Zheng He Museum
before you enjoy my favorite lunch set at Hard Rock Café. Maybe you prefer Ice
Lemon Tea, but Melaka homes like the Ceylon tea introduced by the Dutch and
British when they controlled the island.
After a sumptuous lunch, walking through
the Queen Victoria fountain, and the former United Malayan Banking Corporation
UMBC, you may like to take a selfie with Lim Brothers Book Store before it is
gone for good. Rather than touching on knowledge and reading, you may find out
how the older generation collect leaves, flowers, and butterflies as their
bookmarker. On this spot, you are in the smoke-free zone gazette implemented by
the Dewan Undangan Negeri headed by YAB Datuk Seri Ir. Hj Idris bin Haron.
Over 3 days and 2 nights, I am only able to
write this much because I only a portion of the river banks Would continue
writing of my mapped walk along the Sungai Melaka in my next blog post and
subsequent blog posts.
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