Sunday, 25 June 2023

MELAKA to Kuala Lumpur (Going Home!)

Going Home!

We woke up at 9:00am to find a surprise waiting at the front door. Apparently Victor the Super Host came earlier and hung a bag of local cakes at the door handle. Thank you Victor!

We checked out an hour later and hailed a 6-seater Grab car for a fare of RM20.00 (approximately USD/EUR4) to Melaka Sentral.

With a little over an hour till boarding we had drinks before heading over to the departure gates at a quarter to eleven.

Turned out the tickets we bought at TBS did not allow us entry, and we were told to purchase boarding passes for RM0.70 each (approximately USD/EUR0.10) from the counters nearby. We finally got past the turnstiles and waited for our KKKL bus at Gate C which was scheduled to depart at 11:30am.

The bus soon arrived and after some time organising our luggage in the bay before boarding the bus, and it soon departed at 11:33am. It was an uneventful bus ride and we arrived at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) in under two hours.

We went for a potty break then headed up in search of lunch, finally settling at a Briyani food stall at the Teratai Food Court located on Level 4. Cat had the Chicken Briyani; I had the Mutton Briyani while Brendan had the Curry Chicken with Rice. Together with a round of drinks our lunch came to RM48.20 (approximately USD/EUR10).

After lunch we walked over to the TBS LRT Station and caught a train to the Chan Sow Lin LRT Station for a fare of RM2.40 (approximately USD/EUR0.50). Here we again hailed a 6-seater Grab car for a fare of RM20.00 (approximately USD/EUR4) back to our home.

It was an eventful three days in Melaka, and we will be going again in August to celebrate our very 'silver' anniversary!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:
Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) - https://goo.gl/maps/heT4RtLqQdmHbTQY8
Chan Sow Lin LRT Station - https://goo.gl/maps/pgzeJbn17bi99fz57

Saturday, 24 June 2023

WARONK Melaka

Dinner by the River!

We were fascinated with a restaurant slash cafe along Jalan Hang Jebat called Waronk Melaka. This eatery has played host to live performances by local 80s rock bands, though not tonight (thank goodness)!

This restaurant used to be a home that we walked past each time we went on our usual evening walks along the Melaka river. We would often see an old Aunty in the kitchen of the vast house going about her business. 

I had the Deep-Fried Ocean Blue; Cat tried the Alfredo Creamy Sauce with Chicken Grill (fancy!); while Brendan had the Beef Burger. Together with a round of drinks our dinner by the river came to RM96.00 (approximately USD21/EUR19). 

Truth be told we enjoyed the ambiance and the riverside dining more than anything else. An experience to be had, not to be repeated.

Dinner out of the way, we continued with our mini walkabout!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

JONKER Walk (Sorta?)

Jonker Walk!

Well, sort of. We came back from lunch at Plaza Mahkota and spent the afternoon doing more laundry and organising videos. 

Evening came and still with nothing planned we hailed a Grab car for a fare of RM9.00 (approximately USD/EUR2) that would have taken us to an eatery called Waronk Melaka along Jalan Hang Jebat. However due to a glitch in the matrix the Grab app sent us to the front of Jonker Walk instead.

When life serves us lemons, we go an a walkabout. Or a mini one, at least. We took a stroll along the Melaka River and ended up at Waronk Melaka where we enjoyed our dinner by the river in amongst the bright lights.

Be sure to watch our previous video on Waronk Melaka.

We then took another brief stroll along the Melaka river and sat by the Red Square. After a twenty minute wait we caught the Panorama Melaka bus 17 that would take us back to Mahkota Residences.

Lo and behold it was the same young bus driver from yesterday! He asked us to pay a fare of RM2.50 each (approximately USD/EUR0.50); again the the receipt clearly indicated that the actual fare was RM1.20 each?

Dear Muhd Hanafi Bin Awang, we think you owe us an explanation!

We got back safely to the Airbnb and starting packing since we will be catching the 11:30am KKKL bus from Melaka Sentral back to Kuala Lumpur. We may or may not go out very early tomorrow morning for breakfast.

Stay tuned! 

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Plaza Mahkota (GREENWASH Laundrette │ Asam Pedas LIMA BERADIK)

Asam Pedas Again!

After checking into the Airbnb at Mahkota Apartments we decided on an early lunch. We took the elevator down to the ground floor and explored the former site of Mahkota Hotel situated a block away. It stood desolate but surprisingly retained much of its grandeur and was not in any way run down.

We then hailed a Grab car for a fare of RM5.00 (approximately USD/EUR1) to Greenwash Laundrette barely a kilometre away in the Plaza Mahkota area to do a spot of laundry. While waiting for our wash to be done we walked across the street hoping to have lunch at Restoran 35 but were rudely shooed away!

We walked a few doors down to Asam Pedas Claypot Lima Beradik where the friendly proprietor welcomed us warmly. Cat and I shared a bowl of Stingray cooked in Asam Pedas and a plate of Ayam Penyet while Brendan had the Chicken Tomyam and large omelette.

As we waited for our lunch to be served we walked back across the street to the laundromat to move our clothes from the washer to the dryer. The washer was RM6.00 a load (approximately USD/EUR1) while the dryer was RM5.00 a load (also approximately USD/EUR1).

We walked back and soon began to enjoy our lunch with a round of drinks came to RM60.00 (approximately USD12/EUR13). We then walked back to Greenwash Laundrette, settled our clothes then hailed a Grab car for a fare of RM6.00 (approximately USD/EUR1) back to the Airbnb while Brendan took a walk to Dataran Pahlawan.

Catch you all soon!




📍 Location:
Asam Pedas Claypot Lima Beradik - https://goo.gl/maps/UnqHtZELH2C5ukSN9

Airbnb: MAHKOTA Residence

We overslept!

With nothing planned we did not set an alarm and by the time we woke up it was already a quarter past eleven. Surely this is a testament to the cosiness of Victor's unit.

As promised by our Super Host Victor arranged for us to move to our preferred Airbnb unit in Mahkota Residence. We hailed a 6-seater Grab car (we had 3 heavy bags) for a fare of RM10.00 (approximately USD/EUR2) from the Garden City unit to the Mahkota Residence unit, a mere two kilometres away.

Much like the previous unit hosted by Victor on the 9th Floor of Wing 3, Lotus Tower this unit on the 78th floor of Wing 4, Jasmine Tower had also been renovated and turned into a very chic and modern abode. 

We'll let the videos describe the apartment. If you are planning a trip to Melaka, we highly recommend Victor's portfolio of immaculately maintained apartments and homes on Airbnb. You can refer to his profile for a complete list of his well-appointed units.

Catch you all soon!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:
Mahkota Residence Apartments - https://goo.gl/maps/m46KZHKqnC5bNJsw9

Friday, 23 June 2023

PORTUGUESE Settlement (DE LISBON Restaurant)

Portuguese Settlement!

Evening came and we decided to take a walkabout. Turned out the Portuguese Settlement was just a 10-minute walk away so we decided to have dinner at our favourite Portuguese restaurant, De Lisbon.

We arrived at the Portuguese Settlement where the Festa San Pedro was being held.

At De Lisbon we were crestfallen to learn that their Debal Curry was not available today. Nonetheless we made do with the Baked Fish, Prawns in Pineapple Curry and Fried Brinjals while Brendan had half a dozen Chicken Wings and two large Omelettes. 

Together with an orange juice and a large bottle of Tiger beer that Brendan and I shared our Portuguese dinner came to RM202.00 (approximately USD43/EUR40). It's been a while since we spent this much on a meal, but since we had both the fish and prawns together with a large bottle of beer it was to be expected.

After dinner we wanted to take a walk along the jetty but found it cordoned off because a pub called The Jetty by Gbar had taken over the end of the pier.

We then headed back to the Airbnb to get ready for an early night. With nothing planned let’s see what happens tomorrow.

Catch you all tomorrow!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:
Christ the Redeemer Statue - https://goo.gl/maps/nHR2Unr7rXTCxwcM7

Perhentian Kuih Kampung

Asam Pedas!

After checking into our Airbnb we decided to have lunch and headed to a renowned local eatery called Perhentian Kuih Kampung hardly a kilometre's walk away. Be sure to check the next video as well.

Cat and I had the Stingray in Asam Pedas Apak while Brendan had Chicken Rice. We also added a bevy of local cakes too plentiful to list out and together with a round of drinks our lunch came to RM51.20 (approximately USD11/EUR10).

We walked back to the Airbnb via a different and shorter route where we began unpacking.

We were planning to have a Portuguese dinner tonight so please stay tuned!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)
📍 Location:
Perhentian Kuih Kampong - https://goo.gl/maps/yKjTbfRc6XMhgqMd9

Airbnb GARDEN CITY

Garden City Serviced Apartments!

A half an hour's bus ride from Melaka Sentral we arrived at our Airbnb, an apartment situated within Garden City Serviced Apartments. 

Due to such short notice our Super Host Victor was not able to put us up at our preferred unit at Mahkota Residences. As a stop gap measure he put us up here for a night before he could move us to Mahkota Residences the following day.

We walked past the guard booth and headed to the Emerald Tower where we were told to collect our keys and key cards from the mailbox. We then took the elevator up to the 1st floor, deposited our luggage and headed out again for lunch.

We'll let the videos describe the unit. If you are planning a trip to Melaka, we highly recommend Victor's portfolio of immaculately maintained apartments and homes on Airbnb. You can refer to his profile here.

Catch you all soon!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:
Emerald Tower Garden City - https://goo.gl/maps/fY22zhvKiUMRhivi7

KL to MELAKA (KKKL │ Panorama Melaka)

Impromptu Trip!

Several things happened during the week that left me mentally drained. I needed to get away from Kuala Lumpur so I spoke with my boss on Wednesday, and was granted a day's leave.

We then made a short dash to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) to buy our bus tickets. The fare was RM13.40 one way for each of us (approximately USD/EUR3).

Today we hailed a 6-seater Grab car for a fare of RM31.00 (approximately USD7/EUR6) to TBS and with time to spare had breakfast at Restoran Nasi Kandar TBS. We all had Roti Canai and with a round of beverages our simple breakfast came to RM12.00 (approximately USD3/EUR2). 

After some confusion we eventually caught the KKKL bus to Melaka from Gate 12 at 9:38am and the trip was largely uneventful.

We arrived at Melaka Sentral at 11.25am and walked over to Platform 17 where we caught a Panorama Melaka bus to the Bandar Hilir Police Station. The young bus driver asked us to pay a fare of RM2.00 each (approximately USD/EUR0.40) but the receipt clearly indicated that the actual fare was RM1.60 each? 

Half an hour later we arrived at our first Airbnb of this trip, an apartment situated within Garden City Serviced Apartments. Do check out our next video for a full review of the unit.

Catch you all soon!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location: