A' Famosa Fort: Porta De Santiago

The back view of the A' Famosa Fort

History time:

The Portuguese built a massive fortification encircled the base of St Paul's Hill known as A ' Famosa. Inside the A'Famosa, they were the governor's palace, bishop's palace, state halls, five churches and two hospitals. Most of the village clustered in town houses inside the fort walls. Under the Dutch, the fort is still remained. They renovated the gate in 1670 in which you can find the wording "ANNO 1670" inscribed on the gate's arch and the Dutch East India Company logo above the arch.

However, when the British took over, they ordered for tearing down of the fortifications in 1808. Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore stepped in and prevented the complete destruction. Unfortunately, only the gate remains as in what you can see today but fortunately we can still see a part of the grand construction of the fort. Thanks to Sir Stamford Raffles!

Initially, I thought there is a sale inside the fort's gate. It was so crowded inside.

photo shooting with the canon..nice pose? A'Famosa: Porta De Santiago Save and enlarge the picture to see the wording of ANNO 1670 and the logo. Spotted this Aussie couples Title: Wondering Description: Why these people took so many photos of Famosa Fort non stop? I better get myself covered under the plant. Charlene and Wan Nah The guys with the canon The stylish girl taking photo for Vun? We managed to ask the Aussie man to take photo with us

Then, we asked again for a family photo with us. To our surprise, he has a big family tree including the locals. What a lucky one for us to have such a nice and memorable photo. Thanks Suk Yen for the pic and her sacrifice for not included in the photo.

Woman fell to death at a shopping mall at Jalan Bukit Bintang

The Star. Tuesday, Dec 30, 2008. KUALA LUMPUR: A woman fell seven floors to her death at a popular shopping centre at the heart of the city around 4pm yesterday. The deceased, Tay Lay Hown, 35, from Serendah was believed to have fallen from the 10th floor to the third floor of the shopping mall located at Jalan Bukit Bintang. An eyewitness, known only as Nga Yuen, said she was shopping at a stall with her friend on the third floor when she heard a loud crash at a nearby stall. “We heard people screaming and upon checking we saw a woman had fallen onto the stall from the floors above,” she said, adding that efforts to resuscitate her by some members of the public failed.

The incident happened on Monday at the said shopping mall. I wasn't around at that time but my sisters were there. The woman had fallen to the 3rd floor of the shopping mall where there is many stalls there. You should know where right? Accordingly, many news reporters arrived very fast and every one is puzzled on the main reason behind. The Star info may not be good enough. Have a look on the news by Sin Chew Daily. (my first post in mandarin but not mine actually)

與家人結伴逛街自行離去‧女郎商場內墜樓死

（吉隆坡）一名華裔女子週一（12月29日）下午與家人到首都金三角一間著名購物廣場逛逛，不料過後被發現自廣場10樓處墜下，猛撞3樓處的首飾小攤後蒙受重傷，急救15分鐘後逝世。 這起墜樓事件發生於週一下午4時左右，死者為35歲的陳麗香（未婚），來自雙文丹，在7名兄弟姐妹中排行第6，她因身體多處受傷而不治。 患上憂鬱症失業在家 據悉，死者是一名車衣女工，但自患上憂郁症需定時服藥，因此失業在家。她週一下午與家人分乘兩輛汽車到首都遊玩，她與妹妹在廣場6樓逛逛後先自行離去，過後就被發現墜樓。 一名目擊者指出，當時她正與友人在3樓小攤中心處逛街，忽然聽到一聲巨響，回頭看時赫然發現其中一個售賣女性首飾的攤子已被撞毀，而地板處則躺著一名蓄短髮、身穿白色短褲及線條T恤的女子。 公眾施救不果 “她當時還有氣息，一名公眾見狀立即施予急救，但15分鐘後卻斷氣了。” 據瞭解，曾有人目睹她在10樓的小食中心近電梯處，跨過圍欄後跳下，但駐守10樓的保安受詢時否認曾看見死者在此處徘徊或跳下。 此外，攤子遭死者撞爛的胡姓攤主在受詢時指出，當時他只是聽到一聲巨響，只是以為有異物掉下，卻沒想到原來是有人墜樓。 記者較後到管理層詢問時，一名發言人表示對事件不願置評。死者遺體在傍晚5時45分左右被送至中央醫院，死者家屬接獲噩耗後已前往醫院辦理領屍手續。

Do you understand? The woman went to the said shopping mall with her family (2 cars) . She has depression and was on medication. She climbed over the wall and jumped off to death. Conclusion: Life is sometimes so fragile. Treasure your loved one and enjoy your life to the fullest.

St. Paul's Church, Melaka: Our Lady of Hill

Next destination is to climb up St. Paul Hills to reach St. Paul's Church. While on the way, you will pass by the Democratic Government Museum which seems not opening its doors to public.

As mentioned, it is a hill. Thus, you can view the Malacca town at a higher level above the sea. The red colour building is Aldy Hotel which is a 3 stars boutique hotel. There is a restaurant on the rooftop known as Rooftop D’Place where private parties and dinners can be organised. Besides that, there is also a Rooftop Jacuzzi which can accommodate 6-8 persons.

Nice and comfortable despite the hot sun Left top: Hidden cannon guarding at the entrance Left bottom: We believed this is the olden days structure of the stairs which still persists till today Right: Who is this man in the dark? It is a statue of St. Francis Xavier built in 1952. Wow what a windy day! Look at our blown hair.

History time:

The renowned Spanish born Jesuit missionary, St. Francis Xavier was a regular visitor to this church from 1545 to 1552. When he died, his body was interred for nine months before being exhumed and taken to his final resting place in Goa, India. So, this statue was built to commemorate his passing and interrment here. Do yo notice the right arm is missing? Accordingly, on the morning after the consecration ceremony, a large casuarina tree fell on it and broke off the right arm.

This is main entrance of the St. Paul's Church. The white tower is the lighthouse. The St. Paul's Church still remains strong till today

History time:

This church was originally a small chapel built by the Portuguese Captain called Duarto Coelho in 1521 A.D. and called 'Nosa Senhora - Our Lady of the Hill'. The chapel was handed to the 'Society of Jesus' in 1548 and enlarged in 1556 with the addition of a second storey and renamed 'Annunciation'. A tower was then added in 1590. When the Dutch take over from the Portuguese, the changed its name to St. Paul's Church and used it for 112 years until their own church, the Christ Church Melaka was completed in 1753.

When the British take over, the church lost its tower. However, a new feature was added at the front which is the lighthouse. The British did not use the church for worship but instead for storage of gunpowder. They also erected a flagpole and renamed the whole hill as Flagstaff Hill (Bukit Bendera). The name did not last long and the flagpole was later taken down. The church was then become abandoned. The old tombstones found inside marked the resting place of several Dutch and Portuguese nationals.

We spotted these cowboy men Vun on his first visit to Malacca Nicely directed pictures? Hehe.. The giant tombstone We do not understand the language written on the tombstone Photos time Looking to the view of Malacca town facing Mahkota Parade Nice view with the hidden cloud Next, we climbed down the stairs to the A Famosa Fort.

On the way, you will found this Dutch Graveyard. We did not enter as some say 'not good'.

History time: Upon completion of Christ Church Melaka, St. Paul's Church became a Dutch graveyard with monumental tombstones scattered around.

Stadhuys building + Christ Church Melaka

The Stadhuys Building

History time:

The Stadhuys which means the municipal town hall was built by Dutch on the ruins of a Portuguese fort during the 1650's after having taken over from the Portuguese in 1641. It was built in 4 stories on a terrace of St. Paul's hill. It had been Governor' residence until as early as 18th century. It also function as the Dutch Administrative Center until 1824. The Stadhuys continue to be the State Governing Center until the end of 1979. The original colour of this building was WHITE. It was changed to red during 1820's and then become known as the 'The Red Building' till now. The Dutch ruled Malacca from 1641 to 1795. In 1982, the Stadhuys was converted into a history museum also known as state museum. The entrance fee to the museum is quite expensive, RM 10 so I did not enter. If you have the cash, you may probably pay a visit to see the strange components and antiques found during various renovation to the Stadhuys.

The water fountain located in the middle Christ Church Melaka Malacca Trishaw Ride

If you want to enjoy the sightseeing around the town in a slow and laid-back manner, you may probably opt for a trishaw ride. However, bear in mind that the payment as to the point of writing is RM 40 /hour. You may be somehow feel akward as they play the olden days songs during the ride and everybody is looking at you. Another thing that I noticed is that all the trishaws have the Digi icons such as the umbrella, the colour and the back space of the trishaw wtih the Digi logo. ''Digi: I will follow you''

We spot this double decker bus alike to the MAMEE junk foods packaging that we used to buy when we are small and for some even now. As for me, I never ride in a double decker bus before. Accordingly, it is like the KL hop in bus where the bus will travel to places of interest around Malacca with only one fees for the whole day.

Along the Stadhuys, there are plenty of souvenirs shops selling varieties of things. One of them is the hat that we tried on. Moving on, we moved to the St. Paul hills through this stairs. The state museum entrance is located on the left when you reach the top of the stairs. These information boards were erected at the places of interest in Malacca town. This picture was taken on Day 2 morning time after having our breakfast at Museum Cafe.