Friday, October 17, 2008

Beyond Jonker Walk

jonker walk, signboard
I've been seeing lots of people reviewing about my hometown in Malacca. Many come down to Malacca for the weekend, some for a day trip, and there are also some who just drive down from KL or Singapore for a meal!

But I also know foreigners living in Malacca - either for work, or through the Malaysia MY Second Home program. All these just go to show that Malacca do have something to offer-lah :)

However, being local, we are usually 'blinded'. We do not really see the tourists attractions as unique, despite it drawing the crowd from all over.

But recently, having been back home for a bit, I took this opportunity to visit the historical area of Malacca's past. I did not walk at the rather popular Jonker Street/ Jonker Walk (aka Jalan Hang Jebat), but the streets around it. And these are what I saw...

jonker walk,, 2nd corss street
One of the many corner houses turned art souvenir shops along the Jalan Hang Kasturi (2nd Cross Street). One thing to notice is that despite it being 'transformed' into selling souvenirs, but the shop and its neighbours still retains its old charm.

jonker walk,, 3rd cross street
Parallel to that road is 3rd cross street. This graffiti has been around for a while now, and most of the times, we just zoom by. But this time, I took time to appreciate this 'art'.

I wonder was it a commissioned work? Maybe the work is rather interesting, and hence left there? :)

jonker walk, orang utan house
If paintings on the wall excite one, then this is one of the more prominent ones... located at Jalan Tukang Besi (Blacksmith Street). Yes, this is a picture of an orang utan by the Orang Utan house brand (famous for its local t-shirts).

jonker walk, orang utan house
I'm sure lots of work is done to paint this. What a huge orang utan - double storey!

jonker walk, orang utan house
And look at that - a peeking doll through the window!

jonker walk, old house
In fact, Malacca has many artists... one artist mentioned to me that towns like this give many artists inspiration, hence the many artists making Malacca their home... many born here, but also many others having migrated and now live here. Of course, there are also those traveler artists.

jonker walk, guest house
This road is quite quaint. And it's a nice walk compared to the much busier Jonker Street. You can literally dance on the road...!

jonker walk, tea house
Further down, a tea house with a temple like facet. Actually I was surprised to see this - didn't know it existed!

jonker walk, jalan tukang besi
Many shops continue with the local business over here... making this a good place to just soak in old Malacca. I hope some of these remains, though it's hard to say with the recent developments happening in the town.

jonker walk, lorong hang jebat
One more interesting find - this foreign lookalike cafe at Lorong Hang Jebat (1st Cross Street).

jonker walk, cafe
They really take effort with the plants and all.

jonker walk, baba museum
And one rather 'hidden gem' is the Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Hereen Street), homes of the many rich Peranakans (Baba Nyonya Melaka). The houses here are much more well decorated from the front, and even the inside.

I actually have done a shoot in one of the house turn restaurant here for Batik Inspirations. And till today, that segment is the most liked.

jonker walk, malacca river
And finally, I arrived at the Malacca River (Sungai Melaka) which was once the international port. Some complain that we don't see fishermen boats here anymore, but well, the consolation is a much cleaner river.

For those interested, there is a boat ride for tourists to view this 'Venice of the East'.

Well, that's my journey round the streets of Malacca - I believe the reason why many people come to Malacca for. I would if I'm not from Malacca too.


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*I did a more comprehensive write up on the Hereen Street & Jonker Street in the 50+1 Malaysia book :)

10 comments:

  1. quachee,
    Thanks for sharing! I like the orang utan's drawing. Simply creative!:)

    I hope I can have a copy of 50+1 Malaysia book to see more about this. :D

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  2. Jonker Street is awesome.

    On the other hand, my grand-dad's funeral wake was held at a parlour on a side-street off Jonker Street. It was totally weird because all these dressed-up Malaccans walked passed to some club or party.

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  3. Wow! Q,
    Thanks for sharing! You make me wanna plan another trip to Malacca again!
    I really love the setup of the 'Voyage Traveller's Lounge & Enterprise'! I'm gonna visit it next trip!
    Cheers!

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  4. Thanks for sharing! I love graffiti and am one of Wooster Collective fans for some time. :)

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  5. Haha =) I have been to all those places. Hmm...Perhaps I should do some write up one each of it too. The one I like the most is of course the big orange orang utan lor. =)

    Melaka ROCKKKKs!

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  6. I never saw the graffiti when I visited Malacca 2 months ago. May go there again. There are still something to be discovered.

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  7. @kok
    yes, if you do go malacca, you'll most likely not miss this.

    and yes, you'll get to know malaysia better via the 50+1 book (btw, yr post is selected and will send a copy to you soon) :)

    @jian
    agree with you on that. can be rather weird in a way :)

    @robo
    actually it was my first time seeing it that day. haha :)

    @alice teh
    ah, then you'll enjoy the graffiti im going to share more here :)

    @tekkaus
    yes, malacca rocks - but so often, i think we never really appreciate it as much as the visitors heh. but i guess you are one proud malaccan - good for you :)

    @khengsiong
    yes, you must take some time off and walk around those streets. im sure you'll enjoy malacca more and discover new things :)

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  8. Hi QuaChee,
    Just came across your blog while searching for some graffiti art. Can you please let me know when you mentioned the graffiti art 3rd cross street, do you mean Jalan Hang Lekiu? Is it nead the Masjid Kg Kling? Not very familiar with Melacca and am just referring to it via google maps...
    Thanks

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  9. @kheing
    if not wrong, its jalan hang lekir. to find this street, its the 3rd street (hence the name 3rd cross street) on the right of jalan tun tan cheng lock. at the end of the street is geographer cafe.

    hope it helps :)

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  10. Aww...I fell in love with Malacca (specifically, Old Malacca) all over again after reading this post. :P

    What a lovely post about Malacca~ Love it! :))

    ReplyDelete

Oh hey, thank you for commenting! :)