Illegal Immigrant after 12am:
(Photos added)
It was only on last Friday itself around 3pm that the government decided that Baby had 9 hours left before the clock struck midnight that he had to leave the city for at least 2 nights. Otherwise, he would be locked up behind bars.
By 6pm, we were already making our way out of muse bar, and in the cab back to our homes to pack our bags.
We were on the run.
We were at Beach road 2hours later to check out the coach timings.
None of them do Malacca at night timing.
So his friend Darren also need to be on the run coincidentally, but need to be just away for a night.
With the 4 cans of beer Baby had brought along in his backpack, We walked all the way to Gashause to meet up with Darren.
By half past 10, we were on the 170 bus. A mistake. It was a bloodily long journey.
We decided to spend the night in JB at a really run-down hotel, the Hawaii Hotel.
Not really a Hawaiian feeling as it sounds to be, for there was a don't-knw-whose-bra hanging in the toilet.
Satu (1st) Day in Malaysia, getting to Malacca:
The next morning, I was all the more greeted by a cockroach in the toilet when we woke up.
Cockroach got to be the worst crap in the world.
But for RM55, don't expect a luxury hawaiian beach I guess.
As we check out of the place and bye to Darren, we started to find our way and means to Malacca. Along the way, Taxi drivers offered 200-300RM to get us from JB to Malacca,
Advised by locals there, We took a RM7 taxi ride to Larkin, the one-stop place where all coaches flew out to other states of Malaysia. We finally managed to get the tickets for RM 14.60 each to Malacca.
Rates to Different States
Baby,just Before his Funny Mood
I knew something was wrong when Baby started not being so his usual self.
1st, He complained about the hot weather, which is so not him as he keep on saying how the sun in Singapore he would so love it, reckon the sun in Singapore and Malaysia is not really that much of a difference eh?
2nd, He reckoned that I probably make a mistake in the timing and the platform where the bus is supposedly to arrive, as the tickets were printed in mostly malay wordings. But I had double-confirmed with the ticket-seller beforehand and on left-hand side of the ticket, there were written small english prints that advised you on the Bus platform, and seat number. He still reckoned I must have made a mistake somehow.
Baby was just whining and whining away.
Point taken.
So the bus arrived on time, at the correct platform we had been waiting for.
That was only the beginning.
After about 3.5hours coach ride, we arrived at Malaka Central. There we met this super friendly uncle, Uncle Lee, who was 'poaching' us to go to his supposedly open-less-than-1/2-a-year budget hotel located in the historical hearts of Malacca. So off in his car we headed to his hotel, which along the way he introduced us to the various things in Malacca.
Was not really as nice as what we thought it was, but budget was afterall budget, and definitely alot alot better than the hawaiian crapt hotel we had stay the night before, with the roach wakeup call. So for RM50, it was pretty decent. Uncle Lee was pretty much a nice chap. So after I seeked Baby's opinion, which again as usual his indeciviseness, he would agree 1st and it was only after we had paid the money for the room, that he would then tell me he prefer to stay in a hilton-marriot type of poshy hotel with all the swimming pools and nice bar.
Point taken.
The Lodge
After washing up and unpacking, it was already sunset. He suggested a nice decent restaurant as he felt he should brought me to somewhere nice to enjoy for a bit after 2 days on the run. Very sweet of him, but here in Malacca, maybe he shouldn't have, because miscommunication about his intention of finding a nice decent restuarant for dinner started to arise. I initially suggested to head further down from our area to the shoppping malls a few hundred metres away as shown on our map, because the historical area which we were in are pretty run-down and nothing but road-side stalls, whereas it was only until at a later time he had wanted to check out the town area itself, as Uncle Lee earlier told him one of the nice restuarant go to in the area (which obivously I didn't catch that conversation bit).
When I tried to give in to him, he said I shouldn't left all the decision-making to him.
Point taken.
So after walking a few kilometres to the shopping malls as indicated in the map, there was nothing at all.
So we did end up having dinner at trying-to-act-posh restaurant which Uncle Lee recommended. Baby 1st complained about the children's wailing and running around at first, then about my fish and chips that were battered instead of bread crumb as stated in the menu, an awfully done fish that I couldn't finish it.
It didn't really matter to me.
He just whined.
For me, this is Malacca. It's just 1 restuarant in the whole freaking historical area that's trying way too hard to act as an angmo-high-class eatery. Which restuarant floor captain would wear so tight printy top against her bulging layers of fats and so short tight pencil skirt with black stockings walking around to serve people? Yes, that's where we realise that there is.
Probably he expected restuarant to be posh, quiet, romantic, food and service are supposedly to be as good as those he had went and paid big bucks for.
Point taken.
After that, a walk by the river. Baby must have thought that Malacca river is just like Clarke Quay Singapore River: Nice, Clean, busy with bars, restaurants, crowd on either side of the river. Here, it's dead, quiet, musky smell of the hole water, evidence of closed-down bars that tried and failed. But what sorta fansinated me is the St Francis Xavier's Church at night. Magnificent sight.
St Francis Xavier
After our not-so-nice dinner had digested after a walk by the sad river, there's definitely something that both babies cannot live without:
Alcohol time!
So Beer at this Libra pub, where it is RM 30 Nett for 5 bottles of Carlsberg!
That's like less than SGD 3 for a bottle!
Probably Beer sorta calm him down finally after a whole night of mood swing, and a surprising female stranger who also happened to be from Scotland and working for Marks and Spencers in Malaysia. Baby was impressed by the fact that she was working for his favourite department.
Can't help having all these attentions coming to us when the whole freaking bar is full of different groups of angmos and chinese, and 1 chinadoll and angmo couple sitting at 1 corner of the bar.
Dua (2nd) and Final day, Getting Home: Malacca was what I had in mind. Until Baby could only confess to me how much he really really wanted to go to KL.
Not much the fact that Malacca known for its historical sites, had been plagued with all the different museums of such and such, all of course, require a penny to get in each time. Money-extortion out of tourists, we both agreed.
Passage in Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
St Francis Xavier's By e Day
Baby and use-to-Scared Box
2 sweaty Babies
Behind St Paul's Hill
Aldy Hotel, Red House
Ruins of St Paul's Church
New and Old contrast
So we couldn't find a coach back on the day itself as every agencies had all sold out its tickets. Every freaking people were rushing back to JB and SG. The ATM was freaking long queue and by the time we hit the ATM, it went bersek on us. As we gave up on the bloody machine, next queue behind us managed to withdraw shit smoothly.
No coach, no help. Money extortion from the cab drivers. No ATM, No cash to pay them.
Now my turn to bitch-fit.
Damned tired of trying to coo baby for the past 3 days and just when I thought everything is finally going to be over and done with, coach tickets were fully sold out for the day.
Even my friend who so happen to visit Malacca on the same day, his car were already too fully packed to make way for us two.
I was flamed and punctured. I went moody.
And also it was probably at this time that baby finally felt my presence I guess.
He decided that cab was our only solution and so for RM260 (cab driver dropped us at a random ATM at a petrol kisok along the way to withdraw money), WE flew back to the Larkin terminal, had 2 plates of Mee Goreng and 5 pieces of Chicken Chunks. Yes, that's how crazily hungry we both were after stuck in the cab for 3 hours. But that was also probably the best nap both of us had in Malaysia for these 3 days, as it was a nap with really strong air-con and outside sudden downpour that cooed us both tired bodies to sleep. I can't say that the taxi seating are comfy, but for 2 tired babies, there's nothing more we can ask for.
We managed to get through the Malaysian Customs, and luckily baby managed to get onto a Singapore custom counter which is managed by a female, the 1 and only among so 10 over counters. Every ex-runners had advised him to jump onto a female officer because chance of getting stamped and extended is alot higher.
Can't help it that my baby is a dashing little angmo.
He got his pass extended for a month.
And I can see how his mood instantly changed that moment. The baby in Malacca is simply not him. Moody baby is gone.
I won't ever go to Malacca.
Whether his company will manage to get the pass for him before his visit 1 runs out by end of April,
We'll see.
