HANG TUAH'S WELL

Hang Tuah was said to have dug this well and it has never dried-up even in the most severe of droughts.

Water from this well is said to be sacred and have healing properties.

Locals believed that Hang Tuah's soul, which takes on the apparition of a white crocodile, dwell in this well.

The presence of this well also gave rise to the notion that Hang Tuah was from Duyong, in East Sumatera where a similiar well also exist.

St. John Fort, Malacca

In 1760, the Dutch built a fortress on top of the hill to avoid assaults from the Achene's and Bugis who came from the south.

An army was stationed here to detect any possible attack.

Therefore, cannons facing the sea and land were placed around the fort.

LOVERS & MOUNTAINS; GARAJONAY PARK, LA GOMERA & MOUNT OPHIR, NEAR MALACCA

PARAJONAY PARK

Jeep owners in Egypt converged often in a cafe in Cairo along the Alexandria Highway near the Pyramids.

Jeep owners had trekked the Garajonay Park housing some of the world's oldest woodland, the laurisilva plant being at least 28 million years old and marked Christopher Columbus's stopover on the island in 1491.

La Gomera is just a short ferry trip from Tenerife and it is an unpredicable island, with the Jeep braving landslides, trade winds and ride floods.

La Gomera is the second smallest of the Canary Islands, with a plateau at its centre of a diameter of 23 miles. The demanding bends, the spirals of gradients, the gaping ravines is a good test for the Jeeps. For those who suffer vertigo, this is not the correct place although La Gomera is magical and beautiful.

Garajonay Park is a national park, declared a world heritage site by Unesco. Like the legend of the Princess of Mount Ledang, in Asahan, Malacca; the name Garajonay, so the legend has it, comes from 2 lovers called Gara and Jonay.

The couple threw themselves off the park's highest peak because their marriage was opposed.

The light changes with every bends, one moment you see the sun but the next it disperses, clouds appears there and then with sudden rain and stop abruptly. With strong winds, the sun, clouds, the rain and the fog teases you.

You will get worried one minute, happy the next and then worried again.

MOUNT OPHIR

Leave your luggages in your hotel in Malacca. Enjoy a countryside ride to Mount Ophir. Return to your hotel in the evening on the same day or if you prefer, stay a night at the foothill of Gunung Ledang and return to your hotel in Malacca the next day.

Mount Ophir or Gunung Ledang is near to Malacca with a driving distance of about 1 hour. The gateway to Mount Ophir or Gunung Ledang is  Duyong. Duyong is the home to the legendary Hang Tuah.

Turning left after completing the main road of Duyong, Tehel is a place for delicious durians. After Tehel, you will reach Benbam. From Benbam, you must continue your journey until you arrive at Jasin. When Jasin's roundabout appears, take the road on your right to proceed to Tangkak. Look far towards your left when you are at the first traffic-light junction at Tangkak and you will see Mount Ophir or Gunung Ledang.

The Chinese called Mount Ophir 'Kim Sua' in Hokkien dialect. The Malays called Mount Ophir 'Gunung Ledang' which means 'mount from afar'. Many know the 'Kim Sua' is magical. There are facts that lottery jackpots came from tickets of the 'Kim Sua' areas.

The Princess of Mount Ophir has set 7 conditions for the Sultan who love her. Eventually, the Princess married Ragam, whose boat was crushed during a raging storm and the debris of the wreck created Hanyut Island, Nangka Island, Undan Island, Serimbun Island, Burong Island while the Princess is today Pulau Besar. Pulau Besar has got the shape of a lady.

Melaka Wonderland Theme Park & Resort

The Theme Park and Resort is the region's newest water theme park and resort. A popular place, the Melaka Wonderland Theme Park and Resort is located at Lot PT 17178, Lebuh Ayer Keroh, Hang Tuah Jaya, 75450 Melaka.

Find the Park & Resort on Facebook.

Make enquries at enquiries@melakawonderland.com.my or telephone +6062313333 for more details.

Melaka Wonderland is a complete water park experience for everyone - families, kids, teens and thrill seekers alike. Companies can treat their employees at this place and the same goes for school kids.

From high-speed water slides to tranquil greenery, the Melaka Wonderland Theme Park and Resort would excite you. Surrounded by 360 hectares of natural recreational forest, this place features 16 attractions, namely Tornado Chaser, Lazy & Crazy river, 1Big Wave, Adventure Island and ... promising fun amidst nature's breathtaking views.

Other attractions are the Off Road Buggy ride, which promises a bumpy yet adventurous ride; Water Ball, which gives a you a chance to walk on water, and the inflatable games.

Have fun on weekdays from 11.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. (Tuesday to Fridays).
Have fun too on weekends from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. (Saturdays, Sundays, Public Holidays and School Holidays).

http://www.melakawonderland.com.my/

Cross On Shells

Rare crab re-appears in Malacca

Saint Francis Xavier was buried in St. Paul's church in Malacca in 1553.

Before Saint Francis Xavier reached the shores in Malacca, there was a ragging storm and he dipped his crucifix into the sea and prayed to God to calm the storm. The crucifix slipped from his grip and fell into the sea and he prayed that it could be returned to him.

On arrival at the shores of Malacca, he saw the crucifix in between the claws of the crabs. He retrieved the crucifix and a sign of the Cross appeared on the crab's shell after he blessed it.

These crabs re-surfaced again in Malacca after half a century.

MELAKA: ST. PAUL'S CHURCH

St. Paul's Church


This church was originally a small chapel built by Portuguese captain called Duarto Coelho in 1521 A.D. and called "Nosa Senhora - Our Lady of the Hill".

The chapel was handed over to the "Society of Jesus" in 1548 and enlarged in 1556 with the addition of a second storey and renamed "Annunciation". A tower was added in 1950.


When the Dutch took over Malacca from the Portuguese, they changed its name to St. Paul's Church and used it for 112 years until their own church, the Christ Church was completed in 1753.

St. Paul's Church lost its tower when the British took over but had one new feature added to it - the lighthouse at the front of the church.

The British however did not use the church for worship but used it for the storage of gunpowder. They also erected a tall flagpole and renamed the hill on which the church is sited to Flagstaff Hill (Bukit Bendera).

The name however did not last. The flagpole was later taken down and the church abandoned. Old tombstones found inside the ruins bear silent testimony to the final resting place of several Dutch and Portuguese nationals.

The reowned Spanish-born Jesuit missionary, St. Francis Xavier was a regular visitor to this church from 1545 to 1552 and when he died, his body was interred here for nine months before being exhumed and taken to his final resting place in Goa, India.

A statue of St. Francis was built in 1952 to commerate his passing and internment here. The St. Paul's Church ruins were gazetted as an old monument and historical site under the Antiquities Act No 168/1976 on 12th May 1977.

MELAKA: SAINT LAWRENCE'S CHAPEL

These remnant of building structure were identified as the ruins of Rosary Chapel or 'Capela Ermida de Rosario' which was built in the year 1700.

This Catholic Chapel was built as a substitute to the Saint Lorenzo or Saint Lawrence's Chapel which was constructed on this site in the 16th century.

The Saint Lawrence's Chapel is an epitome of the Portugese chapels that were biult outside the Malacca Fort (Fortaleza de Malacca).

Apart from the chapels, the Portugese have also built convents, stronghold as well as residential buildings outside the city walls.

These buildings were built in Bukit China, Bukit Pipi (Bukit Senjuang or Saint John's Hill) as well as within the proximity of docking yards along the river of Malacca, such as this particular site.

The dimension and design of this chapel is believed to have been similar to Saint Francis's Chapel in Tranquera or Tengkera, and this Saint Francis's Chapel has also been evacuated.

The roles and functions of the Rosary Chapel started to decline following the completion of Saint Peter's Church in the year 1710 some hundred metres away from this site.

This was made more obvious with the declaration of Saint Peter's Church as the official main church in Malacca.

The Rosary Chapel was still in use, though not as much as it used to be, until the end of the 19th century when it was abandoned, left to decay and eventually crumbled.

It is such a sad fate for a building that houses the tombs of Portugese dignitaries such as Emerinci de Souza, whose tombstone still remain.

MELAKA: BASTION HOUSE

Bastion House was built around 1910 and its architecture was influenced by the British. 

It bear witnessed to the historic event to proclaim the date of independence for the Federation of the Malay States on 22nd February 1956.

It was used as offices by the various private sectors (Dunlop, for example). 

However, due to its location and and historic value, The State Government of Malacca had purchased the building and converted it into The Malay and Islamic World Museum which currently collects, stores and exhibits the history and the heritage of the Malays throughout the world for the benefit of the future generations.

Within walking distance, see Bastion House first hand when you are at Dataran Pahlawan.

MELAKA: THE ST. FRANCIS XAVIER CHURCH AND ITS VICINITIES

St Xavier Church, Malacca - This picture shows you how the church and its vicinity looks like a very long time ago, how time changes its vicinities and how the place looks like now.

It was built in 1856. The feast of St. Francis Xavier falls on 3rd December each year.

MELAKA: BUTTERFLY PARK

Malacca Butterfly Park

The butterflies and moths form one of the largest orders of insects numbering 100,000 species or more. The scientific name of the group is Lepidoptera. It comes from two Greek words meaning "scale" and "wing".

Crown Prince Naruhito (Kōtaishi Naruhito Shinnō), born 23 February 1960, had once visited the Malacca Butterfly Park.

 

...you can get more things at amazon.

First Hang Tuah Festival begins on Friday in Bandar Hilir

First Hang Tuah Festival begins on Friday in Bandar Hilir

The above picture is a bridge named after the legendary warrior, Hang Tuah during the 15th Century. Hang Tuah, is a local word that cannot be seperated from the word, Malacca.

Above the bridge, there are four dagger indigenous to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei. Of historical value, the dagger of such is classified as Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Hang Tuah was saod to have dug the Hang Tuah well and it has never dried-up in the most severe of droughts. Water from this well is said to be sacred and have healing properties. Locals believed that Hang Tuah's sould which takes on the apparition of a white crocodile, dwell in the well. The present of the Hang Tuah well also give rise to the notion that Hang Tuah was from Duyong. In East Sumatera, a similar well also exist.

Hang Kasturi Melaka

Hang Kasturi is one of the five great warrior brothers namely Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu.

The five brothers were great warrior during the reign of the Malacca Sultanate especially during the regime Sultan Mansur Shah (1456-1477).

The courage and the strength of the five great warrior plus the wisdom of the Bendahara Tun Perak to back up and help the Malacca Sultanate to expand the Malacca Empire up as far as the Malay Archipelago and thus Malacca Empire maintained the respect of friends and foes.

In the Malay Annals (Sejarah Melayu), Hang Kasturi was set up to be the traitor for killing his brother Hang Tuah without proper investigation. Hang Tuah, was hiddened by the Prime Minister in Ulu Melaka took revenge by killing Hang Kasturi in such a big battle for being a traitor to the Sultanate.

However, based on another story known by many people, Hang Jebat was the real traitor who finally died in the arms of Hang Tuah. The structure of the tomb of Hang Kasturi was much influenced by the art and architectural from India where by there are spaces to put light around the tomb.

The tomb is staggered and it has medium site unlike other tombs that are long and considered to be holly. The tomb has been gazetted as a historic site.

 

Hang Kasturi's Mausoleum, 120 Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Malacca, Melaka, Malaysia

Hang Jebat Melaka

Hang Jebat, a warrior labelled a tractor, all for the love of a friend.

During the rule of Sultan Mansur Shah 1456 - 1477 A.D., there lived five young men who grew up together.

Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu were inseparable and became known as the "5 Companions" in the epic "Hikayat Hang Tuah". The lives of the five "blood brothers" who were expert exponents of martial arts, took a turn when they saved the Bendehara of Melaka, Tun Perak.

Sultan Mansur Shah was so impressed with the five that he immediately gave them positions at his courts, and Hang Tuah became his favourite. Sultan Mansur presented Hang Tuah with a beautiful keris, the Taming Sari, said to possess magical powers.

However, the Sultan's undisguised appreciation and favouritism of Hang Tuah did not go down well with other court official, namely Patih Karma Wijaya. They plotted his downfall and and accused him of seducing the Sultan's favourite consort. The Sultan, upon hearing the rumour immediately ordered Hang Tuah's execution. Tun Perak believed in Hang Tuah's innocence, spirited him away to a secret hideaway.

Hang Jebat, who was beside himself with grief, could not understand why the Sultan summarily order his brother's execution without first giving him a chance to prove his innocence. Disillusioned and broken-hearted, Hang Jebat ran amok and sought revenge, killing everyone that tried to protect the Sultan. Fearing for his life, the Sultan approached Tun Perak and expressed his regret over Hang Tuah's hasty execution.

When the Sultan agreed to pardon Hang Tuah, Tun Perak told him the truth. Hang Tuah's joy at being pardoned turned to dismay when told of his new mission and after an extended soul-searching, went in search of Hang Jebat. In the ensuing fight, which was said to have lasted three days and three nights, Hang Jebat enlightened his childhood friend on why he turned against the Sultan, but being a man ingrained with the convention that the Sultan deserved absolute loyalty, Hang Tuah refused to accept Hang Jebat's reasoning. Finally, he drew his keris, the 'Taming Sari' and fatally stabbed Hang Jebat and the later died in his arms.

Hang Tuah went down in history as a hero who made a worthy sacrifice while Hang Jebat was labelled a traitor, all for a love of a friend.

BEAUTIFUL CRAFTMANSHIP, CHETTI VILLAGE, MELAKA

The Chettis have been around since the reign of Parameswara. Back then, most of them belong to the group of traders who were living in Kampung Kling and Kampung Belanda. They originated from the Coromandal Coast, Kalingapatnam, South India and Tamil Nadu.

In the earlier days, there were Chettis holding high posts in the government administration such as that of the Prime Minister. However, things began to change during the Dutch colonization. The Chettis were imposed strict supervision in their trading which eventually caused them to move to more remote areas, such as Gajah Berang, Bachang and Tranquerah.

As a result of the incident, many Chettis decided to switch their profession from trading to agriculture. The present Chetti settlement in Gajah Berang is under the administration of a Trustee by the name of Kovil Sri Venayagar Moorthi.

Be there to see more.

MELAKA CHINATOWN

Melaka Chinatown was a commercial centre in the past.

The area onced housed banking offices, share/stock broking house, trading offices, printers, plantations offices, advocates/solicitors offices, clinics, maternity homes, and so on.