Fun things to do in Negeri Melaka

Jonker Street (now renamed Jalan Hang Jebat) mis the most visited tourist street in downtown Melaka.

It is located across the bridge over Melaka (Malacca) River opposite the red Stadhuy buildings.

On both side of the Jonker Street are souvenir shops, restaurants and even cultural displays of a typical Straits Chinese (Peranakan) House with the Baba Nonya furniture, design, old wedding photos, beaded shoes and ladies purses and other artefacts.

This is also the street where you can eat the famous Hainanese Chicken rice balls and the ice kacang with gula melaka.

Just beware of the traffic and walk along the five foot way where possible as this street is not a pedestrian road.

A must visit if you are into Melaka Straits Chinese culture.

This is a historic hill where many early Chinese settlers to Malacca were buried. With an estimated of more than 15,000 tombstones, this is the largest traditional Chinese burial ground outside China.

Hence the name "Bukit China" = Chinese Hill in Malay.

During the Chinese annual tomb cleaning festival (Qing Ming), many of the overgrown grass will be cleared for descendants to come to pay respect to their ancestors.

According to history, the Emperor of China sent one of his princesses Hang Li Poh with 500 Chinese maidens to marry the Melaka Sultan. Bukit China was where the Chinese entourage settled down.

Today besides being a much neglected graveyard, Bukit China offer an aerial view and a popular place for hiking and exercise for the locals.

The bridge across this historic river mouth is where the Port of Malacca (Melaka) started in the 1403.

Located at the narrow section of the Straits of Melaka between the Malay Peninsular and Sumatra, it was a stopping port for sailing ships waiting for the change of monsoons to travel from India to China. Spices, gems, gold, rice and forest rattan were traded with the Indonesian islands and Burma and Thailand.

This is an old photo before the completion of riverside beautification project.

Now you can walk up down the promenade along the river banks. Or you can take a guided boat cruise up and down the river.

Another popular tourist stop for a group photograph is the Hang Li Po's Well.

It is located at the Sam Poh Kong temple. Apparently the well was used by Princess Hang Li Poh and her 500 maidens. Hang Li Po was a princess of the Ming Emperor of China who sent her to marry the Sultan of Melaka.

According to legend, this well never dried up even during the worst drought.

The well is covered with a cage to prevent anyone from felling into. Many tourists throw coins into the well for good luck and good fortune.

Starting from Fort A'Famosa at Porto de Santiago, there is a path and a series of steps to reach the top of the hill where St. Paul's Church lies in ruins. Up here, you can have fine view of Melaka town and the sea below.

Formerly known as "Our Lady of the Hill", this church was built by the Portuguese in 1521. The famous St. Francis Xavier was buried temporarily here before being exhumed to Goa, India.

The Dutch later used the church as a burial ground. Today there is no roof but only the walls left standing. There are many fine grey Dutch epitaphs which are displayed inside the church.

No admission fee.

This famous Melaka landmark, the Porta de Santiago is what remained of the mighty Fort A'Famosa that was built by Alfonso d' Alburque after the Portuguese had conquered Melaka in 1511.

When the Dutch took over in 1641, the fort was further fortified.

However the Fort was distmantled brick by brick by Stamford Raffles when the British took over Melaka temporarily after Holland was occupied by the French during the Napoleanic war.

So this small standing section Porta de Santiago is what has remained. It has become a must-take photography by tourists to Melaka.

The foundation of other sections of this fort has also been recently rediscovered in downtown Melaka during a new construction digging.

Housed in the red color old Dutch colonial administrative building (Stadhuy), this is a museum which has a rich display of the colorful history of Melaka.

Admission was RM5. Just followed the arrow that will take you through history of the splendour of court culture of the Sultanate of Melaka, followed by the Portuguese colonial rule, then Dutch rule and finally English rule. You can see artefacts of different periods as well as the traditional costume wore by the different occupying European rule.

As we meandered through open court and up the second floor, we will eventually reached the section where there is a gallery of the expeditions of Admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He) including to Melaka from the Ming Dynasty. Cheng Ho is well known as Muslim eunuch.

There is an exit at a hill slope. So be sure to decide if you are in a group, whether you will regrop at the entrance or the exit.

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A visity to Negeri Melaka would be incomplete without visiting Melaka City.

There is a place behind the tourist information office which is being excavated at the moment.

The City is full of Colonial buildings.