This is my last photo of Jonker Street and I walked along thinking of all I had seen and experienced. I found a little hole in the wall operation somewhere on the left hand side and went in to order a meal. I chose the chicken and rice. There was an old grandmother, her iron grey hair tied in a bun, coming down in wisps about her face, holding this huge ladle as she stirred the large pot. A young girl (her granddaughter?) stood to her right helping with other foods. There was a fridge on the wall opposite with round tables and stools. It wasn't a pretentious place, just a very ordinary little eating house.
All the other customers kept staring at me and I wondered if there was something wrong with my appearance. Did I have dirt on my nose? Am I doing something wrong? Then the penny dropped - I was the only westerner there - everyone else was a local. I'd found one of the places where the locals go to eat not the tourists. I must say it was rather pleasant sitting there, no loud mouthed tourists, no flashy looking foreigners, just me. And the locals. (Not by a long shot is there anything flashy about me at all - some tourists even look down their elegant noses a little!), just my usual clothes and hiking sandals. And no, I didn't think to take a photo. Wish I had.
This building caught my eye - the startling white decorated with red, yellow and green. Red roses, leafy foliage and yellow urns. The three colours are repeated at the top of the columns. There are also some salmon pink designs as well - on the upper right hand side is a pink lion, on the left what looks like a flamingo.
Lagenda Antik is an antique shop in Jonker Street and is decorated in the style of a Straits Chinese house. Behind the hall is an inner courtyard and a collection of knick-knacks, porcelains and furniture of the era.
Over the River
It is time to cross over the river again and do something I promised myself I was going to do - ride in one of those colourful trishaws.
Here I passed the clock tower again. For this photo, I turned the dial to dusk or sunset and this is the result - a warm orange glow, the colours are warm. The only downside is the photos come out a little blurry. I have included it to show the difference in camera setting.
Same subject, same time, but in this photo, I had the camera set at the normal setting. You can see the difference between this photo and the previous one - here the colours are darker and are cool colours and the photo does not have the blurriness - it is sharper.
And now - it is rickshaw time! Which one shall I choose? That one there with the blue and yellow? Or that one over there decorated in blues and greens? Hmmm...so many to choose from. ...I think ..... this one. I like the glorious pinks and reds. Yes, I'll choose this one. The trishaw driver and I discussed price - 40 myr for an hour, but due to the lateness of the evening, I wanted only half an hour. So that was settled and off we went. I wish I had done this in the daytime and been taken around - I'd have stayed for the whole hour. And it is such a pleasant way to travel. I could have save myself a lot of hot huffing and puffing and walking in the heat. Then again, I would have missed a lot - some of the best things are just walking around getting lost and finding yourself seeing things you otherwise wouldn't have.
This is the full view picture - check out the other trishaws towards the right - none of them can hold a candle to "my" trishaw.
About Trishaws
In the old days, trishaw was one of the main methods of transportation in Malacca, but today with modern vehicles, the trishaw is a thing of the past. Fortunately they are still seen and used today - as a tourist attraction. They are beautifully decorated with flowers and an audio player with popular songs being played out loud.
There are only two states with tourist trishaws - Penang and Malacca. I rode in both and enjoyed them, but the trishaws of Malacca are the best looking and best decorated. Sitting behind the plethora of (artifical) flowers, a wonderfully padded seat with silver floral design, I truly felt like royalty.
Back across the river again
All too soon, it was time to go home - by home I mean my accommodation place. It's funny, but when I'm travelling, I always refer to where I stay as "home".
Here I am, back near Heeren House and one last look at the river. Photos don't do it justice - the river flowing quietly, water lapping gently alongside, a myriad of light reflected in the water showing ripples of gold.
Next: Sunrise in Malacca
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