A Malacca Vacation

Five days before Christmas, we set out in high spirits with our cousins for Malacca. There, we visited museums such as the Cheng Ho Cultural Museum where we learned about the culture and history of Malacca. We also visited the Maritime Museum, which was a replica of a Portuguese ship. Another historical site was the ruins of the Al Famosa fortress that was built by the Portuguese after they conquered Malacca.

One place I particularly liked was the Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary which we visited on the 2nd day. The butterflies there were a lot more colorful than the ones in Singapore. Best of all, they were friendly and easily attracted to us! It felt itchy as the butterflies crawled on my body, but it was kind of fun. Besides butterflies, there were other amazing creatures such as scorpions, alligators, snakes, emus, peacocks, electric eels, otters, weasels and even a bearcat! I think it is called a bearcat because it looks like a bear, and climbs like a cat! So much for a butterfly and reptile sanctuary; it looks more like a zoo to me.

We walked a lot around the town but we also tried the local transport, like the trishaw. It is called a trishaw because it has three wheels. We sat in what looked like a carriage while a man cycled us to our various destinations. On the last evening, we took a boat ride along the Malacca River. I enjoyed the ride very much for the weather was breezy and the river was lighted up with colorful lights.

We spent the last evening at a shopping mall. I am talking about this not because I love it, but because of what happened there. It was pretty late in the evening when we finished shopping. We decided to take a trishaw back to the hotel for we were weary from walking. You might think that it should not have been a problem but guess what? They charged us RM 50 for just a short ride to the hotel! This is five times more expensive than the offer we had earlier. It is most ridiculous! Finally, we decided that it was better to walk back to the hotel. By the time we reached our room, I was exhausted and after a shower slept almost immediately.

A retreat in Changi

It is about a week since we returned from our CG retreat to Changi Village. I have decided to talk about our trip, for I loved the activities we did there...

I awoke with my head buzzing with excitement for today is the BIG day. We are going to Changi Village with our CG! After a wait which seemed like eternity, we started off. The hotel which we were staying in looked a bit like an office to me. However the inside was more welcoming. There was a mini house made of all sorts of delicious goodies, but of course, it was not edible. After brunch, we went to our rooms. At first, our rooms were on the smoking level and I did not want to stay in it for the smell of smoke was unbearable. Unfortunately, there were no other available rooms, and we had to wait till 5.00pm. We past the time by watching a movie at Noah's room with the CG and before we knew it, our rooms were ready.

The following day, we woke up bright and early for our guided tour at Chek Jawa. The tour was excellent. We got to observe and identify many creatures unknown to us, like the Oriental Tree snake and the male wild boar. They looked pretty scary too! After a session of drawing, we started back to the jetty for the ride back to mainland in the bumboat. Lunch was delicious for it was a buffet. I drank mushroom soup, ate rice with curry, chips and tomatoes. I even tried olives! Dessert was ice-cream. In the evening, we went for a stroll at the Changi beach. I did not really enjoy the walk but it was through the walk that I spotted a lizard hiding behind a rock and a White Bellied Sea eagle soaring high in the sky. We also spent some time at the beach digging a deep pit. Come to think of it, I actually enjoyed the walk after all!!

Upon returning to our hotel room, I immediately prepared a soapy bath in the bathtub. This also was one of the favourite things that we did at this Retreat, for the water was warm and soothing against the cold November evenings. Eating dinner under the stars in the open courtyard was another novelty, only there was not a single star to be seen that night! We had to rely on Samuel's torchlight but it soon blacked out, and we had no choice but to eat in darkness. Of course there were some light from the hotel corridors but it was inadequate. Our eyes soon adjusted to the darkness and all in, I kind of enjoyed it! A while later, I could not eat anymore probably because I could not really see what I was eating! Soon my friends, brothers, and I were in our room watching TV.

Time certainly past quickly when you are having fun, for the time came for us to check out. The highlight of the day was a swim race with my friends and the adults. We challenged our fathers to a race and guess who won? Us! Actually, it was not a fair race for our fathers swam breaststroke while we swam the frontcrawl. I was famished after all the workout and was glad the lunch was pizza. I ate three big slices!!

This is one trip I would never forget.