I'm so slow with updating my trip that I've already done two other trips! I was in Macau for a couple of days for good Portuguese/Macanese delights and more of St Francis Xavier's influences in the East and most recently a white water rafting outing at Kuala Kubu Bharu. 

So, let me just continue where I left off..

Here are some night shots of Melaka.

We were on the way to Menara Taming Sari but it was closed at that hour as it was time for their Muslim staffs to break fast. So we went back to Jonker Walk. We were crossing the bridge over the Melaka river and couldn't help but to be in awe of the beautiful sunset. You'd never think you would see sucha a scene in Melaka, did you?

We had fruit juice at the Limau Limau cafe along Jonker Walk to quench our thirst! Mmm yums! Oh, and to take a few bites of pineapple tarts that we got at the night market. Some of the must buys are dried mee sua, cincalok (fermented shrimp sauce.. sounds delish, no?) and gula melaka.

Limau Limau cafe sure does have a character and I really like this place coz of its organized mess.

This is Melaka's latest icon - the Taming Sari Tower that stands 110m tall. It's a 7 minutes ride with 360 degree view of Melaka. Since we were there at night, we could easily spot the heavy density of lights on Merdeka Road where Dataran Pahlawan, Newton's Food Court, Equatorial Hotel are situated along this busy stretch.

Satay Celup for dinner. As soon as you find a place to sit, you can choose whatever they have in the fridge. They have an assortment of food in sticks like fishball, pork ball, fish cakes in cute star shapes and faces (my fav!), kangkung, foochuk etc

1) Select your food.

2) Take picture of your favourite star.

3) Dip your food into the boiling satay sauce and wait till cooked.

4) Repeat steps 1-3 until full.

We were so full that we felt our tummies burn! Must be the 'heatiness'. After searching for the nearest 7-11 for some chilled drinks, we were lost in Melaka. Sigh. Such a small place but yet we couldn't find the road back to our hotel.

to be continued...

Imagine you're at McDonald's.

You: Can I have a Big Mac Value Meal Large, an Apple Pie, a Chocolate Sundae and Diet Coke please...

Cashier: Will that be all?

You: Oh wait, scrap the Diet Coke, just gimme Coke! I keep forgetting, I'm on a "Prayer Diet".

Coming soon: Fatwa on yoga

Pray to find peace and good health 

He said involved "chanting mantras while in various positions".

"Why should we look for other alternatives to exercise and search for peace? Yoga could cause (Muslims) to stray from their faith because its movements are according to the style and traditions of Hinduism," he said.
Zakaria added that Muslims should instead apply the Islamic teachings such as prayers to find peace and good health.

"If the Muslims want a healthy body, prayers are the right choice... why must we find alternate ways... a single mistake can deviate our teachings as yoga movements follow the style and tradition of Hinduism," he was reported as saying.

Harussani Zakaria (right), a controversial cleric Perak, said the government-backed fatwa council would soon release a decree that would decide if Muslims were allowed to practise yoga.

"If it involves any faith or religious elements it is definitely not permissible but if it is just a form of exercise that is all right," Harussani told AFP. 

"Muslims cannot practice yoga in its original form because it involves another religion," he said in response to a call to ban Muslims from engaging in yoga.

The practice of yoga, a popular stress-buster in Kuala Lumpur, dates back thousands of years in India, where it was a favourite of holy men before becoming hugely popular internationally.

Ban on tomboys

After a heavy lunch, we decided on taking a rest before we head out on our last night in Melaka. But again, we got distracted. Since our hotel is so close to the St Paul's Hill (the perks of having your hotel in the centre of everything), we gathered what's left of our energy for a final tourist task.

The leaf placement was not done on purpose. I didn't even notice it until we were playing back the photos in the camera. Kinda reminds me of the characters of the Ribena berries TVC a long time ago. Wee!

Follow this trail and it'll lead you to some of the major 'must see' places.

• A Farmosa (the most famous landmark which we missed!)
• The ruins of St. Paul Church
• Cultural Museum
• Historical Garden
• Independence Memorial

In 1952, a statue of St. Francis Xavier was built to commemorate the passing of the saint. You must be wondering what happened to his right arm. On the morning after the consecration ceremony, a large casuarina tree fell on the statue which resulted to a broken right arm.

That was many years after St. Francis Xavier died in 1552, canonized and was made Goa's Patron Saint. His body was incorruptible - does not decay! According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "in 1614, by order of Claudius Acquaviva, then General of the Society of Jesus, the right arm was severed at the albow and conveyed to Rome."

Now, I really wonder is there's any connection to the broken and missing right arm of this statue.

St. Francis Xavier was a member of the Jesuits society founded by Ignatius Loyola. His embalmed body now rests in the Basilica of Bom Jesus, Goa. In fact, this whole place here reminded me of my trip to the Old City of Goa which was under the Portuguese rule in 1510. A while later the Portuguese settled in Melaka.

It was a beautiful evening in Melaka. Sunny but the breeze from the straits of Melaka was very welcoming. I love how the rich blue sky complemented the white and green foreground.

There's this sudden want to visit the Greek islands. Perhaps it's because of the white buildings and blue skies.

We were now entering the ruins of the church.

Taking pics of myself entering historical ruins is so typical of me.

Plenty of monumental tombstone were scattered around because the church was used as a Dutch graveyard when the Dutch took over the Portuguese in 1641.

It wasn't all about taking pictures of the ruins and landmarks. We had our fun too.

To be continued.. what's the deal with satay celup?!