Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Melaka

I have been very fortunate to be able to visit one of the cultural heritage in historical city Malacca. Back in 2009 Chinese New Year, me and 3 other friends (Jacqueline, Joan and Martin) went down to Malacca to visit Jacq's best friend, Jas. Martin is a Malaccan boy but the rest of us can't possibly bunk into his parents' house near Gajah Berang. No fret cuz Jas' family stays in a house in the middle of Malacca with lots of rooms. Sap sap sui for her family to accommodate us. As sign of gratitude and in the spirit of CNY, we brought mandarin oranges & Ipoh biscuits for Jas' family. During one of the days, Jas brought us to tour her ancestral house (rumah ah bu). The ancestral house is just located next to and is accessible from their current residence via a connecting passage.
Standing on an interior balcony
The interior was very old school Chinese mansion. There were quite a few levels up. Of course we went all the way up to the top balcony. We could see almost the whole Malacca city from there. Tourists on the streets were looking at us in the balcony, wondering how on earth we got there. Hey, it's our friend's ancestral house lah...
 


The ground floor had an arched opening where the evening sun was shining in. It was sooo suitable to take photos of our silhouttes.


Best friends forever!
Martin and Joan
Martin, me, Jacq and Joan
 And then Jas showed us the front of the rumah ah bu. Being in the mansion is an unforgettably great experience.
In the front compound of the Chee Mansion

Jas told us then that the mansion would undergo restoration works in the interior. Recently while visiting Jacq and me, she mentioned that the works have been completed. Jacq has gotten Jas' permission to use the ancestral house for pre-wedding photoshoot. I can't wait...