Malacca -Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple / Temple of Bright clounds

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is one of the most not able landmarks in Malacca . Set near the Hindu Temple Sri Pogyatha Vinoyagar along Jalan Hang Lekiu ( in Jonker Street ) this Chinese Temple is billed as the oldest Buddhist place of worship in the country . Built in 1646 , it is also known as the ' merciful Cloud Temple ' .

The temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin , Goddess of Mercy . A black , gold and red-robed statue of the goddess stands in the central prayer hall . Cheng Hoon Teng Temple was constructed by Chan Lak Koa , son-in law to Captain Li , Malacca's second Chinese kapitan ( a mediatory position created by the Dutch East India Company which made it possible for a noon-white to govern Malacca's diverse ethnic communities ).

History of Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

Apparently a fortune teller was consulted for advice on the location and construction of Captains Li's grave : allegedly a grave deeper than three feet would benefit Li's son-in-laws , Chan Lak Koa , while a shallower grave would bring prosperity to his son . Whether intended or not , the grave was made three-and-a-half feet deep , and Chan Lak Koa's relative success after his father-in-law's death motivated him to construct the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple as an expression of gratitude for his success .

                                                                                      Structure of Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

The main prayer hall of Cheng Hoon Teng Temple has a weighty saddled roof , domineering dark timber beams and beautiful carved woodwork . Smaller chambers devoted to ancestor worship are prominent throughout the temple : these rooms are filled with tables bearing photographs of the deceased . Check out the wads of fake money and papier-mache models of luxury items which are used as symbols of creature comforts for the dead . All building materials for the temple , and even the artisans concerned with its construction , were brought in from China .

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is managed by the same board of trustees that serves Bukit Cina ( the ancestral burial ground to the northeast of town ) . Due to the controversy
surrounding the burial ground , you will see walls throughout the temple covered with newspaper clippings detailing Bukit Cina's struggles against the authorities .

Directly opposite Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is a traditional Chinese opera theatre ; beside the opera theatre is a newly constructed Xianglin Temple . Also known as the Fragrant Forest Temple , this shrine follows the traditional layout of Chinese Buddhist Temples .

Malacca-Melaka Wonderland Theme Park

Melaka Wonderland Theme Park

The best way to cool down on a hot and sticky day in Malacca is to do some splashing around at the spanking-new Melaka Wonderland Theme Park & Resort . Built in Ayer Keroh-Malacca's tourist attraction-laden quarter-the highlights of this multi zone park are its high-speed water slides and thrill rides .

Surrounded by 360 hectares of natural recreational forest , this brand-new park features a whopping two million litres of water . All in this theme park features 16 exciting attractions including the Lazy Cum Crazy River , the 1 Big Wave pool , the Adventure Island , Anaconda Twist , The Pendulum as well as a multitude of other attractions .

The park is so close to the Malacca city centre that staying over in Ayer Keroh isn't necessary ; but if you do choose to stay , there are plenty of affordable accommodation choices available-in fact Melaka Wonderland will soon boast a theme park hotel .

This water park is essentially another one of Malacca's great draws-take a break from a day of sightseeing and spend a day of wet fun in the sun . Featuring numerous adventure rides and water slides including the Tornado Chaser-where you are sent rotating down a giant 'bowl' and the Kamikaze Racer-a high-speed thrill ride on which you can race head-first and side-to-side down six lanes .

Malacca-A'Famosa

A'Famosa is more than just quick photo stop opportunity for tourists . Built in 1511 , the settlement used to sprawl across a whole hillside now only a lone gate ( Porta de Santiago) remains . One of the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Asia ; it is set beside the Istana ke Sultanan on Jalan Kota .

A'Famosa is perhaps Malacca's best known sightseeing spot . Originally constructed by Alfonso de Albuquerque ( who led the Portuguese invasion on the Malacca Sultanate) , the remains of the fort is now a crumbling whitewashed gatehouse and is located downhill from St.Paul's Church .

Structure of A'Famosa

In the 16th century A'Famosa housed the entire Portuguese administration , including its hospitals , five churches , elongated stockades and four key towers . One tower was a four-storey keep ; the others were an ammunition storage room , captain's residence and an officer's quarters . The rest of the bastion comprised of townhouses clustered inside the fortress walls . The fort was expanded in 1586 to accommodate Malacca's growing population .

                                                                                                  Portuguese History

At the beginning of the 16th century , the Portuguese were establishing outposts in Macau , China and India in order to create a string of friendly ports for their ships plying the routes between China and Portugal . Malacca's growing popularity meant that it was fast becoming an important link for Portugal to the Spice Route in China . In 1511 the Portuguese fleet , under the command of Alfonso de Albuque arrived and launched attack on the armies of the Malacca Sultanate and defeated them .

Albuquerque moved swiftly to consolidate his gains by building a fortress around a hill near the sea . He used 1,500 slaves to construct A'Famosa as a stronghold to defend against foreign invasion .

Dutch History

In 1641 the Dutch wrested control of A'Famosa from the Portuguese and drove them out of the city . What remains is largely the Dutch reconstruction as they carried out renovation works in 1670 , following the siege . To this day you can see a small inscription (ANNO 1670) on the fort's arch as well as the coat-of-arms of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) .

A'Famosa changed hands again when Malacca fell into British hands during expansionist Napoleonic times . Initially under the impression that the VOC was to act as a caretaker administration until a time when the Dutch were able to fully resume control , they had no idea the fort would soon be lost to them forever .

                                                                                                                                                             British History

Due to the fact that they offered too little and asked for too much , the Dutch forces so on lost the respect of their Malay subjects and in the early 19th century Malacca was fully conquered by the British . Wary of maintaining the fort , should it fall into enemy hands , the English ordered its destruction in 1806 .

Fortunately , Sir Stamford Raffles (founder of Singapore) who was visiting Malacca in 1810 arrived in the nick of time . Due to his love of history he stepped in before the complete destruction of the old fortress . It was a close call though and the crumbling remains of Porta de Santiago,a small gate house , were all that could be salvaged from total destruction .

PonTian-KuKuP

KuKup Laut , very unique and a century old fishing village built entirely on stilts on the sea surrounded by water , is the southmost village found at the southwest village tip of the Peninsular of West Malaysia , and suppose to be the southmost village found in the Continental of Asia.Located from Pontian , Kukup Laut has only one road to access by land . It may be reached by sea boarding ferry leaving World Trade Center in Singapore daily . The entire village is linked by jetty also built on stilts on sea . This place is famous of its seafood . It's geographically and ideally shadowed by one of the world's largest mangrove swamp island - Kukup Island along which numerous fish-farms bob up and down on the surface of the Kukup Sea .

The Fishing Village Resort is now famous very popular not only to the Malaysian , but also to the Singaporean as well as foreign tourists . They come to Kukup to taste the famous , cheap and fresh seafood of all varieties of cooking . They wanted to witness for themselves life of the fisherman living in house built on stilts . They wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life . They wanted to admire the beautiful seascape and marvellous sunsets . They wanted to feel the cooling sea breeze touching tenderly and welcome them warmly . They wanted to see how fishes were caught and how they were reared . They wanted to get for themselves as well as their friends and relatives local varities , native products , watches and souvenirs at very low prices . They can sing Karaoke , barbecue , fishing , sightseeing , boat-touring , visiting the fish farm , playing mahjong under the moonlight , taste the wonderful spicy and delicious seafood and relax withonly RM75-RM150 per person all inclusive .

Kukup Laut , as you will see for yourself here , is an old fishing village with history of a century old . Its unique of a fishing village built entirely on stilts above the sea , linked by concrete jetty from house to house . As recent statistic shown , this old fishing village is occupied by some 1,000 residents wholly from the Chinese race . Out of a total of 172 houses , about 57 are used as Holiday Chalets . The village will be flooded with flow of tourists on Saturdays and Sundays . Tourists especially from Singapore like to tour and stay here in groups  very frequently because of the economic and cheap expenditures , warm hospitality and many interesting places to be visited . Normally one will only have to spend about RM75-Rm150 in Kukup , and they will get a lots back:seafood lunch/dinner , barbecue , breakfast , sightseeing , karaoke , visiting fish farm in boat and ect . They can stop here very cheap watches , clothing , and native products . The village is very well organised by a committe.