Dataran Pahlawan (Heroes Square) Mega Mall - Melaka Part 8

Dataran Pahlawan Mega Mall is located at the Bandar Hilir area, facing Jalan Merdeka (South Gate) to its front and Jalan Kota at the back (North Gate). As described in Trip Advisor, the mall is your “conventional mall, which doesn't stand out. The design is like a long snake. It lacks width so it makes up in length. You'll be walking straight down the aisles with some nooks and corners.”

It is described as South Malaysia’s biggest mall which is hard to believe, since the mall feels pretty small, with comparatively low ceilings. Dataran is the bahasa word for “square”, while Pahlawan means “heroes” so the mall’s name is translated into “Heroes Square” unless I’m being too literal about it. A special feature of this place for me is a small shop (you may miss it if you’re not too attentive) on your way to the cinema. This shop sells my favorite vice – cheap DVD’s at just 6 ringgit per piece, and if you get 5, you have 1 free! I shamelessly bought 12 pieces!

This is the Eye in the Sky.

Part 1 - Overview: A Little History of Melaka - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/melaka-giddy-with-delight-in-new-old.html

Part 2 - Christ Church and Stadthuys - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/christ-church-and-stadthuys-red-square.html

Part 3 - Jonker's Street and Melaka River - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/jonkers-street-melaka-river-walk-in.html

Part 4 - Walk Along Jalan Merdeka, Maritime Museum -http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/roaming-along-jalan-merdeka-melaka-part.html

Part 5 - Melaka Revolving Tower: http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/melaka-revolving-tower-melaka-part-4.html

Part 6 - St. Paul's Church from the Hill: http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/st-pauls-church-lure-of-hill-melaka.html

Part 7 - Images from St. Paul's Hill

Prequel - Our 1st ever Melakan visit here - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2007/12/fascinating-malacca-malaysia.html

Melaka Revolving Tower - Melaka Part 5

If views from the top and sprawling vistas are your thing, Melaka has a lot to offer. There's the Eye on Melaka (20 ringgit per adult, it's currently closed for maintenance though), the climb up St. Paul's Hill (A'Famosa), and finally, a 7-minute ride (1 min for the ascent, 5 minutes on top and 1 min for the descent) on Malaysia's first and only gyro tower - Melaka Revolving Tower!

You can't miss it from the skyline. It is a spellbinding experience seeing the round platform revolve around its phallic stand as it ascends 80 meters (262.46 feet) above the ground.

Melaka Revolving Tower or Melaka Taming Sari stands 110 meters (361 feet). The revolving platform takes you from the ground, then spirals and revolves as it ascends to a height of 80 meters. It seats 66 people, and the ride takes 7 minutes. The tower is built with advanced Swiss technology, and is said to have the ability of absorbing earthquakes measuring 10 richter scales. This is Malaysia’s first and only Gyro Tower which opened April 18 2008. A ride up the tower costs 10 ringgit per person if you are Malaysian, but 20 ringgit if you're a foreigner. Please check out http://kwongfeimind.blogspot.com/2009/01/menara-taming-sari-melaka-revolving.html for great views from the top!

Operating hours: every 30 min on the hour and half-hour, 10AM to 11PM daily.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Up next: St. Paul's Hill, St. Paul's Church

66 people aren't allowed to wander around! You have to remain seated during the 7-minute ride!

Revolving Tower's main entrance.

Proceed to the yellow walled booth to purchase your tickets: 20 ringgit per adult for foreigners.

Melaka Taming Sari building

Part 1 - Overview: A Little History of Melaka - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/melaka-giddy-with-delight-in-new-old.html

Part 2 - Christ Church and Stadthuys - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/christ-church-and-stadthuys-red-square.html

Part 3 - Jonker's Street and Melaka River - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/jonkers-street-melaka-river-walk-in.html

Part 4 - Walk Along Jalan Merdeka, Maritime Museum - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/roaming-along-jalan-merdeka-melaka-part.html

Part 5 - Melaka Revolving Tower: http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/melaka-revolving-tower-melaka-part-4.html

Part 6 - St. Paul's Church & the Lure of the Hill:

http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/st-pauls-church-lure-of-hill-melaka.html

Prequel - Our 1st ever Melakan visit here - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2007/12/fascinating-malacca-malaysia.html

Proclamation of Independence Memorial, beside St. Paul's Hill, directly facing the south entrance (back) of Dataran Pahlawan Mega Mall.

Roaming Along Jalan Merdeka - Melaka Part 4

I love to walk when I am on the road, wherever it is that my travels take me - and discover places along the way. For some reason, I almost never get to do that in Manila. And Melaka’s heritage trail provides this opportunity for leisure walks around some of its most important sights.

Jalan Laksamana, with the Melaka River and Jonker’s Street to its right, and St. Francis Xavier Church, Christ Church and Stadthuys to its left is the perfect start to a satisfying, scenic walk at the heart of Melaka.

Jalan Merdeka

Melaka River

There is a Tourist Information Center right across the Stadthuys, and from there, Jalan Laksamana curves leftwards to become Jalan Merdeka which is the current site of heavy industrialization – with new modern gleaming buildings rising alongside historical sights.

I walked from the small Melaka Fortress, which is a great riverside place to relax under huge canopies of Indian gooseberries, while watching boats sail by. Just beside it is the Dataran Quayside (Quayside Square) which has a 2-in1 restaurant (aptly named Restoran Quayside Café and Seafood Restaurant) where a meal (rice and a viand) could be had for just 5-6 ringgit per serving – perfect for those with a tight budget, and still prefer to eat in the comfort of an AC hall.

Tourist Information Center

Melaka Fortress at the riverside.

Dataran Quayside

Twin restaurants: Restoran Quayside Cafe and Seafood Restaurant have budget meals.

Just further down Jalan Merdeka, you will find the magnificently reconstructed galleon – the Flora del Mar – which is now a Maritime Museum or Muzium Samudera. This eye-catching ship was once a Portuguese Galleon, now it exhibits the maritime history of Melaka, divided into 7 eras: the Malay Sultanate Era (15^th century to 1511), the Portuguese Era (from 1511 to 1641), the Dutch Era (from 1611 to 1745), the British Era (from 1745 to 1941), the Japanese Era (from 1941 to 1945), the 2^nd British Era (from 1945 to 1957), and finally, the Malaysian Independence Era (from 1957 to present).

When the Portuguese captured Malacca, they looted the treasures that abound in bustling Malacca, then hauled them off to their ship – the Flora de la Mar (“Flower of the Sea”). But, as the inscription says, “by the will of God” – the ship sank on January 26, 1512 in the Straits of Malacca on its way back to Europe. The inscription concludes with a rather insipid closing: “The museum serves as a reminder that once political power is lost, everything else is lost.” Huh? ;)

Flora del Mar is now Maritime Museum (Muzium Samudera): The Portuguese ship that sank!

Maritime Museum is open daily – even on Tuesdays – from 9 AM to 5:30 PM (Mon-Fri) and 9AM to 9PM (Sat-Sun). Like one ridiculous idea, to enter the ship, you have to take your shoes off and deposit it on a rack or put them in a plastic bag and carry them with you. What did they envision this to be – a sacred temple? Some ideas could be so melodramatic! Reconstruction of the ship started in 1990 and took 3 years to finish. Entry fee is 3 ringgit for adults and 0.50 cents (ringgit) for children. Call +6 06 283 0926 for more information.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Up next: Melaka Revolving Tower (Melaka Taming Sari)

Entrance to the Maritime Museum at 5 ringgit.

Muzium Samudera: Entering barefoot!

Still, Maritime Museum.

Right across Dataran Quayside is the Royal Malaysian Navy Museum which has outdoor displays of a gigantic boat – well, it’s the Sri Terengganu Battleship, canons, and ammunitions. It archives all the contributions and activities of the Malaysian Royal Navy. Exhibits include pictures of Royal Navy awards, weaponry, uniforms, communication equipment and security gadgets. It officially opened in October 28, 2005. The museum is open daily – except Tuesdays (though their site says otherwise) – Did I already mention never to visit Melaka on a Tuesday? – from 9AM to 5:30 PM. Entrance fee is 3 ringgit per adult, 1 ringgit for children. Call +60 6 283 0926 for more information.

Royal Malaysian Navy Museum

The Ex-Kd Sri Terengganu warship was jointly contributed by the Ministry of Defense and the Royal Navy Force. This ship had been in operation since December 16, 1963 for approximately 31 years; sailed as far as 68,926 miles nautical under the leadership of 24th Ruling Officer. This ship was involved in the peacekeeping exercise during the Indonesian Confrontation era and was duly employed in patrolling the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

This warship was the Royal Malaysian Navy patrol ship from the first group of ships specially reserved by the Malay Federation government from Vosper Limited company, Portsmouth, England in the year 1961.

Mahkota Parade: shopping, shopping, shopping - and your bus rides back to Melaka Sentral. Those yellow ones, called Bas Sekolah, are school buses.

Part 1 - Overview: A Little History of Melaka - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/melaka-giddy-with-delight-in-new-old.html

Our first ever Melakan visit here - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2007/12/fascinating-malacca-malaysia.html

Part 2 - Christ Church and Stadthuys - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/christ-church-and-stadthuys-red-square.html

Part 3 - Jonker's Street and Melaka River - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/08/jonkers-street-melaka-river-walk-in.html

Jalan Merdeka site map.