The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
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I thought of whitening my teeth for over a year but didn’t dare to because I was afraid my teeth would turn out overly white and thus lose their natural look of slightly yellow. However, there’s an obvious stain on my front tooth, thanks to …
The Malaysian state government ceased the use of the common Anglicised spelling of the state name, Malacca, making Melaka the official spelling now. There were a few highlights of our Melaka trip: our health check-up, last-minute change of accommodation, and the girls’ food poisoning on the day we left Melaka for JB (we’re guessing it’s either the ice yoghurt at Jonker Night Market or the snow ice from Yong Peng.
Background: Our family of four (including a 4 and a 7-year-old) went on a 10-day road trip in West Malaysia from 25 May to 4 June 2024. Departing from Singapore, we went to Johor Bahru (“JB”), Muar, and Melaka, before returning to JB (near Paradigm Mall). Strictly speaking, it’s a 5-day road trip because we were in JB half the time.
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We stayed 3 nights in Melaka and initially booked an apartment at the Atlantis on Airbnb. The house has a good space and the development is not crowded with holidaymakers. However, their pool was closed but we were not informed of it. So we got a full refund and made a last-minute switch to the neighbouring Bali Residence.
Read our experience in detail in my other article: “Review of Airbnb in Malaysia (JB, Muar, Melaka)”
We had two full days in Melaka, with 1.5 days spent on sightseeing and the remaining half day spent on a general health check-up at Mahkota Medical Centre. If you are interested, you can read more about our experience in the last section of this article.
Near the medical centre, our girls also had an hour of fun at the bouncy castle outside the Hatten Hotel.
Since we had an afternoon to explore after our health check-up on Thursday, we headed to the famous Jonker area. But by the time we passed by Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum, it was closed at 4:45 pm. We couldn’t make it early for it the next day too. If you have been to the museum, let me know in the comments whether it is worth a visit!
Good thing, we could still visit the nearby Tham Siew Inn Artist Gallery to appreciate some art. The gallery has a few nice art pieces, and a painting of the moonlight shone through and captivated me. It was a nice space, except for the slight push of sales towards the end.
Many interesting shops sparsely dotted the Jonker area, so we had to walk quite a bit to visit them. The shops that stood out were San Shu Gong, a longstanding food souvenir shop which brought back memories, a trendy-looking food souvenir shop, a Peranakan photo studio, a shop with beautiful paper cutting but taking photos was not allowed, and a jewellery shop where the girls each got a handmade ring.
The loud, blaring music trishaws caught our attention. You can also spot them easily at night as they are lit with bright lights. The girls wanted to ride on it so much that we paid RM 25 (S$7.60) for a 15-minute ride, travelling from the Stadthuys (Red Square) to A Famosa fort and back, which is actually a 10-minute walk one-way.
The trishaw uncle waited for us at A Famosa to take a few photos before he cycled us back to the Red Square. He was cycling as if he was competing while other trishaws were travelling at a leisurely speed! So our ride was shorter than others, but at least my girls enjoyed the experience.
Before heading to the Jonker night market on Friday, we spent our day at AEON MALL Bandaraya Melaka. Hubs got coffee from G Coffee which was average to him, while we got Auntie Anne which has more varieties and is more affordable than in Singapore. After shopping at Muji and the supermarket, we had lunch at Vivo Pizza and ordered pizza and pasta. The food was better than we expected!
If you have more time with the children, bringing them to A’famosa Water Theme Park and Safari Wonderland is highly recommended. You can get the tickets on Klook too.
The morning I brought the girls for a swim, my hubby went to get us a hearty and delicious breakfast from Eat Toast. You can also find them in Muar, Batu Pahat, and Johor Jaya.
As for our first lunch in Melaka, we filled our tummies with Melaka’s famous chicken rice ball. We had it at the nearby Nanyang Chicken Rice ball, not bad but not to die for.
Later in the day, we had watermelon juice near the Red Square after our trishaw ride. We chose a big watermelon and the shop “drilled” two holes for the straws. Then the shop took out the drilled part for us to eat – you can see it in the photo below where EG held it to eat. Sweet and especially good under the sweltering sun!
After the watermelon juice, it’s time for dinner! But we couldn’t find the restaurant I bookmarked even though we were at the location indicated on Google Maps. Hence we concluded it had been closed permanently. We were so tired by then and so decided to eat at a Peranakan restaurant near us. It’s Peranakan Place Signature @ Heeren Street (do not mistake it with the one at Jonker Street). The decorations were beautiful and captivating, and more importantly, the food and service were good! Do try the Chendol, it’s good enough to make up for the recommended Chendol eateries that we missed out because they were too far for us to walk to.
There were many entrances to Jonker Night Market and we got in from the side, walking from the Tham Siew Inn Gallery. Along the alley were various stalls selling food and drinks. Turned out most if not all the stores in that small alley belonged to one shop. Get a seat in the open or head into their air-conditioned seating area, and order from the menu.
But for one or two popular items along the stretch, you have to join the long queue and order it for yourself – but feel free to eat in the seating area. Well, I think the food from the menu is overpriced, especially when the food is not particularly fantastic, and I had better stingrays before. But the nasi lemak away from the alley, but not too far away is quite good.
Later, we went around the night market and continued eating a few snacks and desserts here and there and bought a few trinkets. It reminded me of Taiwan’s night market. Note that Jonker Street Night Market is open only every weekend on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 6PM to midnight.
In hindsight, we should have done our health check-up at Johor Bahru instead of Melaka. However, my relative sort of recommended the health check-up with Mahkota, we ended up at the Mahkota Medical Centre in Melaka.
Making an appointment via email was easy. We were told to arrive early if we wanted to get the results on the same day. We didn’t arrive early enough but still got the results on the same day, even before we left the hospital! I think it’s because there weren’t many people. Btw, most of the patients were foreigners – Singaporeans, Indonesians and even Koreans!
We had to choose the plan we wanted and pay before the start of the tests. We paid RM1,971 (S$567.83) for two comprehensive tests, including a top-up for an additional test for my husband. The clinic staff speaks English and the tests in the clinic were relatively fast since there were not many people. The waiting area is comfortable and spacious, with lockers provided for our belongings.
However, we were asked to head to another level for the ultrasound scan and queued along with many other people. We waited long for our turn and that area felt more like a public hospital.
There was a small anomaly in my husband’s results and they suggested we consult the specialist in their hospital. We were worried and so went to the cardiologist they recommended. The doctor studied the scan results and said it was a minor issue, just take note of diet and exercise. My hubs queued for 15 minutes and the consultation was done in 5 minutes. He paid RM150 (S$43.21). Hmm, it made us wonder if there’s some referral commission behind the scenes.
That’s all, for Melaka! Let me know if you have any place to recommend for health checkups in Johor Bahru. Or is there any must-do or must eat stuff in Melaka that I missed? Leave your comments or questions below. Love to hear from you. :)
Before you go, you might want to check out my other posts on Malaysia (accommodation in Malaysia, Johor Bahru and Muar).
Looking for more tips on travel, home, and baby? Subscribe to my mailing list and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! If you like what you read here, keep it going with small support. :)
Disclaimer: JoogoStyle and Christina accept no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any use, misuse, inaccuracy or omission of the information or other contents published on this website.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. An affiliate link means I’ll get a small commission if you purchase. There’s NO extra cost to you. I appreciate your support in maintaining this website so I can share more tips with you. Thank you!
In this article, I will share our ins and outs at Muar – where we stayed, what we ate in Muar and nearby Bakri, and how our studio photoshoot went. We mainly ate in Muar, so this might feel more like a food article. As …
Our family of four (including a 4 and a 7-year-old) went on a 10-day road trip in West Malaysia from 25 May to 4 June 2024. Departing from Singapore, we went to Johor Bahru (“JB”), Muar, and Melaka, before returning to JB (near Paradigm Mall). …
We mainly stayed in Airbnb during our trip to West Malaysia from 25 May to 4 June 2024. That’s because we don’t want to be split into two hotel rooms and a quadruple room is usually quite expensive. In this post, I’ll share our reviews of our Airbnb in Malaysia (including a hotel in Muar). May it help in your decision process!
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Airbnb listing: www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/1131143455568576526 (Professionally managed by Gdragon Homestay)
This Airbnb is in the Mosaic Southkey condominium (“condo”).
The security was professional and did their job well in ensuring no unauthorised entry into the premises and no one entered the lift wet (very strict). However, the condo seems to be mainly used for homestays, thus expect a lot of human traffic during weekends and holidays. You might wait very long for the lifts, especially during breakfast and checkout timings. Also, we were at the pool at 7:45 AM and some children were already playing!
The location is quite decent with good food just at the doorstep. It’s very near Southkey Mall by car, but not really walkable because it’s not a direct path and has multiple cross-junctions. Best to take Grab there.
The apartment is generally well-maintained and spacious with two proper bedrooms. One bedroom has a double bed and the other room has two double beds. However, after a night, my girls on the same bed had red dots on one side of their faces and necks. I suspected the dots to be bed bug bites but since there were only a few, we shrugged it off until I saw a recent review on bed bugs.
But still, my kids loved this place a lot because of the slide in the living room – it reminded me of our minsu in Taitung. Baby cot and toilet step stools were also provided, along with other basic amenities – towels, hand towels, toiletries, slippers, and disposable toothbrushes. Suitable for families, especially with young children.
Airbnb listing: www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/1155756378127321042 (Professionally managed by 2F Homestay)
This Airbnb is in The Platino condo.
The location is good as The Platino is beside the Paradigm mall, just 2-3 minutes’ walk.
However, it was a hassle to go in and out of the condo because our host only gave us one access card. It’s okay if we travel as a group at all times, but sometimes we have different itineraries. We had to tap three to four times to head back to the apartment – when we entered the main lobby, then again at the lift lobby, in the lift, and at the door which opened up to the corridor where our unit was located. When exiting from the apartment, we have to use the card to tap out at all points again (why don’t they use Exit Push buttons?!).
Compared to Mosaic Southkey condo and the condo in Melaka, there seem to be more residents staying here and hence no overcrowding at the lifts. There’s a gym room, an adult lap pool and the children’s pool, but the jacuzzi is out of bounds for children. A security guard was stationed beside the jacuzzi like a lifeguard and occasionally patrolled the pool area. He was quite rude when asking us to stay off the jacuzzi.
It’s newly renovated as seen in the pictures, note that the toilets are not renovated as evidenced by rusty toilet fittings. No hand towels and hand soap were provided, and it’s strictly one towel per guest, so bring your towels if you want to swim! The towels and rubber house slippers felt new and clean though.
The bed in the common room is super firm – like sleeping on a hard surface, not very comfortable for us who are not used to such firmness.
Agoda: https://agoda.tp.st/G112pBWF
I couldn’t find a suitable Airbnb in Muar and MUO Resort is one of the best-reviewed stays in Muar, offering different types of family rooms. The sister hotel, MUO Boutique, has good reviews too. However, it only has a triple room at most.
MUO Resort has a laid-back feel. Perfect for the laid-back town of Muar. The location is quite near the city by car. In Muar, it’s best to drive around anyway. Note that the entrance to the resort is small, so look out for the signboard, you might miss it if you drive too fast. Enter and drive through the driveway to arrive at the reception area.
Parking is limited but guests will get their own parking space (the assigned lot might change day-to-day, so remember to check before parking).
Within the premises, there’s a cafe (Zuzu Coffee) and a restaurant (Sama Sama). The coffee was not bad, but we did not get a chance to try the restaurant (10% discount for resort guests) because it was closed on the Wednesday we checked out.
There are many Instagrammable spots around the resort. You can also find small animals and buy feeds for them.
The staff was also friendly and helpful.
We stayed in the Deluxe Family room. It was like a typical hotel room but with two queen beds. It is not spacious but the space is alright for a short stay of 2 to 3 nights. The room was clean and had basic amenities such as full-sized toiletries. And if you like the toiletries, you can buy them from the resort. The products and the wooden furniture in the room are made in Muar.
Certain rooms face the parking lots and ours was unfortunately not much better. It was by the outdoor lounge area where people could smoke. Thankfully no one smoked nor was there any big group gathering while we were there. However, the room was just beside the restaurant kitchen. Strong food smell might make its way into the room when the restaurant is open, and dishwashing clanking sounds when the restaurant is closed.
Nevertheless, I will still recommend it for a short stay in Muar. If we return, I’ll likely book the Family Suite because it’s more spacious and in a quieter corner of the resort.
Our first Airbnb booking: www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/1017854501498918457 (Professionally managed by Jay Stay Homestay ).
This Airbnb is in The Atlantis condo.
The location is near the town centre by car and good food. The security is strict to ensure there’s no unauthorised access. The lifts also didn’t seem crowded with homestay guests, unlike Bali Residences (see next section). However, check-in details weren’t given until I asked the day before on a late afternoon.
The apartment is spacious. There are two queen beds in each of the two bedrooms. It has a good view as well. It would be good if the pool was not closed. But we were not informed that the pool has been under maintenance since April and we booked in May. My children were looking forward to swimming, hence we looked for an alternative nearby even though it was evening by the time we found the pool was closed.
Fortunately, they allowed a full refund, even though we learned from Airbnb Support that we should have asked the host for alternatives. That’s because we rebooked somewhere much smaller at a higher price. Moreover, we should have waited for Airbnb’s reply to utilise their 10% discount voucher. But we were anxious to ensure we had a place to stay before cancelling.
We were protected by AirCover. This includes protection from Host cancellations, significant listing inaccuracies, and other issues like trouble checking in. All we need to do is:
Our second Airbnb booking: www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/1163528546983016281 (Professionally managed by Q Holiday Home)
This Airbnb is in Bali Residence condo.
The location is near the town centre by car and good food. However, this condo has many units used for homestays. One company, “Let’s Stay Homestay”, has so many units at the Bali Residence that they even have a reception counter on the ground floor that resembles a hotel’s.
During weekends and holidays, I will highly advise you to check out at least 1-2 hours before the check-out timing. It’s almost impossible to go down during checkout timing. Hence we went up first to go down. We left half an hour earlier but still had to squeeze into a crowded lift that went up before heading down – the lift opened to people waiting for the lift almost every floor up and almost every floor down.
The swimming pool is so crowded that it looks like a water theme park on a weekend. The photo below was taken on a Wednesday, during Malaysia’s school holiday. Naturally, the water became murky with so many people in it. Nevertheless, the highlight of the stay for our children is the water playground/swimming pool and children’s playground. They love the slides and water buckets.
The apartment we booked at The Atlantis (S$60/night) was much bigger and cheaper than this apartment (S$79/night). We felt like we were paying more for the condo’s water playground. This apartment is a studio apartment converted into a 2-bedroom unit. A sliding partition separated the dining and living room, for which the living room became the second bedroom. My girls slept in the “living room” on the sofa bed. The sofa bed and the mattress in the room were super hard though.
The house and its makeshift kitchen are slightly old but still generally clean. The towels felt well-used though clean. It did not feel professionally managed because the pillows were of different types and the towels given were of different types/colours. Felt more like they were giving us whatever was available at home. The place gave me a motel stay vibe.
The host provided an additional bedsheet (for the sofabed), towel and toilet paper on request. It’s a reasonable space for a short stay (2 to 3 nights), but quite expensive for the space and condition. Thus it’s not my first choice. But I must add, the futsal table was a hit with my children.
Before you go, you might want to check out my other posts on Malaysia. Leave your comments or questions below. Love to hear from you. :)
Looking for more tips on travel, home, and baby? Subscribe to my mailing list and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube! If you like what you read here, keep it going with small support. :)
Disclaimer: JoogoStyle and Christina accept no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any use, misuse, inaccuracy or omission of the information or other contents published on this website.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. An affiliate link means I’ll get a small commission if you purchase. There’s NO extra cost to you. I appreciate your support in maintaining this website so I can share more tips with you. Thank you!
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