Coastal Park Hotel Melaka

... fabulous! The actual vehicle was your classic design involving a push bike with a covered carriage on the back for you to sit in but the decoration was extreme. They were covered in tinsel, glitter, flowers, ribbons, paper birds and some even barbie dolls sprouting out all over them. They also had many different fairy lights on them and the best bit about them was that cheesy music played whilst you rode around town in them!!! My favourite was the one that played ...

... culture above south Indian and Chinese cultures, since they are on a nationalistic kick and even have quota/affirmative action type programs to fill important positions in the country with the “proper” number of Malays. The sultanate museum was interesting, though, because it described the history and significance of the region as a cultural meeting point and outlined how the local ruling sultanate family would have conducted their business back in the day ...

... as it was ANZAC day and the only day of the year you can legally play it, and also visited the local petrol station roadhouse, which had a life size model of a 5m long Great White Shark that was caught just off Streaky Bay by a 16 year old, only using a line and reel. It was really big and very scary (especially when Damo made me put my head in its mouth to take a photo) and definitely made us think twice about venturing into the sea. From Streaky Bay we hit the Nullabor Plain ...

... Mr Kamal (legend). We saw an awesome wooden Chinese buliding that had no nails! Then we sat by Melaka river and Mr Kamal showed us turmeric, lemon grass, citronella and basil that grew locally. We also saw a Monitor Lizard. Then we saw the Leaning Church of Melaka - the architects were drunk when they designed it. Then we went to a night market for our last dinner together as a group - was really lovely local food. Then we left for Singapore.

... racket style fly killer. In the middle of the day. More on that later. I spent the day wandering around aimlessly, there are canals lined with art galleries and coffee shops & it really feels like Amsterdam. but hotter. with more noodles. The shops are mostly tourist orientated and it would be very easy to spend a lot of time and money on lovely clothes and pictures. As it was I bought some chopsticks for my hair ...

... the siun on her nose already and I am sweating from every pore, but it's good to be back in Malaysia. This town has even changed since we were here in March. There is a new tower built in the town centre which has a revolving saucer fitted with glass walls, floor and seating, in which you can travel 100 odd feet in the air and enjoy the roof top view of Melaka. Needless to say, that's the last bloody thing you'd get me ...

... an international Karate champ. Proper character, proper nice guy. Then the big guns came out. He brought over a full tray of killer prawns - one for each of us - to dunk into the boiling satay. I kid you not they were like steaks. Then he gave us all a cold beer on the house and sat telling us stories. Happy days. What we didn't know is that during all this, the waitress had nipped off to get the ...

... is a lounge area with a tv but i cannot find the damned remote (it's still raining). We went out for dinner to a nearby muslim restaurant with good fish. The only complaint I have about it is that the boiled egg served with it was still in it's shell. I would have liked to have found out about that before I bit into it (it was half a boiled egg and the shell was white!). After walking around a bit and getting a few essentials from a supermarket we left exploration for the next day.

... 02 and ran to catch the bus. Kay ran right by the ticket counter and the lady behind the counter just pointed to the parking lot. Our bus was pulling away when Kay ran up to it and waved for him to stop. He said where are your tickets and we told him we did not have time to get them. He still let us on. Cool! If we had missed this one the next one did not leave until 12:30 and we would have missed the ferries to Tioman. Wow we got lucky. Cheers Frank

... town, but there is an even greater city which calls our name. A place where all cultures offer their culinary best, side by side, on every corner of every street. French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Malay, Indonesian, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and American (to name a few). If you want it done right (and you're willing to spend the money), there is no better place to go in the world to indulge your most indulgent eating fantasies.... Singapore