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Thursday, June 26, 2008

A Kid-Friendly Getaway in Malacca


THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS were in full swing when I was home the last time. Trawling the 'net for some suitable mini-vacation breaks, we became intrigued by the ads for the new Holiday Inn Malacca. Particularly their "Kiddie Suite" - a large bedroom with king-sized bed and a kiddie partitioned area with double decker beds .

When my kids saw this on the computer screen, the six-year-old immediately broke into a jig. I knew this was it. The thing was, the six-year-old boy and his fourteen-year adolescent brother shares a bedroom, and more than once they had nudged and winked for a double decker. This would certainly free up much needed space. But the problem for the 'decker is the ceiling fan. It is not only impractical but dangerous. Unless one's home comes with a twenty-foot ceiling of course.




So now they get to live their fantasy!



Could be a bit of an anti-climax for couples seeking intimacy. Why? The partition has a break near the ceiling so the kids can sneak their head through to check on wayward parents!



Of course, a Malacca getaway would be incomplete without a seafood feast. Who better than Doc Tokasid and family to share it with?

Thanks for the hospitality, Doc!





N.B.

The Malacca Holiday Inn sits behind Mahkota Parade, thus almost all major attractions are within walking distance. Oh, don't forget to visit the excellent Asam Pedas restaurant by the shophouses in front.

Caveat - the Kiddie Suites are NOT sea-facing unfortunately...

20 comments:

Mior Azhar said...

Bro,
Waaaa waaaaa cuti in Holiday Inn Melaka? I gahter it was a good place, no? And waaaa pi seafood dinner with Tokasid and family waaaaa waaaa, bestnya

gram.kong said...

Mat Salo,

God god! Where have you been mate? Trying to unfix the ridiculous price of crude?

The world have gone completely out of control, we are at the mercy of the speculators, not only oil,food too.

Nice to see you back.

Shanghai Fish said...

good to have you back...my brother in "minyak" .
When you are coming back to visit us, bro ?

Anonymous said...

Assalamualaikum Mat Salo

Glad that you are back for holiday onshore and have a great holiday with family. One a while we feel great having family around us after missing them for a while and spend our time with them. As we are travellers always missed them and suddenly we see our children grown up!

Thanks for your link and keep up blogging!

Unknown said...

Salam bro...

This piece is much awaited coz... I knew you were there with DocTA... so nak tengok gambo-gambo nye lah...hmmm bestnyer... my boys have be hounding bila lah nak jejak kaki ke Melaka...they said...hehehehe

Salt N Turmeric said...

U kno im no fan of pool and/or sun but tht pool looks very nice! michael wud like it. wrt tot he rooms, i dont understand why do they have to have the 'hole'. its just too weird.

in any ways, u guys look like u had fun. a well deserved holiday ya? ;)

cakapaje said...

Salam bro,

Lor...ampun pak! Almost every other day I stop by your blog hoping for some news. The week when I did not, you put in an entry!

Anyway, just to remind you your book is still in my safekeeping.

Unknown said...

Dia hilang punya la lama, aleh-aleh dia balik pi cuti dengan dokta pulok doh.

You didn't take home a tank or two of crude?

Anonymous said...

Hah! Macam tu lah kawan2.... pergi jalan2, makan2, dengan Tokasid tak ajak kawan2 yang lain :-P

tokasid said...

Salam Pak MS:

Its been like what?, a month ago that we have the seafood dinner right?

So Elviza dearie....jangan marah eh...its was during the school hols.

Pak MS, next time you come back I think a small( amall??) gathering is in the agenda.I think I owe Puan Elviza a seafood dinner laa....

I like you kids esp the cheeky 2nd guy who most probably have a girlfriend.I smile alone when I remember him telling us that a girl kiss his friend in school. He is so funny...

It was unfortunate that there was a crawl to the Muara Duyong seafood area for earlier that evening Pak Dol announced fuel price increase.Luckily you didn't get to wall-up someone.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

the last time i was in Melaka the host (not docTA) served us a seafood thing called belangkas. its a crab-like delicacy but with a shape of a sperm. it was the first for me.

Mat Salo said...

Bro Mior: Melaka memang laa best. Ko tak mana pure orang Peghak mcam DocTA sekarang dah jadi PR. he... Ehm hang pon Utagha mai no?

H-L: I've around but plagued by dodgy net service. The seas have been rough so it's hard for our dish to get a lock-on I guess. It's okay to read but it gets difficult to get into secure websites (https) for blogging or posting comments. So I do it offline and borrow the client's network to upload comments. I don't think we can unfix the price if oil, but I'm sure there's a way to fix the wayward US who is the root cause of all the world's misery...

Stephen - my brother in 'oil'. Haha. Will do bro. Promise next time I come back..

Pak Mamadou: As I get older I start to wonder if its healthy to be away from our children for so long. People say its quality over quantity. I don't buy it. Its important to be 'there' Pak, whne they need us. This is what I'm struggling with. Anak2 udah besar Pak? Salaam.

Dalilah of RG: Memang best laa, your kids sure enjoy nya. Tapi yang lebih best tu dapat 'ketuk' a certain GP practicing in Durian Tunggal for seafood!

Farina of S&T: Betulaa that hole is a bit weird. Hmmm... why are you no fan of the sun when you live in Sunny Ca.? Heh, just kidding..

Shah Cakapje: Ni cuaca buruk kat kapal last few weeks. Hope thing stabilize soon dapat laa berblog kembali. Actually I'm reading your blogs okay. But cannot log in for comments sebab 'https' authentication hancur. Itu yang susah nak blog or go to Mayban to You etc. Anything dat requires https..but norwal www okay lak. Hai.. So baca oni laa...

Chegu: Ini minyak mahai semoa barang dah naik. Yang tak naik .. haha. I wish, Chegu... bila kita nak bukak kompani minyak mcam Pak Dol nyer brader menhantu? Almost one billion dollah Chegu.. buat apa nak blajar tinggi2?

Mish! Sis, I see that I have 'offended' you. No worries, we'd like to serve our penance ma'am. Doc TA would of course be the one to hand the olive branch. Next time okay Sis? Hey.. you settled in your new home yet?

Dok TA: You dah janji kat Mish seafood dinner. Hehe... Turun KL next time okay. Yes, let's put it on the agenda for early August. How? OK tak?

Kerpie: Sedap tak sperm-like blangkas tu? Ada fatwa tak kata boleh makan nate tuh?

Anonymous said...

This is such a huge relief!

Your 'Melaka Break with the Brood' is such a nice refreshing thing to read after a surfeit of you know what at other blogs. :D

But as I was saying, I was getting worried abt the long silence after the sad blog on the passing of yr beloved Gran [Al-Fatihah!].

Welcome back, MS! You've been missed.

tokasid said...

MS:

Hopefully early August no problem kot.Just bagitau bila hang nak balik nanti aku boleh adjust time.

Hmm...Mish suka tak ikan bilis bakar?

Mat Salo said...

Mek Yam! Hmmm..."Melaka with the brood?" You know, I did wrestle with an appropriate title.. and ah, this would have so much better!

Thanks Mek Yam, it's nice to be missed!

Bro' Doc.. nampak gaya Mish kita sibuk ngan umah baru dia. Kita 'Klang Valley-Food' jer nak? Apa tu.. ikan bilis bakaq? Belum try bro..

ZABS said...

Salam MS,
Terlambat mengomen di sini. Ingat dah buat komen tapi takda rupanya. Dah tua jadi pelupa pulak.
Nampak ke Pulau Melaka yang di reclaim tu dari hotel?
Juga jeti yang panjang di sebelahnya. Jeti berharga RM300j jadi gajah putih je.
Sekarang dsuah ke laut semula ke?

Daphne Ling said...

Hey Abang Mat,

I'm happy I got to meet you finally, although I wasn't so lucky with Doc TA. What to do? Can't have everything right?

You take care, and jangan bosan sangat atas the oil-rig, k?

PS: I stayed at the Holiday Inn, Glenmarie. It was cool. Must try the Malacca one someday, when I got money lar...;)

Nisha said...

Hi mat salo.. i remember you left a comment on my blog about my baby alisha.. where have you been since then?

It seems you were holidaying with your family, lovely place.. great that the kids got to live their dream of the double decker..

Anyways.. would to link exchange? we can to visit eachothers blog in a second, isnt it?.. i love family blogs:)

Please let me know once you've added my link, would be so easier:)

Anonymous said...

Sheesh bro...missed u lots. U still around or cabut back to boondocks?

Nice story.U know...i was in Penang recently n stayed at a Holiday Inn too. It was quite nice.

The highlight was of course getting drunk and arguing about politics with the bartender.

Typical Indian style...heh.

BTW...u know abt Nizam Bashir's new project kan?

I'm sure u'd have something up ur sleeve.

Cheers

muststopthis said...

Bro, and Tokasid too!
From the balustrade, I can tell it is Sungai Duyung....he he.