Jalan-Jalan in Malacca

Jalan-Jalan, which means 'taking a walk' in Malay, is exactly what me and my hubby did during the Good Friday long weekend, jalan all the way to Malacca. Coincidentally, it is also the name of the hostel that we were staying in - "Jalan-Jalan Guest House". After discovering Hostelworld.com, I've been rather geared towards staying in hostel then hotel. For one, it's a lot cheaper, and two, it's always so much more charming then the business like dullness of a hotel. Jalan-Jalan was just charming.

Costing at RM35 (S$15) for a double bed room per person (breakfast not included), Sam (the person in charge) was extremely kind enough to gave us a room with "more air" as he puts it. Although simple, I actually loved it! It reminded me of my old house in Penang, with all the mosquito included as well! The scene from the bedroom looks out into the courtyard below as shown here in the photos. It was extremely cooling even though there was no air-con. The air was sweet and fresh, with birds chirping merrily in the morning. Charming indeed! (Except for the damn mosquitoes).

Even the toilet was charming! Here shows the pathway to the toilet. There is only one toilet and one bathroom in the whole hostel, but we had no problem using them as and when we like. Best of all is the open-air-ness of the bathroom, which reminds one of a kampung(village) life, with squatting toilet included. And after a hot day of walking, it was extremely calming to come back to a cold shower and relax in a place where time seems to have forgotten.

The lobby area too was simple, equipped with PC which is free for 30 minutes a day for guest. I didn't even need it as I could receive the Wi-Fi signal all the way upstairs in my room! Sam was hardly ever around, so you could just come and go as you pleased as if it was your own house. And the location is just in the heart of Chinatown, totally near to all the sights of Malacca. In fact, we only had to spend RM1 per person to get to the hostel from Melaka Sentral Bus Terminal, and RM1.50 back when departing. No other public transport was needed! (Of course we did walked a lot!).

Nice place. Would love to come back if given the same room. I say that cause our experience could have been very different if we were given the more claustrophobic rooms with just a small window. Really thankful that Sam gave us such a wonderful room instead! Also, not for people who can't stand old fashion squatting toilet, mosquitoes, ants, molds growing on wall, etc etc etc. Yes! Hostel is the way to go! But a note from Jalan-Jalan itself: IMPORTANT : NOT SUITABLE FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT EXPERIENCE OF GUESTHOUSE AND CHILDREN UNDER 12. WE ARE NOT HOTEL AND THE PRICE SHOULD BE CHEAP ENOUGH NOT TO EXPECT RED CARPET AND CHAMPAGNE ON KING COIL BED IN THE ROOM. (Chuckle!)

Ref:
Jalan-Jalan Guest House
Malacca
Melaka Sentral (Website is in Malay)
Squatting Toilet