My family and I have visited the charming city of Melaka, Malaysia twice already. It takes around 4 hours bus ride from Singapore to Melaka. It is a nice place to visit for a short weekend if you are living in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

I wanted to share with you some ideas what to do if you are visiting Malacca. Here are 15 Things To Do When You Are In Melaka:

1. Take instagrammable OOTD photos at the Red Square, Melaka Transporation Museum and its surroundings

The Red Square or the Dutch Square is a great place to start when you are in Melaka. It is called the Red Square because of their noticeable red building where you can find the Stadhuys and Christ Church. Filipino-Australian blogger, Kim Jones has a campaign with Asus Zenfone showing beautifully styled #Zenlook OOTD shots featuring the charming Melaka as a backdrop. It is hard not to miss that red-painted buildings.

The Melaka Transportation Museum is just nearby the Red Square where you can find old vehicles like a large locomotive with actual rails and a big World War II Era Propeller Train. The walls of the buildings going Jonker Walk can offer you the perfect background for photos. Look for the colorful wall with hastag #mykheils #mykheileheritage.

2. Ride the colorful trishaw and sing-along with the music booming from their speakers

 Roaming around the Red Square are colorful trishaws echoing with loud pop music. It is heavily adorned with popular cartoon character stuff toys. Come night-time, this carefully- decorated trishaws will be brighten up the streets with their multicolored lights. So jump right in, sing along to their current favorite song “Despacito” on the top of your lungs and enjoy the ride. It cost roughly around RM24 to RM50.

3. Buy streetfoods or trinkets at Jonker Walk

 Head to Jonker Walk for some street foods and trinkets to buy. You will see lots of finds there. However, it can be very crowded but that makes it more fun. You can find food shops and boutiques left and right. You will see unique food finds, toys, keychains, clothes, and lots more. You would even see Caucasian couple sitting in side of the street, selling their travel photos to finance their trip around the world.

4. Ride the River Cruise and wave at the people looking on

Ride the River Cruise and see the scenic features of Melaka with the river wind blowing in your face. Adult and kids would love this river tour. It costs RM15 for adult and RM7 for  children 2-years-old to 11-years-old. Don’t forget to wave at the people looking on. I promise you, they will wave back.

5. Have a bear cake at The Teddy Bear Cafe

 Head to Hatten Melaka at Terminal Palawan to hang out at this cute cafe filled with bears everywhere. The Teddy Bear Cafe is an adorable themed-cafe to hang out and enjoy some cake resembling a bear. Hug a bear, kiss a bear and eat a bear. Why not?

6. Cool yourself with refreshing desserts like their Chendol with Gula Melaka or Coconut Shake

 Melaka sun can be hot sometimes so cool yourself with the classic Melaka desserts, Chendol with a drizzle of their Gula Melaka or Coconut Shake mixed with Vanilla Ice Cream. It beats the heat and indulged your sweet cravings as well.

7. Take a cultural flashback at Nyonya Memoirs

Get acquainted with the Baba-Nyonya Culture and the splendour of the Peranakan Era and the colourful and interesting life they have at the Nyonya Memoirs Memory Lane found at Level 3 of Dataran Palawan Megamall. Entry is RM 10/adult with free photos with the displays if we get the four stamps found inside the memory lane. Opening hours is 11 AM to 9 PM and last entrance at 8 PM.

8. Try their famous Chicken Rice Balls at Chung Wah or Famosa

Test your patience by joining the queue to taste the Chung Wah Chicken Rice Balls. Alternatively, you can enjoy the Chicken Rice Balls at Famosa at their shop which is strategically painted with red walls to resemble the Red Square. The Chicken Rice Balls have no chicken pieces in it but rather a taste of some chicken flavour in a glutinous rice ball. Pair it with steamed or roasted chicken or marinated pork, add some chilli sauce and you got a perfect meal. Both Chicken Rice Ball Shops are found near Jonker Walk.

9. Pick among the 13 Malaysian State to get a corresponding ice-blended coffee at the hip Calanthe Art Cafe

 Find the Calanthe Art Cafe or better known as the 13 State Coffeeshop hidden in Jonker area. If you like quirky, hipster cafe, you will definitely love this cafe. It is filled with arts everywhere. It is called 13 State Cafe because they make a local ice-blended coffee based on the choice of state you prefer. Pick a state and it has a corresponding coffee flavour. Isn’t that cool? You have Johor, Kelantan, Penang, Sarawak, to name a few.

10. Beat your hunger pangs by eating at Satay Cell

 Give in to your hunger and check out one of the favourite food haunts in Melaka: Capitol Satay Celup found at Loring Bukit Cina. Choose raw or semi-cooked meat and vegetables dipped in a hot tub of spicy, thick peanut sauce. Each skewer of chicken, fried bean curds mushrooms, vegetables, abalones, fish balls, cuttlefish, quail’s eggs, and shrimps cost RM0.90! So cheap!

11. Drink a beer or mocha latte at one of the shops by the river and do people-watching

 Rest on one of the tables and chairs  of little resto-bars by the river side and order a beer or mocha latte. Enjoy the serenity of people-watching and the jazz music streaming from the resto-bars stereo. We met a lively French expat who own one of the restobars with beautiful paintings on the wall.

12. Try the mille crepes at Nadeje Cake Shop

Try the mille crepes, a French pastry made of several layers of crepe stacked together at the Nadeje Cake Shop found outside of Makhota Parade. You have to queue a bit to try the famous mille crepes in Nadeje.

13. Do a mini-trek up to St. Paul’s Ruins

Do a bit of hike up the St. Paul’s Ruins and take a photo there. You get to do a bit of exercise and nice photos. You hit two birds with one stone, right?

14. Say a prayer at St. Francis Xavier Church and Christ Church

 Catholicism has influenced the Malacca region upon the arrival of Portuguese Catholic priests in Malacca in 1511 which is evident in the Catholic churches in the area. The two most popular ones are the the St. Francis Xavier Church  and Christ Church. They say, if you visited the church for the first time, tell God your wishes and often it will be heard.

15. Buy Heong Piah and Gula Melaka to take home for your friends

Looking for something to take home for your family and friends, buy the yummy flat bread filled with sweet sticky filling made of shallots & malt called the Heong Piah. Of course, you can also take home the popular Gula Melaka. It is a type of brown sugar shaped into a thick circular shape made from these sap of the flower buds of a coconut tree. You can buy at San Shu Gong or any nearby delicacy shops.

Let me know if you have tried any of my suggestions above. Have fun discovering charming Melaka!