Driving to Malacca coming weekend...

[lowy]

My wife has been hinting me to drive up to Malaysia for ages...
She says her family been doing since she was young...
Can some of the bros here advise what are the things to take note when driving in Malaysia for the first time and alone?
Anything to take note when driving up to Malaysia on GPS alone?
Cos for me, I hear too much horror stories from my own family side...

Also, where are the makan areas in Malacca itself?

 

[ronleech]

My wife has been hinting me to drive up to Malaysia for ages...
She says her family been doing since she was young...
Can some of the bros here advise what are the things to take note when driving in Malaysia for the first time and alone?
Anything to take note when driving up to Malaysia on GPS alone?
Cos for me, I hear too much horror stories from my own family side...

Also, where are the makan areas in Malacca itself?

Singapore to Malacca is about 200KM.... don't need stop....gear yourself with a GPS and off you go. If going over weekend, beat the weekend queue and noon sun heat by leaving early about 7am. while driving on NSH, drive on the left lane unless overtaking or the right lane is totally empty. Watch out for speed trap under bridges and those vehicles park along road side. Have a good nite rest before the day... perk yourself with coffee before starting the journey and most important, if need to stop, DO NOT STOP at those R&R area that is quiet.... go to those area with makan and got lots of ppl....have a nice and safe trip.

 

[lowy]

Thank you ronleech...
Any more advices from other bros?

 

[limkopilimteh]

Just drove in on Sat morning and came back on Sat night.

Set off at 5am, so that i could reach there at 8.30am for breakfast.
(inclusive of half an hour rest).

You could stop at Pagoh R&R or Machap R&R to refill petrol and top up the Touch and Go Card.

Typical eating places can be found on many blogs, depending on your preference. Most people (me included) visit the Jonker street. Chicken rice ball, nonya food, satay celup, millie crepe, A&W, etc... One of the more unique coffee joint is Calanthe Cafe where they have the 13 states coffee.

Lastly, do remember to put coupons when u park at carpark lots. Jonker street's strike rate for not putting coupon is damn high.

 

[cyberian]

Where do we buy the parking coupon?

 

[withluck]

Where do we buy the parking coupon?

You can buy a set coupons or more from 7-seven shops or some shoplots in Malacca.

A Malaysian Tourist Guide

 

[lowy]

Anymore tips?

 

[Ruriel]

My friend just drove me up to Malacca over the weekend as well. We went in on Friday afternoon, reached Malacca at around 7pm, and then came back on Sunday, reached SG at around 2+pm.

This was actually my first road trip, and we didn't have any scary encounters on the road, that's for sure. We chose rather busy petrol stations to stop by for refuel and toilet breaks. The people we met at those petrol stations are generally very friendly, and oddly I don't feel uneasy or uncomfortable when I was there. Just be alert and you'll be fine.

We only used the turn-by-turn navigation from Google Maps in our phones, and it worked just fine.

If you are driving and you see some cars from the other direction kept flickering their headlights, most likely there's police up ahead. Just slow down (if you are hitting the accelerator hard) if you don't want to give kopi lui. I thought this "secret highway code" of NSH was a myth/joke, but it really did happened on our way back.

Oh, also, in case you intended to drive to the night market, Jonker street is closed from 6pm to 12am on Fridays and Saturdays to make way for the night market.

There are a lot of private parking lots in Malacca, where you need to pay the attendant a small fee to park. It can range from RM3 to RM5 per lot. I was told by the hotel staff that after 6pm, you can park by the road sides without the need of a parking coupon. That was what we did once, and we didn't get any fines or ticket.

You can get around Malacca by walking, but the afternoon sun is really very very scorching. If you intend to walk to somewhere far during the day, it's better if you can drive. My friend and I walked from Jonker Street (where our hotel was) to Mahkota Parade, and we regretted not taking the car because it was far too damn hot. (It didn't help that we tried to make a side trip after that to Pak Putra, only to find the shop closed till early March =_=.)

If you or your wife likes crepe cake, do give Nadeje a try. Their crepe cakes are lovely, and is easily 10x better than the Lady M's in Singapore.

 

[dleodleo]

Where do we buy the parking coupon?

Hi, you need not buy parking coupon if you stay in a centralised location. You can stay at melaka raya area or jonker street. You just park your car at the hotel you stay (free parking in most hotel) and you walk around.

Melaka raya area hotels - Equatorial, Hatten, Fenix Inn, Holiday Inn, Makohta parade and etc. But do note that Holiday Inn and Makohta Parade are a bit further up and need to cross the busy highway.

Jonker street - Aldy hotel stadhuys, casa de rio, hotel puri, baba inn and etc.

• Melaka raya got shopping centre and cinema.
• Jonker street got many good makan, nite market (weekend only) and shopping.
• In between Melaka Raya and Jonker, there's tourist attractions like red christ church, Stadhuys, museums, the ruins of the old St. Pauls Cathedral, Porta de Santiago and etc.

If you stay around these area, you can walk no need drive since it is jam in malacca.

There are alot of good food to eat in malacca esp in Jonker street, you can see the brothers suggestion here or there's a topic on malacca food in hardwarezoneforum.
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/malaysia-269/question-about-malacca-2012210.html

http://www.mycarforum.com/topic/2684116-first-time-driving-in-to-my-melaka-need-advise-and-tips/

Enjoy your trip.

 

[dleodleo]

First time drive be careful. I as a kiasi person would advise you to follow your friend's car behind if this is your first time. At least experience the road first.

However, please remember to have the touch and go card. Top up around RM70 for 2 ways. exit ayer keroh to malacca. malacca to play safe, dun stop lah. Dun speed.

 

[lowy]

Uppzzzz . Thank you for all the recommendation

 

[withluck]

Hi lowy, make sure you have insurance for your car at the same time your family. Don't take the risk.

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Our insurance products starts at SGD $23.


Hesitate no more, go to our site www(dot)allianz-assistance(dot)com(dot)sg & use this promo code to avail the discount.

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Keep the code and use it anytime the whole year.

hope I was able to help you.

Try to get a gps with access internet which can get road conditions. One of popular apps is waze. Before you are heading to traffic jam ahead, you can try to find alternative route. If you are using waze or google maps, some tourist spots locations are marked wrongly. To get more accurate locations, it is better to use the most up to date garmin or similar open source gps map from the internet. Hope this helps.

A Malaysian Tourist Guide.

 

[limkopilimteh]

in my view, driving to malacca is fairly safe and simple. A GPS unit is sufficient to bring u around.

If you are really concerned, can go for those "pre-road trip" car checkups. Which i think is not very necessary given that its just Malacca...200+km only.

If ur car fails u on the highway, there is a number to call, do write down the number. No need worry too much about the road trip, just do it and have fun. Drive defensively and stay safe.

 

[lowy]

Back in Sin. Thank you all the Bros for the advice given

 

[Panerex]

in my view, driving to malacca is fairly safe and simple. A GPS unit is sufficient to bring u around.

If you are really concerned, can go for those "pre-road trip" car checkups. Which i think is not very necessary given that its just Malacca...200+km only.

If ur car fails u on the highway, there is a number to call, do write down the number. No need worry too much about the road trip, just do it and have fun. Drive defensively and stay safe.

Sorry for digging this thread. May I know what is the number to call?