Gael JLL Travels

As the blog name widely discloses, this blog is going to be a travel blog where I’ll post current and ongoing trips as well as #throwbacktrips. It’s going to be my own photos, experiences and feelings about places I visit!

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And of course, as always, food: Laksa, Chicken Satay, Rice Cake with Kaya, Wonton Soup, Herbal Tea and a bunch of other dishes that I wouldn't even try to spell.

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Here is Melaka by night including our wonderful Psy/Gangnam Style ride!

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The sacred: Melaka has a wonderful mix of Faiths, from Chinese temples, Hindu shrines, Mosques and Churches. Above, one of the Chinese Temples followed by an Indian Mosque and a Portuguese Church.

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Walking tour of the city

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The first batch of pictures is centered, much like the city itself, around the River. We walked along the river on the first day and on the second day, as proper tourists, we did the boat tour (real reason is we were too tired to walk around!).

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My first tourist destination: Melaka (or Melakka, Malaka, Malacca, Malaca) I'd spread my wise words over the explanation of what this city's history is but I'd rather let our kind Lonely Planet explain the basics:

One of Malaysia’s most eagerly sought-after destinations, the small city-state of Melaka (Malacca) lures droves of visitors to its namesake historic port city.

Under the Melaka sultanates, the city was a wealthy centre for trade, owing to its strategic position on the Selat Melaka (Strait of Melaka). The Melaka sultanates were the basis for Malaysia as it appears today, and it is sometimes said that this city is where you’ll glimpse the soul of the nation.

Modern Melaka was swept up in the sudden economic boom that blew across Malaysia in the 1990s. Massive land-reclamation projects, which tapered off during the ensuing economic downturn, pushed the historic waterfront so far inland, however, that it endangered the traditional livelihood of the Portuguese fishing community. Malacca has a rich seam of heritage, but many argue that this is under threat from those twin fruits of development: commercialisation and modernisation.

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First day in town, first day at the office: today, you're off at 2pm. Like every Friday.

Quite happy, head back to the hotel to pick up the luggage and move into my temp pad. All settled, rain has gone: time to head out. After a (very) long walk under the humidity, I finally arrive at the Golden Triangle aka Shopping Heaven! Up here is only a small part of it, there is much more to it...

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The Rain

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18 hours, 2 planes, 3 airports and a terminal transfer tram ride later: I'm in Kuala Lumpur.

What do I discover? Rain, storm, thunder. And 25+°C. And Humidity. No doubt: I've reached Asia and monsoon season.

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And off I go to Malaysia! Lucky me, I was upgraded for the first part of my trip. That just made the departure that much easier. So, Brussels-Doha was perfect but I still had a tear in my eye when, first, I flew over Abu Dhabi and saw the entire Island, and second when I was that close to my best friend but couldn't see her. Off to Economy now (yes, 1st world problems) and to Kuala Lumpur (KL from now on!)

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And between the two trips, I did come back home but stayed on the move!

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Meknès, the end of the trip!

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The food part of things, and mostly funny items I end up purchasing and trying just because it would be a shame not to

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La Sqala - Café Maure: a wonderful outdoor place to have tea and delicious tajines. This is quite the touristy place but it's worth it, very relaxing and they have music sets, which we missed because they came on late and work was calling the next day!