A week-end in Melaka and as a bonus: my secret beach !
Baptist church in Melaka
I have had to drive friends and visitors around Malaysia a few times when I lived there. And after a while going to Melaka ( and don’t get me started on the Batu caves ) had become quite a routine (and chore). We tended to wake up super early get the 3 hours’ drive, spend the day and the evening there and drive back late at night to Kuala Lumpur. Since we didn’t enjoy that anymore we looked for what could we do to make it a week-end ? Well there is Port Dickson in between (about 1h30 south) or even the Avani Gold Coast in Sepang.
Port Dickson, apart if you pay of this fancy hotel, looked like a ghost sea resort from the 60’s in serious need of maintenance… Well that is until we discovered our secret beach in the tiny Coastal reserve of Tanjung Tuan under the lighthouse 30 min south of Port Dickson ! I’ll share my secret spot and an easy week-end itinerary from Kuala Lumpur. You’ll need your own car to do this.
Saturday - The road to Melaka with a stop at the secret beach
Just wake up early & get ready to drive by 9am – you want to be down at the beach a little before lunch time and eventually eat there and enjoy an hour or two of swimming before continuing onwards.
Drive out of KL until this GPS point. There you have to park the car on the side of the road and continue on foot to the lighthouse. There is a barrier preventing cars to drive all the way up to the lighthouse – it’s about 15 min walk gently uphill. Once at the lighthouse enjoy the view of the sea and take a breath.
Time to go DOWN (and yes we will have to climb back UP!) at the foot of the cliff are two nice beach that hardly anyone goes to (because it deserves a little effort). The path down has some loose stair like steps and is on the left of the lighthouse. It’s relatively well marked so you can’t miss it. It takes about 20min to get down. You will arrive on the main beach but if you climb the rocks on the right, there another smaller one which I find nicer.
The only issue with this beach is that if you arrive at the right time / tide, it’s spotless clean, but if you arrived after a storm and some high tides, the current can wash ashore garbage that are no longer in the water but tangled in the roots of the tree on the beach. So, find yourself a spot and enjoy a swim. In all the times we have been there, I think we saw people only once. Part of the beach is shaded so it’s really good against the merciless sun and the entire path to the beach is in the trees too.
Usually, we would stay an hour or two, have our lunch there and get moving to close the other 1h30 to Melaka. The climb up is not easy and it usually takes us 40min to get back up to the lighthouse and make our way to where the car.
Then it’s up to you, you could stay around Port Dickson and check in into a hotel to continue relaxing in this area and drive to Melaka only the next day. Or you can drive to Melaka now check in a hotel there and then start exploring the city.
On Saturday there is the night market along Jonker street which if you have guests is a nice evening tasting some famous nyonya foods and street foods. If all goes well, you would be in Melaka around 3 to 4pm, a quick shower and you can walk around the fort and the hills to finish at the market.
Sunday - Melaka and the return to Kuala Lumpur
Enjoy your evening and wander the small and picturesque city center of Melaka. Rest in the evening, sleep late – and in the morning do visit the sultan palace as well as any other sights you would have spotted in Melaka that has your fancy. I usually check out the temples in the city center, the sultan palace and the couple of artists shops along Jalan Tokong (that’s where I like to buy some of my more artsy souvenirs for friends and family or to decorate my home).
Usually I would have lunch in Melaka and then drive the 3 hours to KL back in early afternoon to be at home around 5 pm. This way I still get enough time to do what I have to do around the house and even some late grocery shopping for the week if I have to.
That’s a pretty lazy and easy week-end idea for anyone living in KL and looking for something different! Enjoy & have a nice week-end !
