malacca calling

We were recently commissioned to shoot a pilot for a new TV show and had to write a list featuring the places of interest in Malacca as preparation before the actual shoot takes place.

BLANK. Absolutely nothing came up. NOTHING + BLANK = HUH??

Being Malaysian, I was utterly embarrassed. Yes, I grew up south of Malaysia, in a land where Malaysian history was not taught instead we embraced the history, geography as well as the civic responsibility of this little island.

I grew up being able to recite the Rukun Negara (I actually have no idea but have faint memories of this at the back of all the school notebooks) equivalent in Malay, Mandarin and of course English, each to represent the different races and oh yes, the National Anthem is in Malay. Most of my classmates had no idea what they were singing but anyway...

Sorry I digressed.

So anyway, back to Malacca. My last visit there was probably a decade ago with my then 'common' friend, DG, now a 'celebrity' and a prolific DJ spinning under the name Twilight Action Girl who brought us to visit his hometown.

There wasn't anything memorable about the trip except for perhaps how DG behaved when his family was around him; normal was the word.

Anyway, as I googled Malacca and tried to locate the road less traveled in Malacca, I found none. Was it futile for me to be searching for the less obvious? Is it because we prefer to blog about Paris or Rome than Kuala Kangsar? Do Malaysians rather travel outside to gather new experiences or is visiting neighbouring states too close for comfort. Or are we just afraid to be disappointed.

Whatever it is, the pilot needs to be shot so the places need to be identified. maybe it is not about the road less traveled but the road to be traveled again to revisit the charm of Malacca that attracted the Portuguese in the first place.

Whatever it is, it must be PRETTY DAMN GOOD!