36 hours in Malacca - What we did over the weekend!

Malacca is one of those places that Singaporeans love to head to for a weekend trip. Malacca is often a checkpoint for those preferring a more extended vacation before heading further upwards to Kuala Lumpur and Genting. Very frequently, we travelled by car to Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. Personally, I love to fly, and I always choose to fly rather than drive, even to Kuala Lumpur. The traffic jams are unpredictable, and I would rather be stuck in an airport than in a car with nowhere else to go.

Malacca is easily accessible by car and can be reached between 2 and 2.5 hours, depending on traffic conditions. However, those looking to fly had no options, as the nearest operational airport is in Kuala Lumpur. Add another car trip from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca, and it does not make sense anymore.

Hence, I jumped when Scoot announced they were launching flights between Singapore and Malacca! The fact that flights would be in their brand new Embraer E190-E2 aircraft meant we had to make a trip to Malacca! As soon as bookings were available, we quickly made them. We booked our flights on 7 August 2024 for a trip between 11 January 2025 and 12 January 2025, a short weekend getaway to Malacca. As we had been to Malacca multiple times, we thought this would be one of those casual trips where we would be lounging at cafes and Hard Rock Cafe the entire time. We were not that far off!

Flights:

Booked on 7 August 2024: 2x return flights with no add-ons: S$304.32

1. TR436: 11 January 2025 from Singapore to Malacca (1000hrs to 1055hrs)

2. TR403: 12 January 2025 from Malacca to Singapore (2215hrs to 2310hrs)

• On 14 October 2024, TR436 had its timing changed to the following: 1015hrs to 1105hrs

• On 19 November 2024, TR436 had its timing changed to the following: 1015hrs to 1110hrs

• On 11 January 2025, the day of the flight, TR436 had its flight time retimed to the following: 1030hrs to 1125hrs

Accommodation:

For our one-night accommodation, we were initially not too worried, as plenty of hotels were available in Malacca. There were also many Airbnb options, and we knew booking accommodation would not be difficult. As such, we waited until the last minute to book a hotel stay. Ultimately, we decided on Holiday Inn Melaka as it was very near the city centre, and a quick Grab ride would bring us to Jonker Street.

Details of the hotel accommodation are as follows:

• Booked on 3 January 2025

• One-night stay at Holiday Inn Melaka’s Standard Room: RM397.60 (S$125.75)

Join us as we embark on a 36-hour trip to Malacca for a short weekend getaway!

Saturday

7.45 am:

We boarded our Grab and headed towards Changi Airport Terminal 1, home to Singapore’s Scoot.

Cost: S$44.30

8.15 am:

After a 30-minute ride, we arrived at Changi Airport and immediately went to print our boarding passes. The process was very fast, as we had already checked in online and had no check-in luggage. Before long, we were in the transit area and headed towards the lounges.

8.40 am:

We arrived at the Plaza Premium Lounge to enjoy some breakfast. As a cardholder of the American Express Krisflyer Ascend credit card, I was entitled to four complimentary lounge passes. As it turns out, they are removing these free passes, and I still have four to use. I previously tried to use it at overseas airports and only found out later that not many airport lounges accept them. Upon realising how “unfriendly” these passes are, we quickly tried to find ways to use them. Thankfully, we were heading to Malacca and had a perfect reason to use them.

The lounge is relatively small but functional. As expected with such commercial lounges, it was packed in the morning, and most seats were occupied. Thankfully, we found seats near the buffet area, far from the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the taxiway. For larger groups, there is reserved seating meant for four people or more, so it should help matters. Small workstations for individuals should be helpful for those who need a little quiet time. Showers are available too.

The buffet serves a mixture of hot and cold food, including a small a la carte menu of Hainanese Chicken Rice, Singapore Laksa, and Vegetarian Noodle Soup. We got the chicken rice and laksa, and while I enjoyed the laksa very much, my partner did not like the chicken rice. Since taste and preferences are subjective, consider this when ordering meals at this lounge!

An area serves salads, and travellers can choose from different options, including coleslaw, tuna filling, olives, and quinoa. Various cereals and milk are also available. As it was early in the morning, we preferred having some hot food in our bellies and skipped the salad.

The hot foods included bee hoon, or fried vermicelli, chicken sausages and meatballs, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and croissants. You cannot really go wrong with these options, and I enjoyed the scrambled eggs, which reminded me of McDonald’s Big Breakfast. The chicken sausages and meatballs were quite good as well. The lounge also serves bread, and you can decide between wholemeal or white bread, toast it, and apply your preferred condiment, which includes butter, strawberry jam, and kaya.

There is a self-service coffee machine that will churn out your preferred coffee option, and Dilmah teabags are also available. Those who enjoy some fuzziness in their drinks can opt for sparkling water that comes directly from a tap. Orange juice, fruit-infused water, and an assortment of canned drinks can also be found.

There is a bar for those who need some alcoholic beverages. As we do not drink alcohol, we did not really check out the situation. However, we saw a menu of alcoholic drinks with prices included, including a glass of Singapore Sling priced at S$15. Do what you will with this information!

After enjoying our breakfast, it was time to leave the lounge and slowly stroll towards the departure area. Of course, we spent about 5 minutes snapping the beautiful views this lounge has to offer. I love how a Singapore Airlines A350-900 is parked just below the lounge and how another identical aircraft taxied its way past the lounge. Oh, what a fantastic view this lounge has! Alas, this view is reserved for the early birds who managed to snag the precious seats facing the taxiway. Although, we saw half of them with their eyes closed!

10.00 am:

We entered the transit area on time to prepare for our flight that had a departure time of 10:30 am. Funnily enough, I did not see our plane parked yet, and I thought we would be boarding a bus to transport us to our plane, which happens from time to time for morning flights. I also overheard another passenger wondering aloud where the plane was. Thankfully, I soon saw the plane arriving.

10.10 am:

The first sign of trouble occurred when I overheard one of the crew members saying there was a delay because a crew member forgot to bring the passport and someone else had to be activated at the last minute. Yikes. During this period, my mind started to think about random things. Like how I could have bought a book. There was a book vending machine literally opposite the transit lounge. I should have bought a bottle of water too.

Later, I saw the plane arriving and slowly making its way to our gate. I walked over to the windows to observe the crew unloading the luggage from the previous flight and loading the new luggage for the flight to Malacca. I plane-watched the other flights and overheard conversations between the airport staff.

After some time, an announcement stated that boarding would be delayed due to the flight arriving late from the previous destination. All of us could only sit or stand and wait.

As I continued to plane-watch, I could only see other planes departing ahead of us and headed towards the runway...

11.10 am:

Yay! We finally managed to board the plane. As a nice gesture for the delay, we were each given a care pack consisting of some snacks and a bottle of water. Nice! After 10 minutes, the pilot got on the intercom and informed us that due to the weather and congestion, there was an expected delay of between 25 and 30 minutes before pushback. Ouch.

11.30 am:

Pushback has begun. Yes! However, since there was a long queue of flights waiting to take off, there would still be a delay.

12.08 pm:

Some 1.5 hours after our expected take-off time of 10.30 am, the flight finally took off and left the ground! The weather was really quite bad the entire weekend, and the flight experienced some turbulence the moment we took off. Add to that the fact that we were on a small plane, which made us feel the weather even more. Kudos to the pilot, who flew expertly to get us out of the weather. After 6 minutes (12.14 pm), we finally cleared the weather, and it was much smoother. At 12.21 pm, the seat belt sign was turned off. At 12.22 pm, the pilot announced that the plane was starting its descent and asked the cabin crew to prepare for landing. At 12.26 pm, the seat belt sign was turned back on. That was quite funny, as the seat belt sign was turned off for a total of 5 minutes.

12.40 pm:

Touchdown! The beautiful Embraer E190-E2 landed on Malaysian soil and the pilot expertly secured a smooth landing.

12.46 pm:

Doors to disarm!

12.54 pm:

We were one of the last few to leave the plane, as is usually our practice. We snapped plenty of pictures of the beautiful plane as we walked from the aircraft to the immigration area. Beautiful!

Interestingly, we saw another Scoot plane parked on the taxiway when we arrived in Malacca. Initially, I thought that Scoot had two flights that day or that it was kept in Malacca as a spare, which was extremely unlikely. I did not think too much until I chanced upon the news a few weeks later about the horror story behind that plane. The previous night, passengers had to endure a nine-hour delay before Scoot finally cancelled the flight back to Singapore. The long delay and cancellation were supposedly due to a combination of bad weather and technical issues. Check out this link to read about that horror story!

1.15 pm:

We cleared immigration after a short wait and are officially in Malacca!

1.30 pm:

Booking a Grab was quick and we were on our way to the Holiday Inn Melaka to check in!

Cost: RM25.03

2.05 pm:

We arrived at the Holiday Inn Melaka and began our check-in. It was relatively smooth, and we soon put our bags in our room before returning to Jonker Street. Check out our review of a one-night stay at the Holiday Inn Melaka here!

2.50 pm:

We Grab-ed from the hotel and headed to Jonker Street before searching for a place to eat.

Cost: RM10.61

We originally wanted to eat at Hoe Kee Chicken Rice because we saw plenty of great reviews of this chicken rice eatery online, both on social media and on Google reviews. Unfortunately, it was closing by the time we arrived and no longer accepting new customers. Of course, we were disappointed, but our stomachs were already complaining.

We walked to the nearest chicken rice stall to Famosa Chicken Rice Ball. Disappointingly, it was not good. We had already researched before the trip and knew this eatery was not the best. We went in with our eyes wide open. We ordered five chicken rice balls, a quarter of a steamed chicken, a serving of roasted pork meat, and a plate of pickled vegetables.

We are unsure if it was the style of chicken rice served by this eatery, but all the food served was cold, including the vegetables. Everything was cold, from the rice balls and the steamed chicken to the roasted pork meat and vegetables. While strange, we were too hungry. We finished everything, including the vegetables, whose oiliness was perhaps accentuated due to the lack of heat in which the dish was served. We will unlikely be back at this eatery again as there are plenty of food options around the area. If you have a chicken rice craving, we can only say that you should control it and eat something else instead. You can always eat a good plate of chicken rice another time.

Cost: RM 59.90

After our late lunch, we wanted to enjoy some cendol. After all, Melaka is famous for its cendol. We headed to Peranakan Place, an eatery with many branches in the city. Quickly served, we ordered one to share. It was pretty standard, and our craving was satisfied.

Cost: RM13.80

By this time, we realised we had not had a drop of coffee since this morning at Changi Airport. So, off to a cafe we went! We headed to French Brown, a popular cafe in Melaka, for some drinks. We got a hot and iced Americano and ordered a Pistachio Apricot roll since I could not resist a sweet treat. The coffee was good and relatively standard for a cafe offering. The unique Pistachio Apricot roll was also delicious. It was good for an afternoon snack and suited those looking for a mix of sweet and savoury. The croissant-like roll was a little heavy, while the pistachio and apricots on top had just a slight hint of sweetness. It definitely hits the spot for those who do not enjoy overly-sweet desserts. Even though I have a sweet tooth, I enjoyed this well-balanced afternoon snack. It went well with my hot cup of joe!

Cost: RM35.50 (paid by credit card) (cashless only)

As evening set in, we strolled around Jonker Street. Of course, we could not miss the famous Malaysian-branded Eureka popcorn. They have a stall on Jonker Street, and we always buy lots of Eureka popcorn whenever we are in Malaysia. This trip was no different, and we stocked up on some Eureka popcorn.

Cost: RM77.50 (paid by credit card)

6.00 pm:

After a long day of travelling and eating, it was time to take a break. As coffee lovers, we had to head to the best coffee joint in the world, Starbucks. We went to the outlet at Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall. Thankfully, it was not too crowded, and we had a nice break while enjoying some Americanos. Admittedly, I dozed off while relaxing in the cafe.

Cost: RM24.40

After waking up feeling refreshed, it was time for more shopping! We tried to keep fit by walking across the road to Mahkota Parade to Watsons to get some toiletries and cosmetics.

Cost: RM20.10 (paid by credit card)

Feeling full from all the food and drinks, we decided to head back to the hotel for a rest, as is our usual routine when travelling. We Grab-ed back from Mahkota Parade to Holiday Inn Melaka.

Cost: RM5.46

8.50 pm:

After feeling re-energised simply by relaxing in our hotel room, it was time to eat! We booked another Grab and returned to Jonker Street to hunt for more food.

Cost: RM10.61

9.15 pm:

We arrived at Jonker Street after some time due to the usual weekend traffic congestion. Almost immediately, she bought a pork stick from a night market vendor, and we toured the night market, looking at the various souvenirs and products they were selling.

Cost: RM5.00

9.25 pm:

After deciding we wanted a proper meal, perhaps because I was missing a Western meal, we headed to the famous Hard Rock Cafe for a steak dinner! We both ordered the Ribeye Steak, and it was cooked to perfection. Of course, some might wonder why we came all the way to Melaka to eat steaks at Hard Rock Cafe. We can only say it was because we craved steaks and liked Hard Rock Cafe and its live music. Indeed, we left Hard Rock Cafe that evening with our tummies completely satisfied!

Cost: RM306.24 (paid by credit card)

We returned to the night market for a final round of shopping and bought some sweetened strawberries and muchi. Although not fantastic, they did their job as desserts.

Cost: RM15.00 + RM6.00

For some reason, we are always at convenience stalls whenever we travel, and we did the same thing in Melaka. We went to Family Mart to get more toiletries.

Cost: RM13.10

As we strolled towards Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, we felt something was still missing. What was it? Oh yes. Ice cream! We dropped by 7-Eleven and bought ourselves Häagen-Dazs ice cream. It was the perfect ending to our night in Melaka!

Cost: RM17.75 (paid by credit card)

As we ate, we slowly strolled back to the hotel. We decided to walk back to the hotel in an attempt to burn some of the calories we had consumed that day. Although it was probably futile, it was still a good attempt. However, it was perhaps not the safest way to do that. The traffic light system in that area was unique, although we reached the hotel safely. At 11.45 pm, it was time to shower and head to bed!

Sunday

11.00 am:

Rise and shine! We had a slow start to the day. We took our time lazing around on the bed, using our mobile phones and intermittently looking out the windows towards Jonker Street. Reluctantly, we headed to the restroom and showered.

12.45 pm:

When we finished lazing around and took a proper shower, it was time to leave the hotel. We finally checked out and dropped our bags off at the hotel. Then, we booked a Grab and headed straight to the town centre, Jonker Street.

Cost: RM9.58

1.15 pm:

We walked to The Daily Fix in the ever-so-light drizzle and headed inside. Although we saw no queue, we realised there was a waiting list and a staff member was at the entrance to take names. The staff mentioned that the wait should take around 20 minutes, and we promptly walked around the shop outside the cafe to do some window shopping. Interestingly, there is a separate cafe outside The Daily Fix cafe serving to-go coffee and pastries. Those look good, and we would have bought some to try if we had not been waiting for lunch at The Daily Fix. Thankfully, we managed to get called within 5 minutes and we were in!

We spent just 5 minutes on the menu and decided what to order! We ordered the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict for both of us and an additional Banana Pancakes to share as a dessert. Amazingly, the pancakes arrived within 5 minutes of ordering, and the two Salmon Eggs Benedict were served in another 5 minutes. We were truly impressed with the speed in which this cafe serves its food. Immediately, we ordered our drinks. I wanted to order our food and drinks separately as I wanted to have a piping hot drink to go along with our food, as opposed to when cafes usually serve their drinks first, and I could only drink a lukewarm coffee when the food arrived. Equally impressive, our hot and iced americanos arrived within 1 minute. We were thoroughly impressed. Mind you, the cafe was fully packed!

We finished the food in no time, and the food was delicious. We loved the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict. The smoked salmon was fresh, the poached eggs were so yummy, and the side salad was fresh with the vegetables crunchy. The roasted sesame sauce coated the ciabatta bread, which complemented the dish well and did not overpower the rest of the dish. It was a well-thought-out dish that was amazing.

The pancakes were another delight. There were plenty of banana slices both within the pancakes and served externally. Served with maple syrup, they were a deliciously sweet dessert that we also devoured in no time. After that, we washed it all down with a cup of hot and iced Americano. Alas, it was time to leave, and we left the cafe with our bellies and minds thoroughly satisfied.

Cost: RM121.80 (paid by credit card)

2.25 pm:

It was time to explore Jonker Street a little more, so we walked along the famous road. At this point, my partner spotted a fruit juice stall, and she had to get the tourist-friendly watermelon juice.

Cost: RM15.00

Of course, my tummy had to act up at this point, and one can only head to Hard Rock Cafe for a relaxing time. There was no two way about it, and it was time for another meal. While I was busy, my partner ordered an entire plate of Fish and Chips (I don’t know why?!) and iced tea. Having said that, it was a nice time just relaxing, chatting, and enjoying the air conditioning while we shared our second brunch for the day.

Cost: RM91.64 (paid by credit card)

4.30 pm:

It was finally time to start walking again, and we headed towards Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall to do some window shopping. We toured some of the more famous shops, including Adidas, in an effort to burn some calories. Fortunately, that was all we burned as we did not fancy purchasing any new clothes. It was just as well since we did not purchase any luggage options for our flight home. We did manage to buy a new iPhone cover that cost just RM10.00.

Cost: RM10.00

6.00 pm:

We are unsure if it was just us, but time flew by. Although many travellers to Malacaa usually pack their weekend with lots of shopping and eating, we were pretty satisfied just taking things slow, walking around and doing some window shopping. When we are tired, we will settle down for a cup of coffee, no matter the time of the day. With this thought, we found ourselves at the same Starbucks we were the previous day for a nice cup of joe!

Cost: RM20.70

7.00 pm:

As night loomed, we knew it was almost time to head to the airport. We should have a final meal in Malacca before returning to our hotel to collect our bags. Feeling Chinese, we went to Dragon-i, a Chinese restaurant in the same shopping mall, Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, for dinner. Facing A Fomosa, the Chinese restaurant had quite a nice view of the hill!

We ordered the prawn fried rice made famous by Din Tai Fung, Xiao Long Baos, Braised Beancurd with Black Fungus, and Deep-fried Fish Fillet with Sweet and Sour Sauce. The food came quickly, within ten minutes, which was great as we were already hungry. The food tasted great, and we could safely say we enjoyed all the dishes. It was probably our favourite Asian meal during this trip.

The fried rice was well-balanced and not too oily. The ratio between prawns and rice was also great, with the portions generous. The thick chunks of fish fillets were delicious and went perfectly with the fried rice. The vegetable dish came with various healthy ingredients, and we were happy we had hit our vegetable quota for the meal. We loved the mushrooms, beancurd, black fungus, and broccoli. It was a good dish to complement a typical Asian dinner. Xiao Long Baos are something you have to order in a Chinese restaurant, and this was no different. Even though we ate the XLBs last, the soup within was still warm, and it was a nice way to end the meal, with a savoury dessert. Overall, a great meal to end our trip in Malacca!

8.00 pm:

After finishing our dinner, it was time to head to the airport. We booked a Grab to take us to the hotel to collect our bags before proceeding to the airport immediately. Thankfully, traffic was smooth, and we reached the airport relatively quickly.

Cost: RM47.69 (paid by credit card)

8.45 pm:

When we arrived at the airport, we immediately went to check in. As ours was the only flight that evening, check-in was extremely smooth. Within 5 minutes, our check-in was completed. Now, there was nothing left to do except wait for our flight.

9.25 pm:

As our flight time was at 10.15 pm, the airport staff started to call out for passengers to enter the transit area. This made sense as boarding time usually begins an hour before the actual flight time.

After waiting in the transit area for some time, I wondered when we would board the plane. I began to notice some things. The runway outside looked dark, and somehow, it clicked. Was the plane still in the air? I quickly checked Flightradar24, and my guess was correct. The plane was still flying to Malacca, and there would not be any way our flight back to Singapore would take off on time at 10.15 pm. Tough luck, but we had no choice since this was the only flight back to Singapore. Surprisingly, there were no announcements from the airport staff and everyone could only wait for the plane to arrive. We waited for some time before, finally, at 10.21 pm, almost an hour after we were instructed to enter the transit area, the plane touched down in the quiet Malacca Airport.

10.26 pm:

Some 5 minutes after touching down, the plane’s engines were switched off, and the doors were assumed to be disarmed. Passengers soon descended the stairs and hurriedly headed towards the immigration area to enter Malacca proper.

10.35 pm:

Surprisingly, boarding started nine minutes after the plane first switched off its engines from the earlier flight from Singapore. Everyone expectedly stood up and quickly queued up to board the plane. As we were walking on the taxiway towards the plane, I could not help but notice two engineers shining a torchlight at the left engine. One of the engineers was also taking pictures of the engine, and they did not appear to be leaving any time soon. I wondered if this meant a further flight delay… 

10.52 pm:

We were the last to board the aircraft, and we hoped to be able to take off soon! These are, of course, the famous last words. Some time after sitting on the tarmac, the pilot announced that there was a minor technical issue and the engineers were trying their best to fix the problem soon.

11.32 pm:

The pilot announced that the technical issue had been rectified and left with the completion of the paperwork, which was expected to be completed in ten minutes.

11.39 pm:

At this point, it has been 3 hours and 39 minutes since we boarded the Grab from the shopping mall after dinner to return home. Even though we should have already been in a Grab heading home from Changi Airport, I tried to console myself by checking out the traffic situation at the Causeway. With an estimated 70-minute traffic jam for vehicles entering Singapore, I convinced myself that a flight is still more fun than driving.

11.45 pm:

The pilot announced that the paperwork had been completed. However, due to the current bad weather in Singapore, there is a potential 20-minute delay.

11.52 pm:

Unexpectedly, the plane started moving.

12.02 am:

The pilot told the flight crew to be at their take-off stations.

12.03 am:

Take off!

12.08 am:

Seat belt signs turned off.

12:15 am:

The plane starts to descend. At this point, we are beginning to feel happy as we are heading back home!

12.20 am:

Of course, whenever it rains, it pours. The pilot announced that due to the bad weather, the expected time to touch down was at 1.00 am, 40 minutes away. Yikes. Having said that, the pilot requested that the cabin crew prepare for arrival.

12.51 am:

The pilot requested that the cabin crew be at their landing station.

12.57 am:

Touchdown!

12.59 am:

The plane came to a stop. The pilot announced that we had arrived at the parking bay. However, as the advisory panel for the plane was not yet switched on, the pilots could only wait for ground crew instructions. It is worth noting that it was raining heavily, and we were just thankful we had a safe flight back into Singapore. Even though we might complain or whine at times, we are always grateful each time we enjoy a safe flight. I took the chance to check out our plane route and saw the stormy weather our plane had to go through to land at Singapore Changi Airport.

1.07 am:

The plane started moving again and finally parked at the parking bay one minute later. Doors to disarm!

1.24 am:

We were among the last few to leave the aircraft and board the bus to the terminal!

1.30 am:

The bus arrived at the terminal. We are finally entering Singapore officially! On the short bus ride, I was glad to snap some awesome pictures of the parked planes. There is always an opportunity to do some planespotting!

1.32 am:

We cleared immigration! At this point, we were beyond exhausted and wanted to head home immediately. Off to the taxi stands at Terminal 1!

1.38 am:

We arrived at Terminal 1’s taxi queue. Of course, the bad weather delayed or disrupted many flights, causing chaos in the taxi situation at Changi Airport. This meant that we faced a very long taxi queue, something that I had never experienced before. Alas, Murphy’s Law requires preparation for everything, and we can only go with the flow.

2.03 am:

Our taxi has come!

2.34 am:

Home sweet home! Our journey home started at 8.00 pm the previous day, so we only took 6 hours and 34 minutes!

Cost: S$46.44

Afterthoughts:

Flight experience

We first booked this set of flights to Malacca as I wanted to try out the new Embraer planes that Scoot had procured. As Malacca is only a short 30-minute flight, I thought it was the perfect way to experience the plane.

In terms of the flight experience, it was great. The plane looked and felt new. The interiors still looked very new and clean, while the exteriors were beautiful. A benefit of landing in a small airport is the chance to get up close with the plane. You almost never get up close with a huge plane (e.g., A350 or A380) unless you land in Dubai or Doha, which is where I got up close with a Qatar Airways A350-1000 a couple of times!

As it is a small plane, it is pretty light compared to the B777 or A350, and you could feel it. During our flight to Malacca, the pilot was fighting against the clouds, and you could feel the lightness of the plane. One could argue this is due to the agility a smaller plane offers. Having said that, I enjoyed experiencing the expert pilot’s skills fighting against the weather. This is, once again, something you almost will not get to experience with a larger plane.

Malacca is a good weekend getaway for most travellers. As I frequent Malacca quite often, you might be mistaken for wondering what we actually did in Malacca this time. We did not enjoy any Peranakan meal (which is extremely famous in Malacca) or visit any historical sights (of which there are many in Malacca). Instead, we got comfortable with Hard Rock Cafe, Starbucks, a typical Chinese restaurant, and enjoyed brunch at a cafe. Perhaps we have long treated Malacca as a very convenient travel destination that it is almost like heading to town. The only difference is that we need our passports to head to town. And so, we had a weekend-long craving for Western food and brunch, and we did not behave like typical tourists this time. We hope you are not too disappointed with what we did during this trip!

Flying vs driving

The final and most important question of this trip is whether flying is a better option than driving by car. Most travellers are used to driving up to Malacca. Flying is an extremely new concept that most dismiss. Indeed, the pure flying time is at most 30 minutes, and spending so much time transiting at the airport does not seem wise.

For this particular trip, we were hit with an almost perfect storm. We travelled during a typical busy weekend and at a specific time when consistently bad weather hit Singapore. Rain was pouring down Singapore skies incessantly for many days, and that weekend was no different. We heard that many flights were delayed that weekend, and the news reported that multiple flights were diverted. Even for our flight back, the bad weather and late arrival flight to Malacca meant our final touchdown time was delayed by almost two hours. This was definitely a bad example to compare when driving to Malacca. However, it is what it is, and the bad weather would have also affected the traffic conditions.

Flying

Flying has its perks, including the pure joy of flying. You get to experience flying and many travellers, including myself, love the thrill of being on a plane. You also get to pass through airports, and Singapore Changi Airport is the best airport in the world (both an unbiased and biased opinion). Of course, this is a benefit not many might fancy, as they only want to get to their destination. 

In the event of flight delays, which was what happened to both our flights, Changi Airport is not the worst place to endure flight delays. We saw several travellers heading out of the transit lounge at Changi Airport to head for the restroom. You could easily walk around, buy some coffee, get a book, people watch, plane watch, do some shopping, and even eat a full meal. Simply put, the options are endless. Of course, on the other end, if you are stuck at Malacca Airport, you will just have to wait. Based on our experience during this trip, our travelling time to and from Malacca was pushed back quite a few hours. We took 6 hours and 20 minutes from when we took the Grab in Singapore to when we arrived at the Holiday Inn Melaka. On the other hand, it took 6 hours and 34 minutes from when we took a Grab at Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall to when we arrived home in Singapore.

Driving Up

Driving up is typically fuss-free. You board your car and arrive in Malacca two to three hours later. You can stop at a petrol station any time you want to buy snacks, have a meal, or go for a toilet break. The catch is that you are always at the mercy of traffic jams, both on the Causeway and on the North-South highway. Many families try to beat this by departing very early in the morning, which almost always means you are queuing at the checkpoint before 7.00 am. At this rate, you will arrive in Malaysia by 10.00 am. From point to point, driving to Malacca should take 4 hours.

There is no denying that driving up to Malacca is a more convenient and fuss-free option for the general population. Get in your car, drive up, beat the jam, and arrive in Malacca. Flying up requires some planning in advance unless you are financially irresponsible enough to book an impromptu flight to Malacca for the next day.

However, you are still at the mercy of unpredictable traffic conditions, and it is possible to meet with a massive traffic jam in the middle of the North-South Highway with nowhere else to go. It is essentially a two-lane road, and if you still have some distance to go to the next petrol station or exit, you can only trod along slowly. There are no other options available.

Driving is definitely cheaper. One car brings everyone to the destination, and petrol and toll costs are much lower than plane tickets. Our plane tickets cost S$300.00, which still does not take the airport transfers into account.

Our preference

In our opinion, we will choose flying if we have a planned trip. The convenience and joy of boarding a plane supercedes driving up by car any time. The advantage of being able to walk around and head to the shops or restrooms in case of delays also helps alleviate plane delay concerns associated with flights. Granted, a road trip allows you to stop at petrol stations and neighbouring towns on the way to Malacca, but we feel that Changi Airport has everything we need.

The long delays we faced during our trip were an unforeseen event that few could have predicted. The rainy weather that hit Singapore for weeks affected everyone, and we were already thankful our flight was not cancelled or diverted to another airport. 

As an added advantage of flying, we saw first-hand how it benefits families. We saw a mother-daughter couple travelling to Malacca, and we can imagine that this convenience allowed the elderly mother to travel comfortably by plane to visit this famous city. Sitting in a car for hours with unpredictable traffic conditions is not where you want to be.

Final thoughts:

The Scoot flights are an excellent option for those seeking a short weekend getaway to Malacca. It primarily benefits those without a car who do not wish to travel by bus to Malacca. It brings convenience and efficiency to those who just want to be in Malacca. It also saves you from a lot of worry, as you do not need to keep checking the traffic conditions at the Causeway and Second Link before determining the best time to head back to Singapore. Head to the airport two hours before the flight time and relax. Head to the restrooms and do some shopping if you are bored. Simple. 

Will we use Scoot’s planes to travel to Malacca again? Yes! We still prefer flying to driving up and enjoying the relative predictability of flight times!

Total damage: Total: S$806.33 + RM182.90 (approximately S$55.42 using S$1 is to RM3.30) = S$861.75

What would you do differently?

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