IT WAS a culture shock when I was in Malacca recently.

A check of my expired passport revealed it had been 10 years since I last visited Malacca.

It is my mother's hometown and where most of my maternal relatives live.

Malacca may be a boring town to some people but its quiet charms reminded me that one can live life, especially in Singapore, at a more leisurely pace and yet, without compromising on our success and achievements.

I have been so out of touch that I didn't realise Uncle Lee Jon and Auntie Kelly have as many as four children - Roy, Ryan, Michelle and Ranee.

Not surprisingly, I was stunned to see so many fresh young faces when my uncle fetched me and my family to stay at his house when we arrived in Malacca for our visit.

Roy and Ryan were only toddlers the last time I saw them a decade ago.

Now, they are teenagers with cute sisters.

Many Malaccans Imet are effectively trilingual.

Ryan can speak Malay to communicate with his Indonesian maid.

He speaks Mandarin with an accent that is undoubtedly Malaysian, and English without any accent, just like how Singaporeans speak it.

His older brother, Roy, is learning his fourth language - Japanese.

Both of them are well-versed in Chinese calligraphy and have won impressive national awards for the art.

They even write their own Chinese New Year slogans for their house and their father's clinic.

Although there are many striking similarities between my cousins and I - Roy likes to watch American drama series; Ryan likes card tricks - the countries of our residence reveal many contrasts.

It is very common for people in Malacca to own cars than to take public transport due to the low cost of car ownership.

This could be why students travel to their tuition teacher's home, instead of the usual practice found here.

Malaccans are observably warm, gracious, and share close bonds with one another.

It is the norm for them to shake hands to wish each other good blessings when they meet, and when they leave - something I find difficult to practise in Singapore.

One of my uncles commented how Singaporeans always seem to be so rushed and stressed when he was in Singapore to attend my cousin's wedding.

In a way, Malacca's laidback environment feels similar to Australia's.

Malaccans habitually use hands to eat nasi lemak and roti canai (known as prata to Singaporeans), which foodies often say makes food more tasty but which I have given up practising long ago.

All in, the six days spent in Malacca were barely enough for me to catch up with what I had missed in my 10 years away.

To me, Malacca is much more than a tourist destination or a place where one can find great food.

It is a place where people can be warm-hearted and less artificial.

The writer, 26, is a freelance writer. He recently launched his first book, Real Answers To The Meaning Of Life &
Finding Happiness.