On The Strait and Narrow

---

We crossed the Straits of Johore on Number 2 Causeway and made our way up peninsular Malaysia on the Singapore - Melaka Express into the land of the Proton. The border formalities were all very straightforward and it was smiles all round, except for having to unload our packs from the bus to walk through customs before loading tham back on the bus! We weren't really sure what to expect on the Malaysia side, but there was a fairly impressive toll motorway, lots of red pantile houses that could have been lifted straight from the Spannish countryside and a lot of jungle / plantations. There have been lots of floods in Johore province of late, so there was also a lot of water.

It took 4 hours to get to Melaka (or Malacca depending on your version of the spelling). We opted not to cut the cloth too fine and checked into a small hotel rather than one of the backpacking guesthouses - a little bit more expensive, but it's all relative in these parts....it was cheaper than our previous backpacking abode in Singapore and everything is a bargain compared to Australia.

The town is very historic, having been under the control of the old Sultans, the Portugese, the Dutch and the British - all of who have used it as a trading base and added their own architectural style to it. We were surprised by just how orderly everything is and how polite and friendly the locals are, although there appears to be some confusion as to whether a red traffic light actually means stop!. We've spent our time wandering around the old town and across into China Town, with regular interludes in either of the two airconditioned shopping centres in the city to keep cool as the weather is very hot and humind.

The city seems to have a bit of a boring tag on the backpacking circles, but that is probably because of the focus on history and museums rather than drinking and nightlife - however to be fair the museums do seem to become a bit repetitive in telling you the history of Melaka through to Malaysian independence over and over again. It's all a bit of a culture shock after Singapore in terms of the nightlife, as a lot of the restaurants all seem to close at 9.30 p.m.

The prices seem to be fairly competitive for everything except drinking alcohol (which hasn't done us any harm to have a few days off from) - you can get a reasonable feed for 60 pence.

We are off to catch the bus to Kuala Lumpur in the morning.

---

Photos

Melaka
Dragon on the entrance to the Chinese Temple

Melaka
The Dutch Church of Christ

Melaka
A Melaka Taxi

Melaka
Miranda outside the Museum of Independence

Melaka
A Famosa - what is left of the old Portugese / Dutch fort, after the British blew it up

Melaka
The Church of St Francis Xavier

Melaka
Tiger on the entrance to the Chinese Temple

Melaka
Tiger Tiger - the modern version

Melaka
Chinese dragon

Melaka
"Sport" Taxi

Melaka
St Paul's Church with the statue to St Francis Xavier - the British used the church as a lighthouse and to store gunpowder!

Melaka
Tomb in St Paul's Church

Melaka
A "boutique" version of Beef satay and nasi goreng rice - robbery by Malaysian standards at 2.00 pounds

Melaka
Istana Kesultanan - a recreation of one of the palaces of the old Sultans of Malacca