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Published: March 7th 2007
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St. Paul's Chapel
A little smaller than its cousin in London... We left Tioman on a 7.30 am boat and made it over to the mainland. Unfortunately, when we got there we got directed to the domestic bus terminal (for buses around the area) rather than what they call the international terminal (which really just provides long distances Malay buses - except for ones to Singapore and sometimes to Hat Yai in Thailand).
As such, we didn't get on a bus to Melaka till gone 12. Still, sitting and chilling in a local food court for a few hours was ok. We had some toast and drinks for about 25p.
The 'VIP' long distance buses around Malaysia are all much better than UK (e.g. Stagecoach) in that they have bags of leg room. You can get super low cost buses which have small seats and zero leg room (for a westerner like me), but to put it in perspective, the bus to Meleka from Mersing (where the ferry terminal to Tioman is) was I think about 18 Riggit. Thats less than 3 pounds for a journey of around 3 and a half hours. Wait till I tell you about the superVIP bus to the Cameroon Highlands though... 😉
Tombstones
Historical evidence of why getting vaccinations and taking malarial tablets is probably a good idea. Moving on, Melaka or Meleka or Malacca (the various ways it can be spelt depending on where you are from) is perhaps the most interesting place we visited in Malaysia. Historically anyway. Its a pity we didn't get up to the more Islamic cities on the East Coast, as I think these would also have been interesting, but Malacca shouldn't be missed.
Its a very civilised place and is central to world trade history. It was once said by a European (whose name I forget) that "he who controls Malacca has his hand on the neck of Venice" or something there abouts. It was an observation on just how important Malacca was as the central port not only for trade between India and China, but also (more crucially with regard to its own history) its role in the spice trade which Europe so lusted after.
There's a good book I read some time ago, which is semi-fictional/semi-historical, that recounts the history of the English East India Company, demand for Spice in the light of its (erroneous) role as a cure all tonic for everything from the black death to consumption, the Spice trade and the ensueing struggle for
Remaining Fort GateHouse
The British blew up the fort for fear of someone else using it... all that remains is this Gatehouse. And the tourist office. power in the region between the Dutch, Portugese and English called Nathaniels Nutmeg... Worth a read, especially in the context of the location. A good overview of the history is avaiable from Wikipedia
HERE - click me.
There city itself is based around the old historical centre, which is itself based around 'Flagpole Hill' as the British christened it during their colonial rule. Flagpole Hill (so named because it was where the Cross of St. George was raised) has a chapel on its peak which is now filled with the moved tombstones of many dead colonials - Dutch, Portugese and British. Almost all from tropical diseases, and not a few children amongst them. Around the Hill are lots of old colonial buildings, including the old governers office, and a Famous building known simply as the 'Red Building' which used to house the Administrative offices of all three colonial powers (if I remember correctly).
There are a good number of musems, however, its worth saying that whilst these Museums are ambious in scale - which is easily seem by some of the buildings that house them (for example the Naval history Musem is housed in a gigantic recreation of a Eurpoean Naval
The Royal Palace (recreation)
This is the recreation of the 19th century Malay Sultan's palace. Galleon, there is no clear remit between musems on what is the role of each, so they all cover the same ground from largely the same perspective. There is no real story or timeline presented between each individual part of the museum, and exibits themselves are almost without exception presented with so little information as to be little more than curio in an old bric-a-brac shop. For example, there are a large collection of swords in the (frankly incredible) recreated Royal Palace building that houses the museum of Malacca, but none are dated as to when they originate from, and all are labelled with simply one of 3 types of sword that were used in the Malay Pennisular.
The best history as such surrounds the last 100 years and the Malay independence movement... Its interesting, but again, it repeats a lot between places.
Its easy to be critical, and nearly all the musems are worth seeming, but remember we are spoilt in the UK.
Wondering around the historical centre, if you are interested in history, can easily soak up a couple of days, but China town is also a nice place to visit, and Malacca also seems
The Red Building
Its fun to play chicken with taxis on this roundabout (you have no choice but to cross it). Until ofcourse you lose. to be an important commercial town in of itself. Its clearly quite wealthy, as you can see from the Banks housed in plush renovated Colonial buildings on the way in, and the Mercedes dealership in a flash all glass building nearby.
We stayed in a hostel called 75 Backpackers Inn, which had massive rooms, and was by all accounts pretty decent. We are starting to doubt the Rough Guide though, as the place we originally looked at (listed in the Guide) was decidedly seedy. Its understandable this can happen, but its by no means the first time... Hoping its just the Malay section thats pants.
We got up to a fair bit in Malacca, and it was a nice few days... but short of the historical side, it is largely ununique. One of the more interesting things I noticed was my perception of the attitude here towards the British. When the British took over Malacca from the Dutch (whom were losing money hand over fist) they pretty much ended operating mainly out of Penang (GeorgeTown) and Malacca faded away from once great trade port rivaling Venice, to a poor agricultural backwater with increasing unemployment and poverty. The local
The Naval Museum
Its a boat, no its a museum...
Who can tell. Malaccan seem to still have a low level of resentment on this, not that its show in any way towards anyone, but it does seem to seep through in the language used in the English text in all the Museums... I also got told by one of the Ricksaw drivers after ignoring him (rude of me, but when you have quite literally had a bell rung at you, or asked if you want a taxi, 5 times by each driver over a hundred times a day, its starts to grate) which I assumed he will take that I didn't in fact need a lift - he told me "British Go Home, Invasion over".
I don't blame the chap, if my livelyhood was dependent on a bunch of (comparatively) rich tourists whom just a few generations ago were lording up over them, I'm pretty sure I'd feel the same...
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