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Friday, May 15th
We got up early to pack and grab breakfast because we had to catch the local bus to Kuala Lumpur at 8am. From there we'd take another bus to Melaka, two hours to the south.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Cameron Highlands. The memory of these cool and beautiful hills will stay with us a lifetime.
We're loving Malaysia. The abundance of Indian food might have something to do with it, and for vegetarian Talita it's wonderful to have options for a change (after three months of eating veg-rice and veg-noodle she needed something different). Ferdi's not complaining either. The food is just sooo good (maybe a bit too good, by the look of our bellies).
The local bus was really nice, it even had assigned seats. This was new to us and we sat in the wrong seats until a guy indicated that we were in his seat.
Winding our way through the beautiful hills we talked about how blessed we are and how good God has been to us. All the other travelers we've met have stories of robberies, stomach problems, horror transportation and accommodation. We've had our share of
"interesting" experiences, but nothing truly terrible.
In an earlier blog we had said that Malaysia is hard on our budget. When we did the math, however, it seems that we're still staying within our weekly budget (minus of course our latest investment in camera gear :-). We were trying to figure out how this could be, because compared to the other countries we've visited accommodation is almost twice as expensive, beer is up to ten times as expensive, food and transport also cost at least double and we have the same daily budget. The only thing we can figure is that when we surrender our finances to the LORD He does miracles (with God 2+2 isn't necessarily 4 it seems :-). When we try to be in control we struggle. It's as simple as that. The hard part is remembering to surrender daily.
The road wound through the seemingly endless jungle as we descended from the highlands. In the town of Tapah we changed buses. Being out of the highlands, the temperature had risen sharply and the bus we changed to wasn't as nice. The air-con didn't work very well and soon the smell of sweat filled the
air.
Three hours of traveling and we were still 130km from KL. Once there we've still got about two hours to Melaka. We were very ready for that bus trip to be over.
At about 1pm we arrived in KL. After successfully dodging the various touts we got bus tickets and some fruits for lunch. At 2pm we left KL. Because it's the weekend we were warned to book a hotel in advance. Melaka is a favorite weekend destination for people from both KL and Singapore.
At about 4pm we arrived in Melaka Sentral. Here we got a taxi to our hotel near China Town, about 5km away (this taxi ride cost nearly the same as the 2 hour bus ride). We checked in, had a shower, unpacked, then wandered the streets of old Melaka. We enjoyed awesome Indian food again then walked through the weekend market. We stopped for a beer, it being the weekend and all, and discovered the most amazing drink; Guinness Malta. It is delicious! From what we could understand from the waiter it's Guinness mixed with some malt drink. Whatever it is, it's unbelievable!
Today's highlights:
1. Reaching Melaka.
2. Discovering
Guinness Malta.
Thought for the day:
Living from Gods' hands is the only way to live. Saturday, May 16th
This morning we went for a bit of sight-seeing. First on the list was St Paul's Church, built in 1521, overlooking the Straits of Melaka. Inside the ruins were two musicians, dressed like mariachis, playing guitar and singing. It created a real nice atmosphere and Ferdi realized, not for the first time, how much he misses playing guitar (he's wanted to buy one already but it's just too bulky to travel with). We also visited the remains of the old Portuguese fort, Porta de Santiago.
It was very hot and we decided to visit a museum or two. The first one was the Malay and Islamic Museum. We were bored to tears (since there wasn't a word of English anywhere) but at least it was nice and cool inside. Once the tears subsided we visited the Peoples Museum. This was more interesting. They had a whole floor dedicated to mutilation in the pursuit of beauty. The things we do to ourselves...
Outside again (and slowly melting) we made our way to the Geographers Cafe, the sight of
our first Guinness Malta experience. Here we enjoyed a couple of shandies and a Malta (it's so thick and creamy it qualifies as lunch) while watching golf on the TV, then went back to the hotel. Further exploration will have to wait till late afternoon.
After a nice nap we set out on the prowl for dinner. Surprise, surprise... We ended up at an Indian restaurant. We didn't know what to order so we asked them to recommend something. Before we knew it they served us the biggest meal we've ever seen. Our poor bellies! It was awesome though.
With distended bellies and a guilty conscience we set out to try and walk off that feast. We went by Christ Church, built in 1753. We walked by the river toward a big replica of an old Portuguese ship, Flora de la Mar, which forms part of the Maritime Museum. Before we went in Talita noticed strange creatures crawling around on the mud next to the river. They are fish, called Mudskippers, and they breathe through their skin as long as it's wet. They propel themselves on the mud in search of food with their front fins, which acts
like little legs. We spent a while just watching them.
As the sun started setting we went into the the ship and explored the Maritime Museum. It was good fun. On the way home we walked through the bustling weekend market. We found a miniature magnetized chess set (we've been looking for one), hiking sticks for Mt Kinabalu and a scarf for Talita.
Today's highlights:
1. Exploring the sights in Melaka.
2. Afternoon drinks.
3. Great food.
4. Discovering the Mudskippers.
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