Melaka (4-7 Jan 13)

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After three weeks resting back home, I'm finally back on the road again! This time I'm starting Southeast Asian Part Deux by heading up north by bus into Peninsular Malaysia. The plan is to keep heading north overland until I finally hit Bangkok again, where I intend to spend some time continuing my Thai lessons.

Anyway, first stop, Melaka! A pretty little Unesco World Heritage city in Southwest Peninsular Malaysia. I was almost ashamed when I told my friends I'd never been there before. It's one of those places that almost all Singaporeans go when they're young, to sample their famous Chicken Rice Balls, since it's just about a 3-4h ride away. Alas I never had the privilege of visiting this part of our northern neighbours when I was little, so this stop kinda fulfilled that lost part of my childhood!

And it was well worth it too! Melaka might very well be called the Museum Mecca of Malaysia. There must be over twenty in just the scenic historical part of town alone, enough to keep many an enthusiastic tourist occupied for at least several days. And the storied past of mixed colonial heritage (Portuguese, Dutch, British, Japanese) and rojak history is really reflected in the city's architecture, layout, cultural vibe and of course, food!

I'd had some worries about missing home after that short break, so I'm glad Melaka came up quickly, to remind me of why I'm doing what I'm doing. A great jumpstart to SEA Part II!

Stayed at Sama Sama Guesthouse.

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Photos

Dear Fellow Singaporean Readers
Eat your heart out! The real reason why I'm backpacking Malaysia, and why you should too!

Melakan Chicken Rice Balls
After hearing about these all my life, I finally got a chance to sample them. I don't mean to biased or anything, but I kinda (much) prefer the unballed version we have back home in Singapore. My sister was right, not fantastic.

Sungei Melaka
A (pretty) river runs through it...

Town Square
Rumour has it the British had the town painted red to match the mud that often washed up on the lower parts of the walls during the monsoon season, so they wouldn't have to do much cleaning!

St Paul's Church
Basically just ruins now.

Melakan History Museum
This was just one of the half dozen or so museums you get admission to for the RM10 ticket.

Admiral Cheng Ho
They love him here! Monuments, museums, galleries, shops and restaurants named after the famed wandering Chinese eunuch explorer.

Boon Leong Gym
The aging lady behind the counter is a Gym Nazi! She yelled at me when I was running on the treadmill (!), because apparently they're all broken, so walking allowed only. Then she scowled that I didn't have a towel, and forced me to buy one from her for RM3.50. What a joint -- No A/C, rusty equipment and dumbbells, and pictures of bodybuilding contest winners plastered all round. My kind of gym! And scrutinizing some of those pictures carefully I noticed the Gym Nazi posing with several of winners. She must have been some kind of famous local trainer! It figures.

Porta de Santiago
And Melaka's ubiquitous multi-coloured, gangnam-style/ techno music-blaring trishaws.

Melakan Catwoman
It seems every now and then I come across one. I still remember the one at Lopburi in Thailand (see blog entry). Notwithstanding her obvious popularity with the felines, this Indian woman might have had a few screws loose, and I observed her muttering to herself. When she saw me, she quite aggressively demanded "Tolong lah (please), money!" What can I say, I obliged. For the catfood after all. And I swear she even said "Thank you" too.

Cafe 1511
Next to the Baba-Nyonya Peranakan Museum

Cheng Hoong Teng Temple
Apparently the oldest in Malaysia, dating back to 1645!

Masjid Kling
Also very old, ca. 1748!

Melakan Museum of Islam
Life-sized replica of the very first Koran ever written!