Blogs from Melaka City, Melaka, Malaysia, Asia - page 27

We're back-dating a little now, (time has flown by since New Year)... So we left Kuala Lumpur - our plans of going to Borneo to trek amongst the orangutans didn't take shape. Flights were fully booked. So where to go? We had a week before our flight out of Singapore and we were sure we didn't want to go straight there. So it seemed a good idea to take a stop in Melaka - roughly half way between KL and Singapore. There's really not much to say. We planned on staying a couple of nights and stayed 4. It was a lovely, quiet little place with plenty of character and everything within walking distance. We stayed in Chinatown which was like taking a step back in time. Everyone going about their lives like we weren't there, ... read more

i was sitting on a bus in melaka trying to leave for kuala lumpur, the capital(sp). we came to a standstill due to some flooding in the area. i talked to a local about the distance to the bus station. through broken languages i thought it MIGHT not be TOO far. it was then i was debating wether or not to get off the bus and walk, thinking that it would be much faster. i kept debating despite being geared up and ready (almost) to go. finally, i decided to get off the bus. walking through knee deep water, VERY SLOWLY to make sure and avoid any of the numerous potholes (as i will sport some scars for quite a while after already having fallen through a drainage cover in cambodia). after i walked a few ... read more

Melaka is Malaysia's most enigmatic city with a rich history of royal rule, Chinese influence and colonial domination that affected many of the vital ports on the Asian trade route. It is also known as the "gateway of Islam" into Malaysia - Indian muslim spice traders brought the religion, which is now adopted by the vast majority of Malays. The city's history is reflected in its architecture - a colourful array of Chinese, Indian and European colonial influence. We spent a day of culture and education in Melaka's colonial centre and scenic Chinatown on Tommy's "Walking Tour of Melaka". The colonial Melaka reflects the styles and ideas of the Dutch, Portuguese and the British, although each succeeding coloniser generally ransacked the preceding occupier's work. The Portuguese arrived first and thir presence is virtually all gone with ... read more

Back to the beach this week, our first and only beach visit in Malaysia, on the island of Pangkor, off the country's Western coastline. We arrived as everyone else was leaving, a spot of genius really, as the population of KL descends like a plague of karaoke-singing locusts every weekend - so we arrived Sunday night! After a bit of bargaining we managed to get a beach bungalow with air-con and cable TV for a knock-down rate and proceeded to do... not a lot really! The beach was probably the best one we've seen so far, quieter and cleaner than the ones in Thailand and the sea was crystal clear and unbelievably warm. Despite a few showers on the first few days (we spent our time watching HBO in the room!) we spent our time swimming ... read more

Place holder for trip to Melaka to visit an old friend.... read more