A morning in Melaka,Malaysia

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Geo: 2.21594, 102.253

On the 3rd April, the ship moored off Melaka ( also Malacca) in Malaysia This was the only time we had actually booked one of the ship's tours so after being tendered over to the small harbour we were coached for a short distance and our group of 23 were directed to follow a guide who took us walking around the town while telling stories of the historical settlement of the place . There are still some residual ruins of the original Fort. Then we visited a wooden Malay Palace, which had been built with no use of nails. Inside were various displays depicting different Malay sultan costumes. The palace is set in gardens and from there there is a pathway leading up to the ruin of an old church with a statue of Francis Xavier outside. The guide told us how the original body of the saint had been exhumed and moved but someone had removed the right hand and two of the toes as relics. The right hand and two toes are missing on the statue. From here a walk down a pathway took us to the centre of town which contains buildings showing the Dutch influence in architecture and the inevitable clock tower with fountain commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. From here we clambered into very pretty flower covered Trishaws and were bicycled to the Chinese temple. Stefan and I took separate ones as we thought we were too big for the poor chap to cycle with both of us! I like Chinese temples as the architecture contains lots of figures and is very colourful and ornate. We had nearly an hour to see the temple so this was an opportunity to get a beer at a local bar. The weather in south east asia has been very hot and humid the whole time and even Tiz has stayed in the shade. However the oppressive heat is the same all night too. No jumpers needed here.The last part of our tour was a boat trip down the river. Malacca has low rise buildings with roofs mostly in Malay style.The buildings on either side were colourfully painted and a good attempt had been done to make this area a tourist attraction with restaurants etc. The river water level was controlled by a dam so that it would always be full enough for the river boats. A short coach ride took us back to the harbour for a local tender back to the ship for lunch. It was an interesting tour and I would recommend a trip to Melaka if you get the chance.

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