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Published: August 20th 2010
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Hi,
dies ist leider der letzte Blogeintrag unserer Reise :-( Unsere letzte Station in Malaysia war Melaka, was an der südlichen Westküste liegt. Im Laufe der Geschichte wurde Melaka von verschiedenen Kolonialmächten beherrscht, sodass man hier Gebäude von portugiesischer, niederländischer und britischer Herkunft finden kann. Auf dem ersten Foto könnt ihr den Town Square (auch Dutch Square genannt) sehen. Neben den Europäern haben sich in Melaka auch viele Chinesen niedergelassen. Auf dem zweiten Foto ist ein chinesischer Tempel zu sehen. Das dritte Foto zeigt den Nachbau der portugiesischen Galleone "Flor de la Mar".
Von Melaka ging es mit dem Bus nach Singapur. Singapur ist sicherlich die modernste Großstadt, die wir auf unserer Reise kennengelernt haben. Das vierte Foto wurde in der St. Andrews Kathedrale aufgenommen. Dies ist die erste Kirche, in der ich LCD Flachbildschirme gesehen habe. Außerdem ist die Kirche natürlich voll klimatisiert. Auf dem fünften Foto könnt ihr im Vordergrund das Parlament und im Hintergrund die Skyline von Singapur sehen.
Anfang der sechziger Jahre hat man sich in Singapur überlegt, dass die Stadt ein Wahrzeichen braucht. Die Frucht dieser Überlegungen ist die sogenannte Merlion Statur. Sie ist halb Mermaid (Meerjungfrau) und halb Lion (Löwe). Dieses bizarre
Fabelwesen ist auf dem sechsten Foto zu sehen. Neben mir steht mein Kumpel Johannes der momentan in Singapur promoviert.
Das siebte Foto zeigt Singapur gesehen von Mount Faber. Auf dem achten Foto ist die Skyline von Singapur bei Nacht zu sehen.
Elaine und ich sind beide traurig, dass unser Trip vorbei ist. Es war eine super Zeit und wir haben tolle Erfahrungen gemacht!
Viele Grüße,
Patrick
I can't (and don't want to) believe that our trip is finally over. Read on to hear how the end came to be...
After visiting the capital, we decided on only one stop in southern Malaysia. The culture rich city of Melaka is packed with monuments, temples, and museums. The first picture is taken at the city center and shows the city hall, while the second picture is of a very famous Chinese temple. Unfortunately, I can't seem to remember what made it so famous (oops!). Among the many museums that we visited, my favourite was the "Enduring Beauty" exhibit which featured what people are willing to go through in the name of beauty. Examples include enormous (fist sized) piercings, body-crushing corsets, extensive dental work,
and Chinese foot binding. It is mind-boggling how tiny the Chinese were able to make their feet by wrapping them in cloths and breaking a few bones here and there. The Maritime Museum was also quite nice, especially as the whole thing was built inside a giant boat (picture 3). Outside of the cultural center, Melaka was peppered with enormous shopping malls and large concrete structures. Nothing too impressive.
Our last stop was Singapore. Although we were prepared for a western-style city, I was shocked at how modern everything is. For example, the fifth picture is taken from inside the St-Andrew's Cathedral in the city center. Have any of you ever been inside a church with huge LCD screens playing the service to ensure that even those in the back row get a good view? The best way that I can think to describe Singapore is a city-size adult playground. The residents work hard, but they also know how to have some fun. The "bar area" of the city is right out of a cartoon complete with looney-tune looking buildings, themed bars, and giant bungee balls. Quite a spectacle on a Friday night! We we're especially lucky to get
an insider's view of the city as Patrick has a friend who lives there and was able to show us around. Among my favourite Singaporean sights was the Merlion stature (picture 6). Yes, you read right, it is called a "Merlion". Apparently Singapore needed a tourist icon and they thought that merging a mermaid and a lion would do the job. I guess they were right as the place was packed with tourists as we stood in line to get our picture with the famous icon.
After spending a few days in the city, we found ourselves tossing away our guidebook (which was in pretty rough shape) and waiting at the airport to take the long flight home. Many travel hours later, we were back in Germany hosing down our backpacks and enjoying walking on the bathroom floor in our bare feet. Ahhh...western luxuries, how I have missed you! And now, back to real-life as Patrick throws himself into job hunting mode and I go back for (sigh...) more school.
I hope you've enjoyed following along.
Take care,
Elaine
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Midori
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I've enjoyed every reading, smelling, experiencing every entry. Thanks for sharing!!