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Published: March 29th 2008
Melaka
The StadthyusIt's been a lazy few days in Melaka. We have done quite a lot of relaxing and souvenier shopping among the dozens of antique shops along Jonker street and eaten plenty of good food. All in all Melaka is one of the best places on our journey. If they only had a beach...
Wednesday was our by far most active day. After breakfast at a riverside cafe we handed our laundry to a cheap local laundry and went for the Lonely Planet recommended walk. It started by the very famous and very red Stadthyus, one of the many Dutch buildings in town. We continued to a street which could have been rightly named Museum street. Walking by the Islamic arts museum, the Political museum and many more we headed up to St Paul's church. We had a fine view over the waterfront of Melaka from ruins of the church upon the hill. Nearby the church lay the Porto da Santiago, the last remains of the once mighty fortress of A'Formosa. The gate is the only thing still standing, the rest having been destroyed by the British. Then we went up and down by the Jonker street seeing and experiencing an
Melaka
The very elaborate bicycle taxis. Some even have their own stereo. immense lot of temples; mostly Chinese Tao-Bhuddist but also Hindu and a couple of mosques. During the tour we kept an eye out for kris' for Erik.
Later that day we went to look for books, though their assortment of fantasy books were not satisfactory. Their shelves with classics were a bit more interesting, since they were so cheap. We also saw the movie An Empress and the Warriors, which was ok.
We ate dinner at the Quayside Cafe and Seafood Restaurant where a local band called Buged Seni Melaka was playing. Sitting there eating the usual good food and enjoying the good music was really nice.
The following day we went to the usual place for breakfast and then collected our laundry. We went to the seaside and looked at Melaka's dismal excuse of a beach, and then took to the computers for some news and e-mails. This evening we were joined at the usual dinner place by Arne the german. A guy who had just completed his medical studies in Germany. After dinner we had some beer and drinks at the Discovery Cafe. In Hannes view a dull, but very relaxing day.
Yesterday we had breakfast
Melaka
The nice little fountain in the middle of the town square. Queen Victoria I is depicted in profile. at the usual place and then went back to the hotel to read. In the worst heat of day we started our walk to the small island just by the "beach". During the walk over the bridge we came upon some very special fishes sunbathing on the mud. These are the same tree-climbing fishes that are displayed at Skansen in Stockholm.
Needless to say, we had dinner at the Quayside cafe with the calming tunes of the band and the cool breeze from the sea adding to the meal.
Today we broke our habits by having breakfast in our room. Sadly the papaya had rotted during the night and the meal was a lot poorer than planned.
After breakfast Erik went to see the Villa Sentosa which is an old tradisional Malay villa located in a kampung district. He was shown around by a nice old lady and sat in the same chair as Churchill and the king of Malaysia. Then he got to hit a two-hundred-year-old gong three times for good luck.
Hannes in the meantime saw some cool monitor lizards and looked for cheap bargains. As he waited for Erik to come back with the room key,
Melaka
St Paul's church. It was built by the Dutch and then used as a ammunitions store by the British until it finally fell into decay. he also had time to read the news paper and find out what was going on in the world.
Tomorrow we are planning to split up. Erik will be going to the east coast of Malaysia, the sunny paradise island Pulau Tioman. Hannes will stay on the west coast and explore Port Dickson. We'll meet up again in Johor Bahru in about 9 days.
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