Melaka, Malaysia

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From Singapore we got a bus to Melaka in Malaysia via the bridge which connects the two countries. The journey took us just 4 hours. We decided after many months of 'slumming it' to upgrade and stay in the 4 star Holiday Inn for a few days! We felt a bit scruffy and out of place walking in with our backpacks on, but hey ho! The hotel was gorgeous with a lovely outdoor pool overlooking the sea. Our room felt extremely luxurious and it was a nice change to have our own ensuite bathroom! The hotel was conveniently located near the main tourist sites, shopping malls and food courts.

Melaka is a historic port town which has been occupied by people from many different countries over the years. As you walk around you can see influences from Portugal, Holland, Britain, China and India.
We visited Chinatown, a colourful and interesting area, especially during the night market at the weekends. We also visited Dutch Square, St Paul's Church on the hill, the Portuguese Fort, the jetty and took a nice boat trip up and down the river passing lots of ornate houses and bridges on the way. You can also get fab views of the entire town from the revolving Melaka Tower, although you don't get much time to take in the views as the platform goes up and down in 7 minutes. On a rainy day we decided to take shelter in the 'People's Museum', recommended by The Lonely Planet but it was extremely out of date and all a bit weird, stuffy and musty smelling! The displays were all a bit random and ranged from local community council plans for the area in the 1990's, a display of ancient kites and lots of faded photographs showing how different cultures around the world mutilate themselves to look beautiful! It was an interesting experience for 36p each!

Yet again the food was outstanding, including Korean hot plates with sizzling beef, Nasi Lemak (a Malaysian speciality dish of rice cooked in coconut milk, anchovies, boiled eggs, a spicy sauce on the side, nuts and cucumber), rolls topped with mince and covered with mayonnaise & sweet chilli sauce, loads of nice rice and noodle dishes, fruit slushes, pineapple tarts and oreo cookie bagels! We sampled some traditional Chinese cold drinks (one with herbs and the other with winter melon) but took one slurp and left the rest!

Originally we'd planned to stay 3 nights but we liked the place and the luxury of the hotel so much, we stayed for 5! We never got round to visiting the Maritime Museum, going on the Melaka wheel or wandering on the walkway by the river.... but maybe next time!!

Next stop - Kuala Lumpur!

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Comments

[Kath]

Hi
I love Melaka! Looks like it's changed rather a lot since I was first there 16 years ago! When Allen and I were there we stayed in a baba nonya house. Enjoy KL - it's amazing, but don't fall off the KL tower or Petronas - watch out Gordon - shoppers heaven!! If you go to Penang don't miss the perfect replic of Fort George (original near Inverness). See you at Hogmanay! Still jealous by the way!

[Auntie S]

Food, Glorious Food!
I don't know if I should let Pete see this because of the mouthwatering description of the food! The People's Museum sounds very strange and not quite up to the standard of the one in Glasgow? Still - it would have to be really bad not to be a bargain at 36p which wouldn't even get you a fudge doughnut, Jennifer. Bet you really enjoyed the luxury of that hotel and it's lucky they could sense you were quality guests in spite of the lack of matching leather luggage. Lots of love Auntie S xx