Squatters' Rights and Melaka

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Squat toilets. Seriously, whose bright idea was that? Yes, we’ll go to the trouble of constructing most of the infrastructure necessary for a proper sit-down toilet, but fall at the final hurdle and instead just put a hole in the ground. But wait, we’ll try and cover up our laziness by craftily disguising said hole with a toilet bowl seat set into the floor. Then, for good measure, we’ll install a garden hose that can perform the functions once so successfully carried out by bog roll and flushing. The entire system is an affront to the memory of Thomas Crapper (inventor of our much beloved loo).

I understand that part of travel is embracing the cultural and lifestyle differences that exist between countries, but this is taking the piss (or more precisely, making it a balancing act to take a ....). If I wanted to do squats I would go to the gym.

Sometimes, you just have to put your foot down: Our Western system of human waste disposal is better than yours. We are right, you are wrong.

Now that I’ve ranted long drop toilets out of my system, I’ll finish up where I left off. After a few days in KL I took a day trip to Melaka (2hrs south by bus, 24RM/€6 rtn). The city was a Portuguese, Dutch, and then British port between the early 1600s and the mid-twentieth century. After the strong billing the city was given by Lonely Planet (LP), I ended the day with the feeling that my expectations had been raised, and if not dashed, certainly left underwhelmed.

The city has a perfectly pretty colonial square comprising: the Stadthuys - which is touted as the oldest Dutch building in the region; the Porta di Santiago - the ruins of a Portuguese fort; and St. Paul’s Church - one of the oldest Christian churches in Malaysia. While all these monuments are interesting and worth a look around, they were hardly the cradle of Malaysian history and culture promised by LP.

The one area where I felt that Melaka satisfied the hype was when I got to experience the city’s celebrated nonya cuisine in Chinatown. This style of Chinese-Malay fusion cooking developed due to the intermarriage between Chinese traders and Malay natives. Dishes (and dishes) that I tried included: Chicken Kapitan*, Popiah**, and Kankung Belacan***. The food was prepared on the spot, was extremely good value and absolutely delicious. It was a satisfying way to end the day, and helped soothe my lingering disappointment about the rest of the sights. Belly full and hunger sated, I headed back to KL to get my ticket for the nightly sleeper train to the Perhentian Islands.


My first question at the station: does a 1st class ticket buy you a sit-down.....seat...?




* Chicken Curry with tamarind juice, candlenut, turmeric and shrimp paste.
** Spring rolls with meat, tofu, chilli, garlic and shallots.
*** Water-spinach stir-fried in a blend of chilli and shrimp paste.

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Comments

[anonymous]

Squat toilets and absolutely delicious food don't mix. How was the popiah? Did you wanna order more after you had two?