Melaka

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David here...

We set off from the hostel after a light breakfast and jumped onto the next train out to the temporary bus station at Bukit Jalil. On the train a nice Chinese women warned us about the 'vultures' outside the station that try to sell you bus tickets. She advised us to ignore them and to make our way directly into the bus station itself to buy our tickets. Sure enough, as soon as we got to the LRT station, we were pounced upon, but not with too much vigour compared to say Hue for example. We got into the bus station and immediately got directed to a ticket booth with buses going to Melaka (13 MYR each) and we hopped on board our bus. The journey took 2 hours and was as uneventful as you would expect. We then found our way to the local bus stop within Melaka Sentral, which is 10km North of the town itself, and jumped on the #17 into town. We arrived at the Apa Kaba Home and Stay around 15:00. The room we had booked was their cheapest, and the cheapest we have had in all Malaysia at 40 MYR a night, and was very small. The beds were 2 single beds pushed together and weren't that comfortable. There was a kitchen area where you could help yourself to stuff from the fridge or to tea and coffee at a reasonable price. The best bit of the place was that it had a big garden to relax in, which we did.

Once settled we wandered round Melaka, getting a feel for the place. We did stumble into an Indian restaurant and had Roti Chanai (same as Roti Canai, just with an extra 'H') which was delicious, as it always has been. Melaka is a lovely little historic town. A real rabbit warren of streets and alleys that you can get lost down, even with a map. The main town square is painted a pink colour and has a fountain erected in honour of Queen Victoria. The square has a lovely ambience about it. Quite relaxing, even though it is full of tourists and trishaw touts, with their decorated vehicles. At night the trees in the square are taken over by birds, all singing away. It is deafening but still nice. The night time is also the best time to see the tricshaws as they are 'pimped-up' to an extreme level, with neon flashing lights and music blaring out. We had to laugh when we heard one of them blasting out Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name and another playing Survivors Eye of the Tiger. Across the river is Jonker walk, a row of tourist shops, restaurants and bars through Chinatown which is great just to wander around. While we were out we, had something to eat and then made our way back to our room and settled down for the night.

The next day we were woken up by the other guests all chatting round the kitchen table eating breakfast. We weren't feeling much like socialising early in the morning, and the kitchen was tiny and we didn't feel much like squeezing in so we got ready and headed straight out where we had coffee and doughnuts in the shopping centre nearby. Well, these doughnuts were something else. A massive range to choose from, all mainly with white, milk or dark chocolate on or in them, and a lovely soft, runny topping on each. They were very nice indeed. We walked round the shopping centre looking for some new clothes as Suzanne needed a new top and I need some more trousers after my trusty linen ones split in Kuala Lumpur. The first shop we went in, Suzanne found a new top and I amazingly found some new trousers that fit me and I liked. We then looked round the rest of the shopping centre, noticing that again it had the staples of any Malaysian shopping centre; bowling, a cinema, a karaoke bar and lots of amusement arcades. After many hours of looking round, we headed off for more Roti Chanai and then back to the guesthouse to relax before heading out for food.

We had decided to go to Pak Putra, a Tandoori street restaurant that was highly recommended in the guidebooks, and our host at the guesthouse also recommended. We found it easily enough and the place was packed. Tables and chairs outside were everywhere and it was difficult to see where the boundaries of this restaurant and all the others were, though I do not think it really matters in Asia. We sat inside to be under the fans as it was quite hot. We ordered Tandoori chicken, Mutton Rogan Josh, Spinach and Potatoes and 2 Naan breads. While we were waiting it gave us a chance to watch what was going on. Organised chaos is the term usually used for places like this. The food and drink was a constant stream, especially the naan breads which were continuously made in the tandoor just outside the main doors. We did have a bit of a wait for our food, but it was quite welcome as we were in no hurry and it was interesting to watch. No sooner had the drinks waiter delivered a stack of drinks somewhere, there would be another tray waiting for him to take out. It really was that busy. It was just a constant procession of customers. This built up our expectation of something good coming our way. The food all arrived at the same time, which was a miracle really as all the dishes came from a different location of the restaurant. Good coordination between each area. The food was lovely, one of the best Naan breads I've had in a long time, and the Tandoori chicken was great. The spinach and potatoes was a good accompaniment to what we had. We left feeling full and pleased with ourselves as the meal came to around 25 MYR, which was a bargain for the standard of food we had been served. Feeling full and happy, we headed back and settled down for the night.

The 2nd full day in Melaka was spent walking round the Chinese graveyard, which was interesting but it was such a hot day and there was no where to sit, so we wandered back into town, had Rotai Chanai again (it really is that good) and then went to see Narnia:The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was good...much better than Tron, that's for sure. It really is good fun going to the cinema when it is so cheap. That night we grabbed some food and made our way to a bar in China town that proclaimed itself as a 'Rock Bar' and sure enough, the first song we heard properly when we passed the Karabou bar was Judas Priest. After that it became a bit 'Generica' but still better than hip-hop. We ended up staying for 3 beers and chatting with the owners and staff about Heavy Metal and our trip. We then headed back to the guesthouse and settled down for the night.

Our final day in Melaka was spent wandering round the sights in the town (St. Pauls Church, Fort a Famosa and the Muzium Istana), which took up pretty much the whole day. Melaka is a lovely place to wander around, lots of things to see. We did try and get Roti Chanai again however they had run out by the time we got there, which was a shame. On the last night we grabbed some food and headed back to the Karabou bar. We were enjoying the music and sinking a few beers when we realised that the music was the same as last night, so we asked the owner if he had anything else to put on that was heavier and also if he could turn it up a bit. Cue Metallica at a decent enough volume. We promptly ordered more beers and stayed for quite a while. On the way home we stopped off and had a Ramly burger as there was a stall set-up right next to the guesthouse. As you can see from the pictures, it is quite an experience to eat one of these things, though they are perfect after a night of drinking. We arrived back at the guesthouse just after midnight and even though we had a key for the front door, we found it bolted so we had to knock to get in. When the door was opened they told us that they thought we had already returned and were quite apologetic.

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Photos

Meleka
Jonka Walk

Meleka
Queen Victoria fountain

Meleka
The infamous Ramly Burger

Meleka
Church on the Hill