Melakka - a taste of the colonial past

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No wifi in Melakka.

Or, at least there is wifi in Malakka if you go to the hotel cafe and pay for it. I can wait, I reckon.

The train had been somewhat primitive and then we discovered we were the only people on the tour with a large van and a large Indian man whose name has still to be discovered. It was the old story, driving for ages, and then rush rush rush when we got somewhere.

Our little plaintive demands for a stop for water, lunch and an ATM (we still only had Singapore dollars) were swept aside with difficulties of the one way road system i.e. too difficult to stop seeing as there were no parks. It was, Brian and Mary, like the 'view the Munich Games Venue' when we were on the bus - a quick glimpse as we swung by on the motorway filled the advertised promise.

Still, the visit to the Baba and Nonya historic house, in yet another UNESCO town, was well worth while. We had wanted to visit the Chinese tubehouse in Hanoi, but it was under reconstruction, and this one filled the exact same claims. Tiny frontage to the road (the rotten old Dutch admin taxed on width of street frontage) but a series of rooms and open to the sky sections going back many many metres. It was really lovely and extremely interesting as it was not only a house, but fully furnished and had a number of displays of turn of the 19th Century wedding paraphernalia and wealthy accutroments for living.

The kitchen was remarkably similar to the one at Hampton Court Palace which sent an Aussie lady and me into frenzy about what we'd seen and the latest Hilary Mantell book, which has won a second Booker Prize for her - with the second in the Tudor series.

So abstinence on the train, plus a bottle of water each and no lunch made for two very grumpy kiwis, busting too. So a heavy handed demand, still nearly wiped aside, resulted us in, after a series of 'photo ops' arriving at a once lovely hotel. We have been spoiled, so this is a bit down market, in our experience. But it will do. Drains in bathroom are blocked (nothing we can do, the water will go after a while) but it is clean and private- and we are here for only one night.

So, returning to the lack of sustenance, we decided to head into Jonkers St for an early dinner. Blimmin heck, like Singapore, everything was closing. So we quickly sat ourselves down to a lovely dinner of Chinese roasted pork, duck and wonton soup.

As we departed one of the super odd cyclo men accosted us, so we said - one hour, tourist trip and back to hotel for 40 ringgit (going rate we were told) less than $20.

Well, what a trip and what fun we had. These cyclos are decorated beyond any semblance of taste with plastic flowers and Xmas lights - and rather than a back seat cycle, the driver rides/ pedals on the side.

We visited all the sites we missed earlier on, with time to wander through them and soak up the Portuguese and Brit heritage - even seeing the mansion where the independence papers were signed.

Our driver was the son of an occupation Jap soldier, which we rather gathered had held him back in life - and found it was his 69th birthday - heaving me and Davie around the town. So as we could see our hotel, we suggested he drop us off and we gave him a huge tip! He was happy, so were we.

I need to get wifi, but will worry about that in KL tomorrow.

Oh, and did I say I have found yet another variety/version of Glenmorangie - this is the Nectar D'or, extra matured in Sauternes casks, it might be dangerous to carry it too far around a Muslim country. Hmmn, maybe have another Norrey???

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Photos

Cyclo all lit up at night
Dear old fellow - 69 years old!!

Baba and Nonya House
Wealthy Straits Chinese house now preserved - narrow frontage but room after room behind each other