Ghost of Malacca

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You can’t help but get a feeling of what used to be in Melaka. It was such an important port for the whole of South East Asia and played a huge roll in the development of this region but now all of that seems to be dead. This change is even evident in the name of the town as nobody seems to use the original spelling anymore. In honour of the great colonial port it once was, I will use the original spelling that the locals still use - Malacca.



We took the bus from the TBS terminal in Kuala Lumpur to Malacca at 5:45pm on a Friday evening. We hadn’t booked this and there were many buses doing this route so I would not worry about pre-booking. The bus terminal has just been renovated and there are plenty of places to eat or chill for a bit whilst waiting for your ride. The service was on time and the coach itself was very comfortable.



It only took 2 and a half hours to reach Malacca. The Taxi’s here have set prices for journey’s into town as we found out after scouting for a meter taxi. The cost from Malacca Central terminal to China Town is MYR 20 without negotiation. It is quite a lot for the reasonably short ride but we couldn’t find another option.



We stayed at the Rooftop Guesthouse and our first impressions were that it was a very nice, clean hostel. We had a room on the top floor next to one of the roof terraces, which we ended up using quite a lot. The hostel was positioned near the river in a backstreet of Chinatown but it was only a 5 minute walk to Jonker Street and we headed out straight away on that first evening to check out the night market.



Both sides of Jonker Street were packed with market stools. Behind these stools were restaurants and shops which remained open to take advantage of the customers brought here by the market. We slowly browsed the market stools and checked out a few of the shops hidden behind. It was all a bit overwhelming! Most of the stools sold similar combinations of goods and mass produced crafts. We bought a few tit bits and then ate at the famous rice balls restaurant. It was delicious! There was some surreal Chinese singing competition going on at the main stage so we watched that for a bit then went back and got a good nights sleep.



The next day was our day to see everything! After walking to the town centre I realised that the place isn’t that big at all. It is all walkable and we spent some time around the bright red dutch town hall - Stadthuys - in the centre before walking up the steep hill to the ruins of St.Pauls Church. From here you get a really good view of the whole town so you can get your bearings. We made our way back down and walked along the river to the maritime and navy museum.



We really wanted to go to a museum here because you really get a sense of the history of this place from the moment you arrive. It was really interesting to properly learn how the biggest colonial powers in history fought for this relatively small port town. It is hard to believe that Malacca was once the centre of all of South East Asia when it came to international trade. Learning about the Dutch, Portuguese and British influences on this place was well worth it and it helped me properly respect the history.



We had lunch at Selvam, the banana leaf restaurant, which I would highly recommend. For the price, we had an amazing lunch and the place has a really nice atmosphere. After a short recharge at the Rooftop Guesthouse we headed back out to find a nice local coffee shop - introducing The Art Cafe, just off Jonkers Street. It was a lovely place to relax and taste local coffee and the craft shop opposite is a real gem!



We then had an early dinner at Nancy’s Kitchen. Lucky we decided to go early! We had to wait for about 15mins for a table but it was well worth it. The menu is full of traditional Nonya dishes handed down from Nancy to her children. We chose a small selection, including a really cool spin on the popular Popiah as a starter. When we left the restaurant the queue outside was HUGE! So get there early kids.



We tackled the night market after this and had a really chilled night talking to locals, eating small bits of street food and buying a few bits here and there. After watching the final of the Chinese singing contest we went to the local Hard Rock Cafe because it was the only place showing the football. I wouldn’t normally go to a place like this because it is quite expensive but I would highly recommend this one. they had a live band playing from 10:30 until after midnight and they were quality! The manager was also really nice and ended up buying us quite a few drinks.





After another good nights sleep we got up, had breakfast at the river inn and headed back to the bus terminal to catch the bus home. This is a great little town and one I will definitely be coming back to. 1 full day/2 nights seems like a good amount of time to see everything so I wouldn’t plan to spend too long here. Living so close, I am looking forward to popping back and becoming a regular at a few places!! I am getting fat.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Ghost
Thanks for the historical reminder. We would have loved to hear the Chinese singing competition. Looks like you are having a great time.