Melaka

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Our first day in Melaka got off to a rough start for me when I was crudely awoken at some ungodly hour by the speaker Islamic mosque, belching out prayers. Ok, you pray 5 times a day beginning at 5am, I enjoy your religion by I don’t need “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasoooooooooooolllllllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaa marrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” at 5am, and then another 4 times. Pray quietly please.
We took the lonely planet Malaysia guidebook and hit a 3 hour walking tour around Melaka which really seemed to cover the lot. It’s very much a one day city/town but definitely a must do. With all the European influences Melaka is a harmonious blend of Portugese, Dutch, English, Malay, Chinese and Indian. We hit the megamall afterwards, mega being the understatement. Hit up a bit of shopping, some fatty foods while Lucas and Nicola had a fish spa and foot massage. The pet store in the mall had the most amazing animals. Iguanas, tortoises, scorpions, hamsters, sugar-glider-type-things and a few other more normal pets. The restaurant next to the place we are staying has this tank full of massive frogs huddled in together. It’s really quite gross and inhumane and yes, frog is on the menu.
We had a better look at some of the shops we’d seen that morning on the way home before Howard, a guy who runs the guesthouse, took us for a ride on some of the bikes to an awesome food court. The bike ride was perilous, ducking through Malaysian traffic helmetless and also super fun. Tomorrow we head off to KL, quite happy with our very full 1 day in Melaka.

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