The bus journey from Kuala Perlis (ferry landing site from Langkawi) is said to take only 7-8 hours. Whoever tells you that is a liar, plain and simple. Having departed Kuala Perlis around 3:00pm on Monday (a scheduled 2:30 departure) we didn’t roll into Melaka until around 1:30 am or so. Do the math. Thankfully, Sean, the operator of Backpacker Freak Hostel waited up for us to check in. Unfortunately, that meant Ryan had also missed the France/England match in the Euro 2012.
We had a slow start Tuesday morning…as could be expected. After a proper introduction to the hostel and the hot spots of Melaka, Ryan went to see Prometheus while I shopped in the adjoining mall. We picked up food stuffs for breakfasts and dropped them off at the hostel before braving the late afternoon heat to do some sightseeing.
Due to its strategic location along the Straits of Malaysia’s eastern coast, Melaka was once a prosperous port city. Many international ships stopped here en route to the Indonesian and Oriental trade markets. However, as modern transport routes evolved, Melaka’s influence decreased and now its sleepy personality is reflected more in its UNESCO World Heritage City designation. In fact, the main touristy spots can be tackled in a day. That is, unless you plan to tackle all 30 of the national museums here. We know there is a Museum of Museums lurking somewhere in this town!
Replica of an old Portuguese ship along the waterfront…aaaaand it’s a museum.
We left the hostel and walked through a park just across the street from our hostel to get to the ruins of A’Formosa Fort. When the Portuguese arrived in 1511, disrupting centuries of local Sultanate rule, they built this fort to protect their interests from other colonial powers with similar tastes. Stairs from the fort gate lead up to the ruins of St. Paul’s, a church that at different times belonged to the Portuguese, Dutch, or British. St Francis Xavier spent some time here and was actually buried in the chapel for a few months before being interred in Goa. The area around the steeple-turned-lighthouse of the church offers a beautiful view of the old section of the city along the river and the coastline, even if high rise condos and a Holiday Inn have obstructed some of the view.
A’ Famosa gate
We made our way down the hill into Red Square, a central part of Melaka that boasts white shuttered, rust colored buildings harkening back to the 17th-18th century Dutch influence. The iconic Melaka clocktower and Christ Church here serve as reminders of their rule. Just over the Melaka River bridge lies Chinatown, one of the oldest areas of town…and the most vibrant, if you’re there at the right time. Weekends are supposed to be particularly busy, with night markets creating a lively atmosphere. As we were there in the middle of the week, busy is the last way we’d describe it. In fact, most of the shops were closed altogether or only open for a short time each day. We still managed to see some beautiful temples and a mosque along the Jonker Walk, taking in the mix of colonial and Eastern architecture. I also was able to sample and buy more delicious Chinese pastries! We spent some time browsing shops with beautiful local woodworks, textiles, and other crafts. By dinner, we were exhausted from our lack of sleep the night before and just wanted to eat somewhere easy so we could go home. Several restaurants and cafes along the river offered waterfront dining; we chose one of the cheapest and enjoyed a tasty veggie curry dinner. It was probably over-priced but the breeze and the view made up for it. Ryan stayed up later that night to watch half of the Greek/Czech match before trusting in the latter’s 2-0 halftime lead. (He needed to get sleep to rest up for the Holland/Germany match at 2:45 Thursday morning.Watching this Euro 2012 can be a job in itself!)
Red Dutch Square
We got an earlier start on Wednesday morning after cooking our breakfast at the hostel. Like our time in Langkawi, it was nice to have that comforting routine again. We started our day with a visit to the Sultanate Museum, an amazing example of Malaysian architecture (reportedly not a single nail was used in its original construction.) The museum is a tribute to Sultan life and Malay culture with many dioramas depicting regional dress, national folklore, and international trade partners. We also took a stroll through the attached garden, which had many beautiful flowering trees.
Malay Sultanate Museum
From there, we made a quick stop at the post office to (finally) mail some things home. After our shipping experience in Vietnam (we mailed Ryan’s suits in an old box packed by a lady who appeared to run a mobile shipping operation out of her scooter…we hope they make it home), we were duly impressed with the ease, cost, and guarantee of delivery that the Malaysian postal service provided!
We headed back into Chinatown to eat lunch at Kedai Kopi Chung Wah, home of the famous chicken and rice balls. From various tips, we knew to get there early because once they run out of chicken, they close the doors on the long line queued up outside. We were able to get in after only a 10 minute wait and were quickly served their one and only dish: boiled, chopped chicken topped with a light gravy of oyster/soy sauce, served with 5 rice balls, and a garlic-chili dipping sauce. We were thankfully given the tourist version which was chopped breast and not unknown pieces of meat and bones! While the chicken was tender and flavorful, it was the rice balls that sold us. These were golf ball sized tightly packed rounds of rice that were so moist and tasted like Thanksgiving dressing. We even ordered an extra round of rice balls to take with us as a snack!
Chicken and rice balls at Chung Wah
From lunch, we tried to visit 8 Heeren Place, a carefully preserved hybrid Chinese/Dutch storefront. But on the way, we were drawn into Joe’s Design shop with its copper, coral, jade, and pearl jewelry on display. This locally made jewelry was organic, original and, even better, slightly affordable! So I spent some time oohing and aahing over the delicate rings, bracelets, and necklaces…knowing I didn’t really need any of it. But then, we came across a red copper ring that was a perfect replacement for my wedding replacement ring (the silver painted bird ring from Nashville had turned black a long time before!) and we bought it! Unfortunately, they didn’t have men’s rings, so Ryan’s skull and crossbones ring from London will remain!
Storefronts along Heeren Street in Chinatown
By the time we finished with the jewelry store, the Heeren Street shop was closed. So we basically walked around Chinatown some more, before deciding it was way too hot to be wandering aimlessly. We headed back to the cool A/C confines of the hostel and spent the next few hours recovering and doing some internet research.
We wanted to sample more local cuisine and picked two highly rated foodie places to try for dinner. First stop was Selvam, an Indian place noted for its over 30 kinds of vegetable curries. However, their famous spread is only served on weekends!! We opted instead for chicken tandoori and garlic naan, served with a cool cilantro dipping sauce, which didn’t disappoint! We then tried to find a satay celup place called Capitol Satay. This local style of satay sounds so good: you select skewers of chicken,vegetables, or seafood, and then dip them, fondue style, in a vat of warm peanut satay sauce. However, yet again, this restaurant was closed on a Wednesday night. We tried soliciting tips from locals, wandering the still streets of Little India, but couldn’t find anything similar. So we decided to sit at Discovery Cafe, along the Red Square roundabout, and people watch while playing some hands of our gin rummy game. Along the entrance to the cafe, I noticed that locals were constantly stopping their cars and motorbikes to drink some tea being served by a Chinese couple at a cardtable stand. I learned that the dark, herbal tea is known for its medicinal properties, and people were lining up, blocking traffic, in order to have a night-cap of sorts. I even saw a mother giving sips of it to her toddler. So of course, I had to try it. And yes, it was probably the most bitter thing I have ever tasted.
The bitter Chinese herbal tea- doesn’t it look tasty?
We had an early morning taxi ride to the bus station for our 4 hour bus ride to Mersing, along the southeastern coast of Malaysia, from which we took a 90-minute ferry to the lovely island of Tioman. More on that to come!
MORE PHOTOS FROM DAY 1 IN MELAKA
MORE PHOTOS FROM DAY 2 IN MELAKA
