Melaka, Malaysia

Selamat Datang! Welcome to Malaysia!

Waiting at the Singapore bus station.

This morning we all met after breakfast and then walked about fifteen minutes to the bus station. This area was grubbier than other areas of Singapore we'd seen. Much like North American cities, bus stations tend to go in areas that are dirtier and shabbier. The bus arrived 30 minutes late, but our luggage was loaded quickly and we all got on board.

The bus was very out of style, with curtains that clashed with the seats, but it was fairly clean, and seemed to be in working order. Harold and I were in the front two seats right behind the driver.

Looking down the road from the bus station.

We headed out of Singapore, along a very picturesque grass, tree, and flower lined highway and made our way to the border. When we had entered Singapore, we had filled out entry and exit cards. The entry card had been submitted then, and the exit card was put in our passports, to be handed in when we left the country. Tourists from Canada and the U.S. are permitted to stay in Singapore for up to 90 days, so we had lots of time left. At the Singapore border station, we filed out of the bus, walked into a building where we stood in line and submitted our exit cards.

We all got back on the bus and drove a few minutes more where we once again got off the bus, and walked into the Malaysia station. This time we had to take our luggage off the bus, supposedly to be put through a scanner. We stood in line for our turn to show our passports and submit our entry cards. Canadian and US tourists are allowed to stay in Malaysia for up to 3 months without a Visa. The woman stamped our passports a number of times and then we walked through to the scanner area. I guess either someone had called in sick or they were cutting back on hours though, because there was no one there and the scanners were all closed up. We just sauntered through to the other side where our bus awaited us.

We'd been forewarned that we should bring a snack as the bus wouldn't be stopping anywhere we could buy food. We had the pork and beef bak kwa we'd purchased in Chinatown two days earlier and some fruit which was more than enough. We both agreed we enjoyed the pork and chicken bak kwa more than the beef, however, they were all great. We wished we'd bought some of the bacon as well.

Harold and I had first thought ourselves lucky to have the front seat, with views on all three sides, and extra leg room, but we soon discovered it was more of a curse than a blessing. The driver was on his cell phone the entire trip, calling one person after another. Many times, he was driving with his knees, not watching the road, as he needed his other hand and eyes to dial the number. It's bad enough when the driver of a car does this, but seems pure insanity when you are speeding along a highway, weaving in and out of traffic, in a huge bus with a bunch of other's fates in your hands --- I mean knees! He also flirted with pretty much every woman at each of the toll stations, leading me to believe he was probably calling women on the phone as well. A real ladies man, this bus driver.

A few hours later we pulled into the Melaka bus station. The mall attached looked like it was from the 70's, but it was full of locals, all the women dressed in head scarves, some all in black gowns, others in colourful dresses and scarves. Many teen girls and young women wear jeans and other Western style clothing. The one constant is the head scarf and arms and legs covered. We found an ATM and money changer. The currency in Malaysia is Ringits, which were converting at 0.33 to $1 Canadian that day. Singapore dollars had been converted at about 0.80 so we seemed to get a lot of bills  but whether they went further was still to be discovered.

I had my first experience there with a pit toilet in the mall. I had come across them in France many years ago, but it had been a long time, and I really hadn't missed them. I had to pay 20 ringits to be allowed inside to a very smelly room full of women. They don't supply toilet paper, though some will sell you a few squares for another 20 ringits. I was prepared and had my own paper, which I'd "borrowed" from our Singapore hotel. Inside the stall is a tiled floor with a bit of a ledge and a hole in the ground. Coming out of the wall was a garden hose. This is to be used like you'd use a bidet. I made sure not to even touch it, fearing it must surely hold a billion bacteria species. Using the toilet isn't all that big a deal, even with the smells and messiness, it's no worse than using an outhouse or nasty gas station washroom at home.

Taxis outside our hotel.

Right next door to the washrooms is a prayer room. I didn't dare go in, since I didn't want to bother anyone. Malaysia is predominantly Muslim, and we would later realize that all public restrooms are accompanied by prayer rooms.

The taxis there were quite small. Each would hold only 3 passengers and 1 driver. The trunk could barely contain our 3 backpacks and needed to be tied down. We barreled through town, zooming in and out of traffic to the old heritage area of Melaka, where our hotel was located.

Melaka Trishaws arrive.

We had a little over an hour before we were planning to have a tour of the old downtown so we checked into our room and came back downstairs to enjoy some wine in the open air restaurant, while we waited for the others.

Soon, the first of the trishaws began to arrive. A trishaw is a bicycle with an attached sidecar, flamboyantly decorated in flowers, lights, and garlands. Some of them include sound systems that blare out music, top 40 western style, polkas, and other styles. The bicycles are ancient one speed contraptions that appear to be pretty tough to pedal. Luckily for the drivers, Melaka is pretty flat.

One of the many narrow streets.

We all got into the trishaws and were pedaled around the town. Melaka is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That means it is 1 of only 936 cultural and natural heritage sites in the world considered as having outstanding universal value. Malaysia has 4 such sites, two natural, Gunung Mulu National Park, and Kinabalu Park, and two cultural, Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca.

One of the many temples in Melaka.

The historic centre of Melaka is made up of narrow streets with two story buildings housing shops, restaurants and many small, beautiful churches, temples and mosques. Due to it being a trade port from the very beginning, many different cultures have made their way to Melaka, and left behind part of their culture, mostly in the temples they built.


Melaka was the earliest Malay sultanate. Before the arrival of the first Sultan, Malacca was a fishing village inhabited by local Malays. It was founded by the last Raja of Singapura (present day Singapore) around 1400. 

Fort A Famosa

There are two different ideas as to how he named it. One is that he was resting under a tree near a river while hunting, when one of his dogs cornered a mouse deer. In self-defence, the mouse deer pushed the dog into the river. He was impressed by the deers courage and decided to name the city Malacca, named for the Tamil word, malakka, which means to fall upside down or on ones back, exactly how the dog had fallen into the river. The second idea is that he named the city after the Melaka tree he was resting under.

Studhuys

In 1511, the city was conquered by the Portuguese and it became a strategic base for the Portuguese in the East Indies. They built the fort, A Famosa, to defend Malacca from the disposed Sultan and his forces. Then the Dutch conquered the Portuguese there in 1641, and ruled it until 1798. Their most important addition is the Stadhuys, or Red Building. Many of the other Government buildings in the area are the same red.


In 1824, Melaka was ceded to the British, in exchange for Bencoolen, on Sumatra. Britain ruled it until 1946 and it became part of the Straits Settlements, along with Singapore, and Penang. Since dissolution, the Governor, rather than a Sultan, acts as the head of state. 

Melaka is made up of 57% Malay, 32% Chinese, and minorities of Indians, Kristang (partial Portuguese ancestry), and Dutch Eurasians. Everyone seems to speak very good English, and we had no problems at all with language.  I have learned two phrases in Malay. One is Selamat Datang (Welcome), which is pasted all over, welcoming people to both Malaysia and Melaka. The other is Dilarang Masuk, which means Danger. I can't say hello yet, but I will know where I am welcome and where I should stay away from!

After our trishaw tour, we wandered the town on foot, shopping and looking around. They had the most beautiful shoes and sandals, but as my feet are a size 9.5, or a 40-41 in European sizes, my feet are two big for the women's shoes. It was a very big disappointment. We picked up a few Asian trinkets, and made our way back to the hotel to meet the others for dinner.

Dinner Entertainment

Everyone showed up for the group dinner in the open-air restaurant under our hotel and it was a festive affair. I had a Singapore Sling, as I had forgotten to have one while in Singapore, and Harold had a Tiger beer. I enjoyed the Sling, but would have preferred wine, so I ordered a glass of wine soon after. For dinner I had Panang Curry, a dry curry which is fried in coconut milk, not boiled, like other curries. It is a thicker, pastier curry because it uses the coconut cream only. It is seasoned with sliced lime leaves and basil leaves. Harold had the chicken and lamb satay, which Melaka is famous for, and it was equally as wonderful as my curry.

After dinner, the group split into two. Some of the women were heading down to a bar down the road, and the other part of the group was planning to go on the night river cruise. We decided to join the group going on the cruise, so we walked down the road and to the river behind the hotel where we boarded a boat full of tourists. The interesting thing here is that the tourists all look local to us, most of them Muslim or Chinese, with very few Westerners.

Ferris wheel along the river.

It was one of our first chances to get to know each other. I still can't remember most of the names and am barely being able to figure out who is from which countries. As there are so many Germans, it is more comfortable for them to speak to each other in German, so it is sometimes difficult to be the only non-Germans, which was the case here. I just smile and look around, and turn my attention to Harold.

Mural along the river.

We cruised down the river, which is decorated with murals, and lights, and interesting points of interest. It is a beautiful sight during the day, and just as beautiful at night. Unfortunately, I had been awake since 4am, and the motion of the boat had me falling asleep, my head bobbing along, waking me each time it started to fall. Once back at the hotel, I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Hotel: Aldy Hotel
27, Jalan Kota, 75000 Melaka, Malaysia
+60 6 2833232 http://www.aldyhotel.com.my/

This is a 3-star boutique hotel, located within the "Red Centre" of the World Heritage Site (UNESCO) of Melaka. It is in a fantastic location, right in the middle of the most visited sites. We could walk to everything. The rooms are clean, with hard beds, free Wifi and Computer kiosks in the lobby. I had no idea how to get the hot water on in the morning and ended up having a cold shower. I later found out there was a switch I needed to hit to warm up the water. Under the hotel is a large, colourful open area restaurant and bar, the Bamboo Hut & Bistro. Their smoothies are very tasty and the Penang curry was fantastic.