Melaka, Malaysia

On Thursday, then, it was really time to say goodbye to the Cameron Highlands. We took an early bus back to Kuala Lumpur and 5 hours later I was still in denial.


waiting for our next bus at Puduraya bus station in Kuala Lumpur

In the early evening we finally arrived in Melaka in southern Malaysia. Melaka is a lovely little town on the Straits of Melaka.


Sungai Melaka

Here you will find Komodo's little dragon brother swimming in the downtown river.


Sungai Melaka

We spent 2 days in Melaka. One of the highlights of our stay would have to be our guesthouse Emily Travellers Home. To get to the main area of this guesthouse you have to walk through a kind of tunnel, balance on a couple of stones set in a fish pond, and cross over a small bridge suspended over another fish pond. It is like entering a completely different world. We were staying at a small hut set in a tranquil garden. We had our own deck and mosaic bathroom. There is a lounge area where Malik, our hospitable host, appears to always be cooking something on the fire pit. His pet bunny, Mr. Playboy, hops around in the garden. There are jungle showers, which means that you are standing in a big room filled with rocks and plants, taking a shower under the clear blue sky. Sometimes you can see a rainbow when you shower in the morning. It was lovely.

Melaka is a surprisingly small city. Our first stop was the Menara Taming Sari, which is an 80-meter-high revolving tower offering views over the city. Matt and Aimee, fellow travelers whom we'd met in the Cameron Highlands (where else?), told us that it was quite an eyesore. At that they were right, but we went in anyway. It's actually a fun way to see the city and it was the first time that we caught a glimpse of the ocean in almost 2 months.


Menara Taming Sari

I would say that Melaka is famous for 2 things. First of all, the city is home to a beautiful collection of colonial architecture - sometimes intact, sometimes in ruins. It's all because of the Indonesians/Chinese/Portuguese/Dutch/British. Combined with the sunny weather it makes for some pretty pictures of downtown Melaka.


St. Paul's Church


St. Paul's Church


Sungai Melaka


Stadthuys

Since the Dutch were also involved in Melaka in the 17th century (they sure got around), and because this is still very much evident in contemporary Melaka, and because we couldn't resist, you end up with pictures like this.


Town Square

Another thing that Melaka is famous for is its Nonya food, named after the Baba Nonyas or Peranakans, who were Chinese immigrants who took the religion of the Chinese but the customs, language and dress of the Malays, according to the Lonely Planet. Still being a vegetarian (4 months and counting!), it took a while to find something, but in the end we succeeded and found these pretty vegetarian Nonya spring rolls. Mmm...


Chinatown

But, I must admit, that besides walking around a little bit, we did absolutely nothing else but eat. And get massages. But I trust that Jochem will post a little clip of that particular adventure soon in our picture gallery.


Town Square

Now we are in Singapore at the Travellers Inn. Singapore is the most expensive country in South East Asia and we plan to stay for a week so there was no way to get around it anymore: we are staying in a dorm room. Let's see what this city has to offer!

If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!