We have had a lovely time on Palau Langkawi and it’s time to leave and fly back to KL where we get on a bus and travel a couple of hours south to Melaka or Malacca as it’s also spelt. Malacca is another foodie capital! I’m loving all the Asian food – it’s definitely my favourite cuisine, but I reckon I will be craving spuds and likely pasta when I get home! We are staying at a really nice hotel called Baba House.
When we get out of the lift, this is the walkway to our room…
We don’t hang around as we only have two nights here so we head out to explore this UNESCO Heritage old town.
We walk along the riverside, that cuts through the town, and see the church of Francis Xaviar – it’s definitely leaning!!
We have a drink at the Golden Triangle restaurant and “chill bar”, looking out on the river and also find an off the beaten track craft beer bar where we have one more.
Once it’s dark we check out Jonker night market, which has miraculously sprung up since we walked past the street earlier.
We have some crispy baby crab, spicy sausage, quail eggs (on a stick) and radish cake. It’s all very tasty.
We get out early next morning for our one full day of exploring Melaka. We weren’t planning on having breakfast but when we pass “Tiong Hwa Hainan Chicken Rice”, we decide it’s our only opportunity to have this, so we’re going in. We just watched a video about this place and we have to try the rice balls.
We walk around the picturesque town with so many old interesting looking buildings among temples and mosques.
On one street we have a mosque, a Chinese Buddhist temple and a Hindi temple practically beside each other.
Along the river the bars are quiet and look really colourful with a very blue sky.
We stop for a few minutes to watch a number of monitors crawling along the riverbank.
We cross the river to what is called Dutch square. The Dutch ruled for almost 183 years (from 1641) with intermittent British occupation. In this part of town there are many architectural reminders of the colonial times.
The Stadthuys is believed to be the oldest and largest Dutch Colonial building surviving in Southeast Asia. It was the official residence for the Dutch Governors in 1650 after they defeated the Portuguese.
From the Stadthuys we look across to Christ Church (dates to 1753) and the clock tower (1886).
We walk around the remains of Melaka fort and then climb Bukit Melaka or Melaka hill. It’s very hot so it’s sweaty business but the views are worth it.
We need some water and a little rest so after this we head to the most famous bar in Melacca. It’s over 100 years old and it only opens in the afternoon so we have to go now! It’s called Sin Hiap Hin. It’s a very cool little spot, serving mostly Malaysian liquor and cocktails made by Auntie out the back!!
We go for lunch at Wild Coriander, which is highly recommended. I have my first laksa of the trip and Shane his first Nasi Lemak. It’s excellent and once fed we need a break and have a little rest back home.
It’s time to visit the Malacca Straits Mosque or as it’s often called rhetorical “floating mosque”.
The water isn’t quite high enough to get that floating sensation and as mosques go it’s ok -but it’s no Hassan II in Casablanca!!
Back at the hotel there’s a delightful “tanning” area on the rooftop. It’s slightly cooler up here but still very hot!
After such a good lunch and brekkie today, we just can’t manage dinner. We go out for a little walk though and catch some of the nighttime atmosphere.
They love a welcome sign here in Malacca, there are so many around town! We decide to have one beer and then say our goodbyes as we leave early tomorrow.
Monday morning and it’s off to the bus station – Melaka you’ve been lovely!
odohertyelaine 