January 22 to 27, 2020
We took a bus from Kuala Lumpur, 2h30 straight line on a highway, a piece of cake! Naema was anxious and we had some Coke just in case she would be sick (it acted as moral support especially after the last bus trip).
Downtown views with the crossing river
We had booked 2 nights on Jonker street, a central location in the heart of Chinatown, unexpectedly strategic with upcoming Chinese New Year 3 days later. However, we had to move to another guesthouse on New Year’s day (January 25) because of the lack of vacancy in the 1st one for this date.
The 2nd guesthouse (Old Town guesthouse) was much more comfortable for us with a common area, a kitchen and queen beds (vs. bunk beds in the first one). And it was outside the touristy area. So, it all worked out.
To be fair, the city was so crowded that we became agoraphobic. Streets are narrow in the old Melaka and they were packed to the point that we had to walk on the street to keep moving, zigzagging between parked and moving cars plus 2-wheelers. It was very annoying. Once we had left to the other guesthouse, we tried to avoid as much as possible the night market and Jonker st. Plus the coronavirus’ spread was starting to get out of hands in the media so we were trying to stay away from germs. When we were looking for face masks to prepare for our bus trip down to Singapore and upcoming flight to Indonesia, we found out that the pharmacies on Jonker st were sold out. We ended up finding masks at a neighborhood shop in Little India though.
We were fleeing the far-too noisy, touristy, corny city with trishaws carrying tourists around playing loud music and featuring Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Baby Shark (really???!!), lighting up at night. You get my point: horrible!
It does not fit well with the UNESCO heritage site that became so in 2008 with a history going all the way back to the 13th century with the Malay sultanate followed by the Europeans (well now that Brexit is on it’s not entirely Europe but the discussion does not pertain here) Sorry lame joke ;-)
Prices were inflated in the touristy center and we strived to find alternatives, which we did, savoring amazing Pakistanis food (the BEST naans ever, like eating a cloud with a lot of butter), Cantonese food (made-to-order dim sums and chicken sticky rice) and South Indian food (we thought we had seen it all but we had not tried the banana leaf rice consisting into rice topped with a spicy sauce and side dishes served on a banana leaf).
We found Portuguese egg tarts in Melaka – which we had seen in China too (probably an influence from Macau, former Portuguese outpost in China) – and they were delicious. The girls loved them and they were getting them as afternoon snacks every day. This shows the profound mark that the Europeans left on the Malay city (see history below).
We also tried the pineapple tarts (apparently prepared for the Chinese New Year) made with delicious pie crust. This was our afternoon snack (and Naema was alternating).
In Melaka, we visited the remains of the Portuguese and Dutch colony.
History Bubble: In 1511, a Portuguese fleet arrived under the command of Alfonso de Albuquerque. His forces attacked and defeated the armies of the Malacca Sultanate. Moving quickly to consolidate his gains, Albuquerque had the fortress built around a natural hill near the sea. Albuquerque believed that Melaka would become an important port linking Portugal to the Spice Route in China. At this time other Portuguese were establishing outposts in such places as Macau, China and Goa, India to create a string of friendly ports for ships heading to Ming China and returning home to Portugal.
Porta de Santiago
A Famosa, former Portuguese fortress, is among the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Southeast Asia. The Porta de Santiago, a small gate house, is the only part of the fortress which still remains today.
History Bubble: Initially, the fortress once consisted of long ramparts and four major towers. Most of the village clustered in town houses inside the fortress walls. As Malacca's population expanded, it outgrew the original fort and extensions were added around 1586.
The fort changed hands in 1641 when the Dutch drove the Portuguese out of Malacca and renovated the gate in 1670.
The fortress changed hands again in the late 18th century when the Dutch handed it over to the British to prevent it from falling into the hands of Napoleon's expansionist France. The English were wary of maintaining the fortification and ordered its destruction in 1806. The fort was almost totally demolished but for the timely intervention of Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, who was sent on sick leave from Penang to Malacca in 1807. Credit: Wikipedia
St Paul’s church
Built in 1521 by the Portuguese at the summit of St. Paul's Hill, it is the oldest church building in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
Christ Church
In 1741, St Paul’s church was aging and the Dutch started the construction of a new church, which would be renamed Christ Church under the British in 1838.
Originally painted white, the church and the neighboring Stadthuys building were painted red in 1911 and this distinctive color scheme has remained the hallmark of Malacca's Dutch-era buildings since.
History Bubble: The Dutch conquest of Malacca from the Portuguese Empire in 1641 saw the proscription of Roman Catholicism and the conversion of existing churches to Dutch Reformed use.
Stadthuys (in Dutch: City Hall)
Built by the Dutch in 1650 as the office of the Governor and Deputy Governor, today it is home to the History and Ethnography Museum. Among the displays in the museum are traditional costumes and artifacts throughout the history of Malacca.
Melaka is amazing in the wealth of history it holds. It started in the 13th century with the Malacca Sultanate, followed by a strong and strategic interest from Europeans to transit spices (Portuguese, Dutch, British). During WWII, it became Japanese and, as many countries in South-East Asia, it exited the colonial status post-WWII to be part of the Federation of Malaya later becoming Malaysia.
You may have heard about piracy in the Malacca Strait, a long-known strait for ship transiting in the area. Well this is the spot!
A big mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Portuguese cultures in the traditional costumes
Shopping
With all the shopping malls in Melaka, we renewed some of the girls’ stock including comfortable shoes and some clothes. We left whatever was too small at the Old Town guesthouse, as the owner collects left-outs and gives them away every 3 months.
Hospital visit 😱
On our first day, Coralie went to the Melaka Hospital to see the orthopedic specialist that she was referred to. Unfortunately, the doctor was on leave but she managed to see a colleague within 15 minutes and as expected got an MRI done. The preliminary diagnostic from Kuala Lumpur was confirmed: meniscus tear on the right knee. But the good news is that it is located in an area that heals very well on its own within 3 months and the ligaments are healthy. Yay!! Well the bad news is that we had just hiked a lot in Tanah Rata which is not recommended in my case but … c’est la vie! I have to stay put for another 6 weeks or so and I should be fine (because yes, I have been walking around with a tear for 6 weeks already without knowing it).
Melaka was sweet and sour for us. Sour because of the over-the-top touristy experience and the coronavirus threat looming. Sweet because we liked our 2nd guesthouse and our hosts who were very friendly and welcoming. Chua explained us in great details the border crossing process to Singapore and we were glad he did because it was still confusing to us. At the guesthouse, we also met a retired French couple, Martine and Alain, whom we would see again in Bali. They are traveling for a couple months in Malaysia and Indonesia. We also met a French couple, Flo and Mathilde, traveling for an indefinite time. We were convinced that we had seen them in Luang Prabang, Laos. Flo is so tall that it’s easy to remember. We chatted away in an Indian restaurant and we now follow each other on Instagram.
Melaka was marking our final stop in Malaysia, a great trip that we had not anticipated we would enjoy that much! Malaysia – we will be back!
Coralie
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