As far as I could find out Melaka is Malay for Malacca so now we know!
We left the boat at Admiral Marina for a few days and took the bus journey into Melaka to have a look around.
Our first bus took us from Admiral Marina into Port Dickson bus terminal about 15 mins drive. There we changed onto the bus going to Seremban bus station an hours drive then we caught an express coach to Melaka bus station another hours drive. The first two buses were your normal local bus stopping every few minutes to let people on and off. They are always interesting to travel on as you pass through local villages and towns. The locals sometimes stare at you in amazement to see a westerner on their local bus and often they want to chat to you and find out where you are from and most importantly do you like Malaysia. Everyone is always friendly and helpful. The express coach was a little more luxurious with reclining seats, footrests and air conditioning that was so cold I got goose bumps! Mental note to take a sweater next time. The bus trip cost the 2 of us MYR 21.00 ($7) one way!
Once we arrived at Melaka we found our way into the old city which was granted Unesco World Heritage Site status in 2008. We had booked into The Wayfarer Guest House for 2 nights. The guesthouse was beautiful. It was thought to be an old rubber trading shophouse built on the river bank.
A family had bought it, renovated and turned it into their home and guesthouse. We were on the second floor in a large room with queen bed and ensuite bathroom. The bed was comfy and the linen crispy white cotton. The fan and aircon kept the room cool and we had tea and coffee making facilities plus the use of the family kitchen if we wanted. Satisfied we had made a good choice and after a cup of tea we headed out the door to explore.
Melaka was originally just a small fishing village but because of its location, halfway between China and India, it soon attracted merchants from all over and became a major trading port. A Hindu prince was the first to stop here on his way to the spice islands, followed by the Chinese, Portuguese and Dutch. This all makes the mixture of architecture very interesting and the different cultures means there is a wide and varied choice of some very delicious food to try.
We spent the next 2 days just walking around looking at beautiful old buildings, visiting museums, hunting around in junk shops, visiting different temples, eating beautiful food. The old part, Chinatown is hanging in there but of course there are your gaudy trinket type tourist shops popping up along with new buildings being constructed on the riverfront.
We took atrip up the river and passed under some very pretty bridges as well as many large monitor lizards that live in the rivers up here.
They seem to be putting a lot of money into the town and hopefully the new will blend with the old without too much damage, as it is the old that this town is all about. At the end of the second day I was quite foot weary and I treated myself to a foot massage. Jerry treated himself to a back and shoulder massage.
It was a great couple of days and we can highly recommend a trip here. Make it midweek, weekends are too busy. You will not be disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment