The lodgings we are staying at are a budget option. A riverside hotel that is worth far more than we are paying for it. It’s right by the side of the Malacca river and a short walk from China town and the historic old colonial quarter. Malacca is designated a world heritage centre.
A very potted history.
Malacca was once the major port serving Malaysia and before the rise of Singapore it was the major trade centre for the east. It has been a colony since 1511 and has been heavily contested. The Portuguese were the first to recognise the importance of Maleka as a foothold to control the malacca straits that separate Malaysia from Sumatra and Java and was the major shipping route for trade to the east. They turned up in 1511 in their galleons and established a fort on the deep water harbour. This, not surprisingly, wazzed off the Sultan of Malacca and resulted in a protracted war between the Portuguese and the local tribes. After a while the Portuguese won and held sway until 1641 when the Dutch fancied a go at the colony. Another war occurred and this time the Dutch won and they took control. The tribes again felt a bit affronted as they had only just mastered speaking Portuguese so they had a war with the Dutch. Accordingly the Dutch added to the fortifications here and expanded the trade. All was quiet and the Malays, now fluent in Portuguese and Dutch, were pretty resigned to colonisation. In 1786 after all the hard work was done the British fancied a go at Malacca and invaded. There was another war between us and the Dutch blokes and we won. The tribes faced with now having to learn English had another war this time against the British. This time we won. This time we colonised all of Malaysia and and by 1914 controlled nearly all of the Malaysian peninsular. The Japanese had a quick go at invading and occupied Malacca and coastal Malaysia from 1941-45. The British and their allies reoccupied in 1945 and after a lot of faffing about finally gave Malacca and Malaysia back to the Malays. Malaysia gained independence in 1957.
We were speaking to a guy in the market that remembers British troops being stationed here in Malacca when he was a boy. It’s amazing to think that we still controlled the colonies in living memory.
Crispy fancied Dosa for breakfast and as today was sightseeing day there was no rush to get started.
Little India lies just across the river from our lodgings so it was an easy walk to break our fast. The Dosa was fantastic and better than any we have had in India. Crispy was excited at the prospect of a day walking around rubble and she loves nothing more than tramping around old ruins in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees. Despite the lack of actual rubble there are lots of historic sights remaining from Malaccas turbulent past. The Dutch graveyard (the dead centre of the town). Old Colonial buildings around the harbour. Parts of the British East India company administration buildings, a couple of ancient churches and the highlight of them all the Sultinates Palace. We had saved the Sultinates Palace till last as we were really looking forward to it. After a long days walking and perusing the sights we finally arrived at the palace only to find it was closed. It was supposed to be open but for some inexplicable reason the guys running it had packed up and gone home. We weren’t the only ones disappointed as a steady stream of people approached the gates like we did and left disappointed. According to the T’interweb it should be open tomorrow so we will try again.
After the long day sightseeing we retired to the air conditioned comfort of our lodgings for an hour to chill and relax. Tonight the main Jongkor Walk night market is on so we intended to go down after 8pm and eat on the streets. We love the street food in Asia because it is always good, fresh, varied, unusual but most importantly cheap. After taking our comforts in the room and freshening up we made our way back along the River to the markets. It was bouncing. The streets were full of people amidst A crazy chaotic mix of food stalls and merchandise. The merchandise consisting mostly of copied brands, t-shirts and Tat. Crispy was hoping for some new travelling clothes to replace the ones that are getting worse for wear but alas at every turn she was disappointed. Sizes in Asia are not generous. An xxxlarge dress in Asia is similar to a ssssmall dress in the UK. The average waist size here is probably 10 inches. Despite her best efforts and some very diplomatic vendors nothing that would fit her could be sourced. In one shop she feverishly pointed out dresses that she liked to the lady in the shop only to be met with a disapproving shake of the head. After several attempts the lady said, very politely “nothing for you, get out your too fat”. Poor Crispy she’s not a big girl by any stretch of the imagination. She’s just not built for Asia.
We wandered the markets and bought our food from the various stalls, fried rice, octopus tentacle kebab, dragon beard candy, and peanut cake. We sat on the kerb amongst the crowds and enjoyed it. It was truly amazing. We are going to eat there tomorrow.
The festivities are heating up and the fire crackers have started already. We were even lucky enough to watch a lion dance in front of the new year stage they have erected in the market. Tomorrow is our last day here in Marvellous Malacca before moving off to Port Dickson on our journey north. I had the foresight to book these bus tickets when we were in Auckland so hopefully it won’t be a trauma. It’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow and we are looking forward to it.
Bare and Crispy signing off, Malacca, Malaysia.
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