Leaving Kuala Lumpur behind we hopped on the bus in the main bus terminal. As we got on all memories of grotty, cramped busses of the other parts of Asia seemed to disappear, it was the height of bus luxury. It was one of those journeys you just didn't want to end because you knew deep down that this kind of bus was pretty rare to find!
As we got off in Melaka we were befriended by a guy who wanted to share a taxi with us. Turns out he was half Argentinian and half Chinese and his name was Juan Pablo Poon, what a name! He had just finished a six month stint in New Zealand and was now off to travel through Asia, lovely stuff and a good guy.
The taxi into Melaka was good fun. We had a taxi that when the driver lifted the boot, a huge canister was strapped in leaving no space for bags. I asked him if it was nuclear, he said it was to power his car, is this guy from back to the future??
At the hotel in Melaka's old town the taxi drover dropped us off with our bags and we strolled up the stairs to be met by quite possibly the most informal (and cheap) place to date. The two owners had a couple of very young children who's toys and books were strewn across the floor, it was actually pretty cute, very homely. The rooms were basic but excellent and even had our own rocking chair!
After relaxing for a few minutes we were off once more into the evening to check out this historic city, not realising quite how busy a place such as this can get on the weekend, it was ridiculous. You kind of forget I suppose, especially after being in Vietnam, Laos etc, that the local population are tourists too. You forget sometimes that malaysia is a developed country with an aspiring middle class, all looking to take their new SUV's to the countryside or the seaside for the weekend.
Anyway, we braved the crowds to explore the famous Jonkers night
Market. The streets were filled with hundreds of people (and stalls hidden away somewhere!) We managed to taste some amazing nyonya pineapple tarts, portugese custard tarts and some chinese dim sum. Just goes to show you the diverse mix of cultures that they have here. Whilst wandering through the Market, we came across a huge stage where some brave souls were singing there hearts out to what only can be described as a Chinese mega mix of their greatest pop hits. Our favourite was an old guy in a yellow and black shellsuit - he looked like the Chinese version of Barry chuckle! His performance was by far the best of the night :)
After a good nights sleep, we set about exploring the city and the heritage sights that it had to offer. There were people everywhere and in the end we gave up and headed away from the crowds to follow a walking tour in the LP guide. It took us past Chinese temples, Hindu temples and a mosque - all along the same road! The Chinese temples were fantastic to wander around as they were filled with people praying and celebrating the new year. There was so much incense in the air it stung your eyes but it was a brilliant sight to see (even through our streaming eyes!)
Later that night, we took a walk along the river and discovered some amazing artwork on the sides of the buildings. Huge colourful designs depicting different aspects of malaysia and of Melaka in particular. They looked great at night but even better the following day when we took a leisurely boat ride along the river, straight through the heart of the city. Further up river we found a traditional Malay village (wooden houses on stilts). They seemed slightly out of place next to the more modern concrete buildings but it was nice to see that this community maintained it's authenticity.
Wandering back to our guesthouse, we came across an old shop with lots of wooden spinning tops hanging outside with a sign offering free lessons. We headed inside and found a friendly old guy who relished the opportunity to show off his 'spinning' skills! He was pretty good and before long Tom had mastered the art of spinning too. All pretty simple stuff, or so it seemed until the guy started wheeling his tricks out the bag. These were not so easy and 'would need some practice', so we walked out the shop the proud owners of our very own spinning top! No doubt hours upon hours of frustration lie ahead but a pretty good souvenir to bring back to the UK.
Now we couldn't write a blog about Melaka without mentioning the trishaws. They are without doubt the most fantastic mode of transport you could ever hope to take and like nothing we had seen during our time in Asia. Yes it still was a bicycle powered by one very fit man and seats for 2 passengers on the back. Yet these guys had taken it up a level and 'pimped' up there bikes with lights, flowers, stuffed toys and a HUGE soundsystem pumping out everything from chinese pop to Michael Jackson. Brilliant! Even better though was when groups of Chinese tourists hired lots of them at once (to accommodate their huge families) and they all set off in a long line, different music blaring out the speakers of each - a special moment to behold and only in Asia!!
All too soon (and just as we were starting to relax) it was time to think about moving on again. We booked super cheap express bus tickets to Singapore. A mere 5 hour journey with border crossings half way through. Fingers crossed for as nice a bus as we had on our journey here - somehow I doubt it!!
Love Tommo and shell xxxxx
(this blog was a joint effort and a labour of love as we left it so long to write - oooops!)
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