May 4, 2007

Melaka (Malaysia)

A Surprisingly Pleasant Day in Melaka

I didn't fall asleep last night until after 3am, but I had lot of ground to cover today so I pulled myself out of bed at 7am. An hour later I was dressed and making photo copies of all my important documents. Two hours later and I was crossing the border from Singapore to Malaysia. With the help of a local girl I met on the public transport, I headed straight for the long-distance bus station so I could continue on to Melaka [Melacca].

I caught a bus at 11am, and arrived in Melaka in the early afternoon. I checked into a small dormitory situated in the attic of an aging building, but for $1.50USD/night I can't really complain - or rather complaining does no good.

I was fairly hungry since my last meal was an early breakfast, so I wandered the city in search of good food. A local shop owner recommended me to a small Indian restaurant where I ordered the special of the day. It turned out to be a mixture of ten vegetables and white rice spread out over a large leaf. After scrubbing my hands in the sink, I began shoveling the food into my mouth. The restaurant owner must have appreciated that I was eating like a local because he brought me iced tea and a free dessert. Surprisingly, it no longer feels strange eating with my hands (at the appropriate places, of course), but I have never adapted to the Indian habit of using water and a hand to clean up after using the toilet. I don't think I would ever be able to look at my left hand the same way again.

After lunch I continued touring the town. Despite its former prominence as the largest trading port in all of Southeast Asia, Melaka never experienced the heavy development found in places like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Thus, it still has a great deal of old school charm that accumulated over 500 years of foreign rule - from the Portuguese to the Dutch to the British. Much of the town actually reminded me of Macau because of the Portuguese styled buildings and art-deco colors.

Speaking of Macau, I met a couple of girls from Hong Kong who are working at Macau's booming casinos - they are poised to take over Las Vegas in terms of yearly cash flow. They were shocked out of their minds when I spoke Cantonese and Mandarin with them. For every good experience like this there are a million times when I am embarrassed at my inability to properly express myself.

One of the nicer museums I visited displayed the many varieties of Malaysian architecture. From old forts to the famed Petronas Towers to the traditional longhouses, the exhibits were a great deal more interesting than I would have thought. Basically, when Malaysia received independence following World War II, architects were brought in from overseas and given the freedom to use their ingenuity in building a new Malaysia. The end result is a variety of "modern" buildings that are really quite impressive to see. Building construction has always seemed like an interesting field of study, but I can only imagine how much work it must take to design a modern skyscraper.

The other museum I visited today was a lucky find. The building didn't look like anything extraordinary from the outside, and indeed the first two floors contained drab cultural exhibits, but the top floor was devoted to the many forms of "Permanent Body Expression". I was able to read about various tribal practices, their techniques, and the history behind them. Initially, I thought the people must be crazy for doing such things to their bodies, but then I came across one room devoted to tattoos, and another room devoted to the bone deformation caused by corsets.

Below are a few pictures of some of the more interesting pictures.

I spent the dying hours of the afternoon walking the rest of the town, which is small enough in size to maintain a charming feel. A lot of Singaporeans said there isn't much to see in Malaysia ("It's just Malaysia!"), but I really wish I had more time to enjoy Melaka. Maybe the pictures below will give a better feel for the history and feel of this quiet city.

The picture to the left deserves an explanation: Muslims are not allowed to use condoms and Malaysia is primarily Muslim. Whereas Singapore needs a "baby bonus" (financial incentive) to increase the birth rate, the Malaysians are trying to cut down on the birth rates.

Later in the night I walked to the Chinese quarter of the city for the Friday market. Families set up little table in the streets where they sold everything from trinkets to herbal tea to the famous sates (meat on a stick) the city is famous for.

I must give a final word for the Laksa soup I tried as it blows what I tried in Singapore right out of the water. Supposedly, Singapore has some of the best food, but my two meals in Malaysia have been terrific thus far.

I never thought I would understand where people were coming from when they told me Malaysia is worth visiting simply for the variety of foods, but they were absolutely right. Only, there is a hell of lot more to see, also.

I will leave for Kuala Lumpur tomorrow before catching a flight to Borneo on Sunday morning. I will try to post once more before I hit the jungle trails.

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