On arrival into Melaka we were pleased to find the hotel we had pre-booked was an old Chinese workshop with all its original features, tastefully converted into a lovely base for us for three days. With Chris still in Kuala Lumpur preparing to go to the football it was left to me to guide Mum and I round Melaka to get our bearings for the first night. I wasn’t aware before I came travelling but I am awful at directions. The only way I manage to navigate myself is by memory of things, I remember I turn right at such a building and that’s about it. I won’t be able to navigate myself to said building so basically my sense of direction is useless in a new place. So it didn’t take me long to get Mum and I a little lost. I’d like to thank Chris and google maps at this point for safely guiding me round Asia for the best part of a year, who knows where I’d be if I had travelled alone. Thankfully Mum rectified the situation and guided us to the old town.
The old town is a beautiful place, full of decorative buildings and colourful lanterns hanging across the streets. There is a large art scene in the town with lots of small workshops selling various bits of art, street art on every corner and quirky cafes. All set around the river that runs through town. The two of us enjoyed food in one of the cafes and had a wander up and down the river before calling it a night, looking forward to being joined by Chris in the morning.
After a long walk to find some breakfast, another stroll of the pretty old town and a once round the local shopping mall we went back to the hotel just as Chris was arriving from Kuala Lumpur. The three of us had a tasty noodle street food lunch for just £1 and then headed back to the old town to show Chris around. We discovered more Chinese temples and pretty rows of buildings, I turned into snap happy Sarah making sure I caught everything on camera. A shaded sit by the river turned into monitor lizard spotting as the huge reptiles slithered about the water, resembling a small crocodile/dinosaur… Or maybe just a big lizard.
Still feeling a little jet lagged and foreign to the heat Mum retreated indoors whilst me and Chris had our rather boring trip to the supermarket to stock up on our breakfast supplies, this gave us a very long winded bus journey round Melaka but at least we got to see more of the town. For tea that night we went to a satay restaurant. For those not in the know, this is a place where a huge pot of tasty peanut fondue bubbles away in front of you and you dip your selected skewers of veg or meat into the pot and watch it cook before your eyes. It’s a nice way to eat a meal and at 20p a skewer you can get a cheap, if not messy, feast. Our entertainment for the night was a Chinese tourist getting locked in her hotel room somehow. She made it out safely by the way although there were tears involved in the ordeal.
Our final day in Melaka was again spent in the old town which didn’t really get boring despite it being a small area and us going there everyday. We ate at a delicious Vegetarian restaurant for lunch and an Indian restaurant for tea, both well received! The day was a relaxed one which was a fitting way to end our time in the relaxed town.
There has been the odd time whilst travelling that we’ve walked past people on the street that we met in a hostel room or a bar months earlier. Or times when we’ve walked past someone that we have never laid eyes on before, although they seem to have mistaken us for another couple they met somewhere and throw a loud “hello” at us, it’s only when they’re met by our confused expressions that they realise we have never actually met before. But for the first time since we’ve come away we bumped into someone from home. As we were walking along the street the previous day, Chris bumped into a friend from home and his girlfriend (hello Jack and Sarah!) So for our last night in Melaka and coincidently Sarah’s birthday we met up for some drinks on the river. I called it a night after just a couple, boringly opting to get an early night in preparation for our long bus journey tomorrow but Chris stayed out till about 2am drinking with a Scot and a Malaysian, apparently a good night was had by all.
As we left our pretty hotel the owner asked for a photo of the three of us for his website and then we were on our way. Next stop Mersing where we will depart to Tioman Island!
Until next time.
