We arrived in
Melaka from Singapore on May 24th. For the next 6 days it was like a nostalgia
trip as I had been here back in 2008 on my solo backpacking journey. This time
it was to be a different experience being accompanied by my wife. I am a great
fan of Melaka (or Melacca, as is commonly spelled) and would love to live here.
It is a fascinating melting pot of cultures from the predominant Chinese along
side Indian and Indonesian, plus the additional foreign influences that tourism
brings to a city.
Getting from
the arrival point in Sentral bus station to the centre of the old town is a 1
Ringgit bus ride which initially does not
impress. This soon changes when you approach
the Portuguese square and the dominant clock tower. The instant appearance of
the wonderful rickshaws bedecked in an array of colourful flowers and some with sound systems attached, each
uniquely designed by its owner. You have to smile and you keep on smiling most
of the time you are here. This place lifts your heart and I always feel excited
to be here. Each visit is an exploration of what changes have been made since last time. Some things never change of
course, and that is what draws bus-loads of tourists here incessantly.
I always
considered the possibility of living here but the MM2H scheme (Malaysia My 2nd
Home) makes it expensive as the requirements for foreigners are set quite high.
At 50yrs of age I need to invest for 1year about 350,000 Ringgits plus have a
monthly income of 10,000 Ringgits to qualify for a 1year visa that could be
extended upto 10years. They are trying to encourage
investment though, and as such need the high earners to make it worth it. The
reality is that you definitely do not need that sort of income to actually live
here. It is cheap as befits an Asian country. What you get here though is
quality....good food, good accommodation, some night life, tourism to make it
interesting, and a progressive country that is trying to do it right.
What we can
do though is live here for upto 2months at a time with the present tourist visa
rules, so might consider that as an option.
During our
stay we met some really nice people, who will form a great contact network in
the future if we need help. One man, a 75yr old Chinese character was a real
joy to sit with whilst he supplied us with tea served by one of his assistants
from a traditional Chinese pot. Want somewhere to rent, to buy...want help with
import/export etc...no problem. Another Indian gentleman we met a couple of
times, and might even meet again in India. A useful contact for travel help and
also the real side of living in a place like this. It is a common statement
that travel is about the people you meet along the way and not just the
places...how true this is. Seen so many temples which are beautiful and
memorable, but the people are the feature. The old lady who runs a traditional
Malay house in Ketek village is a lovely lady and without her, the building is
still nice, but just another tourist site.
The real joy
though was plodding the streets with Shiera and being able to show her one of
my most favourite places in Asia. We had a lovely time.
Eating here
is an experience as it has its own speciality dishes apart from the ubiquitous
Nasi Lemak. Of course, the tourist Mecca of 'Jonker Street' is the more
expensive place to eat, but there are cheaper in the side streets and away in the malls and places where the 'Normal People' live. For us
one of the highlights was the wonderful antique artefacts on offer in the
beautiful shops. Many hours spent searching and researching for future business
opportunities...superb place!
Plenty of
tourist attractions to keep us busy...St Paul's Hill with its nice view of the
city...The Taman Sari revolving observation tower, the river boat cruise for
RM10 taking about 40 minutes round trip, to name a few. The river cruise is a must as it shows one of the main projects Unesco
invested in, to develop the cultural history of this place for tourism. A monorail is under construction for part of the route
which will link a small funride park to one of the boat stations. Awalk along
the river bank to the Malay village and back along the other side is a nice way
to spend a couple of hours or so. Watch out for the water monitor lizards,
mud-skipper fish, fresh water crabs and small snakes along the way.
Of course,
you have to take at least one ride on the flower rickshaws (10 Ringgits to 40
depending on your journey). Negotiate with them before you get on. Some want
RM50 for a loop of the tourist sites. The joke is that these are all walkable
in the compact centre and we opted to just have 30minute ride for RM20. A one way ride from the square can be had for RM10
depending on distance. When we arrived from Sentral we got one from the bus
drop-off point to our hotel....fully laden with luggage, the rider earned his
ten ringgits with much sweat!
We spent the
first 4 nights in the Hallmark Hotel on Jalan Portugis. Comfortable but pricy and being cleaned up, so relocated to a small
Hotel near to Jonker street for RM50 a night. Plenty to choose from so not long
to find something. One problem...got a blister on my right foot which burst,
leading to a few days of discomfort.
Jonker street
is the main feature of the weekend for many out-of-towners. From Friday to
Sunday, what was a quiet midweek place transforms into a chaotic market streets
in the evenings with lots of food stalls and tourist stuff. To be honest I
think it is poor quality and this time was not as nice as I recollect from last
time. One memorable sideshow here is the Guiness world record guy who stabs his
finger into a coconut for a living. Not your average guy! A Chinese showman a
who is really selling his own linctus and treatment lotion for rhuematism and
aches caused by stabbing you finger into coconuts....something we all do
regularly of course!
Even though
his whole routine is almosty entirely in Chinese, I felt like it was identical
to what I saw in 2008....it probably was, and he still pulled in loads of RM20
notes from the audience sucked into his sales speel. Done twice a week every
week, week after week, it is all he needs to survive I guess.
For
anyone wanting to overdose on everything you can do with a Durian and still
have friends....Melaka is a good place to try. The smell wafts along many areas
as the smelly fruit is crafted into Ice-cream, drinks, puff-balls, cakes and
many other forms. Not to everyone's liking but the ice-cream is delicious.
Having the dominant Chinese influence means lots of odd things for sale that
you cannot describe and don't know whether to wear it, eat it or wash with it.
Makes for some interesting guess work though.
Sunday 30th May was time to depart Melaka for
the capital Kuala Lumpur. Our first mission
is to get our visa for India, which might
take a full week, so have to get on with it.
RM13.5 for a deluxe bus from Sentral station
taking about 2 hours.
The
journey went smooth as the Malaysian roads are goodand we arrived with a little
rain on the way, at the National Stadium bus station, which is soe way out of
the main city centre. The usual bus station at Pudurayah is being refurbished,
so there is little choice. The heat when we arrived at about 2pm was fierce and
the traffic chaotic, so we went straight for a taxi. Seemed like a good idea...
Until we arrived at our disebarkation point with a bill of 40 Ringgits!
Considering how cheap the bus was that brought us all the way from Melaka, the
last bit by taxi swamped the cost. I assume there is an alternative public bus
or a walk to a LRT station, but maybe another time.
Next blog will be from Kuala Lumpur. Bye for now.....
