Back in Time Melaka

Melaka is a very attractive destination for tourists from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The reason is simple, the place is very pretty and the food options are immense!

Let's start with a bit of History. Melaka has been a very active settlement over the age. Before the 15th century the Chineese used it as a trading stopover on their way to Africa. The Portuguese seized the town in the 16th century and stayed there for a couple hundred years, then the Dutch took control before the British sometime in the 19th century until the Independence of the country in 1957. The architecture is very much influenced by the different waves of settlers and the place is protected under the UNESCO world heritage.

The food is great and we had a taste of Chinese sweet delicacies, local chicken curries, the unmissable chicken tandoori with naan set is my all time favourite! We found a place with triple cheese naan, double cheese and garlic or potato naan! Usually a meal for 2 costs us around the 6 GBP mark - it could go wrong but in 3 months we havn't had food poisoning yet ;-)

As the place is very chilled out and we are approaching the end of the trip, we are finding it a bit difficult to make our way to museums. However we followed the local tourists' steps and went on a trishaw ride (a bike with a sidecar decorated with fake flowers and pumping music!) and on a local boat trip. We've also discovered a card game suited for 2 people and spent a few hours playing gin rummy, Nic was pretty good at the start but I think I've found a good technique now and I'm much better - ha ha!

Before we arrived we read in the Lonely Planet about a Kungfu master breaking coconuts with his finger. Last night, on our way to have dinner we saw him preparing his show and decided to watch for a short while. The show started and Master Ho was on about how great and strong he was. He then asked tourists in the public where they were from and how they had heard about him - Lonely Planet of course! He kept on going for a while and eventually asked me the same question. He must have liked my beard and asked me to be his assistant for his act. We were hungry but could wait a few minutes. What we had not realised is that he was trying to sell a pain relieving lotion and that was the main focus of the time we spent there. After selling a first set of lotions at a discounted rate, he finally pierced a coconut with his powerful index finger - I admit it was quite impressive. Western tourists left and local tourists for some reason were still captivated by his speech and he went on to sell a second batch of spray lotion this time. I was still unfortunately involved as his assistant at this point and could see Nic and Tora getting very agitated (hungry!!). Eventually, 1h30min after we arrived, he broke a second coconut with his elbow and we made our swift getaway while we had a chance! The only good thing about it is that I left with a free lotion.. we still have to see whether it actually works though.

latest pics: click here

B