Melaka & Singapore

Hi Everyone

Apologies for the gap between posts. Internet access has been patchy since Singapore. Heres the update for Melaka and Singapore. Eli will follow very shortly with the next post.

Melaka (or Melacca)

Our search for a hostel in Melecca was undertaken without darkness or rain; I loved it already!

The hostel we found was one of the best so far.  Sitting in the middle of Chinatown, Voyager Hostel offered a welcoming feel with plenty of other travellers.  Our room had heaps of natural light, there was warm water, and the coffee at the cafe came from an espresso machine.  Melecca was getting better by the minute!

For our first evening, the hostel hosted a shared dinner.  So we joined our fellow backpackers for an Indian meal.  The ethnic mix of our dinner party included Dutch, Nepalese, Taiwanese and an Australian who worked on several state politicians’ electoral campaigns.

The next morning we set off on a wander around the city taking in some of its historical sites.  Given its strategic importance as a port city, Melecca was colonised at various stages by the Portuguese, Dutch, and English before being incorporated into Malaysia.  Each coloniser added its own buildings—churches, forts, docks, and administrative facilities were built new or refitted.  Easily viewed, it is this history that lead to Melecca being named a world heritage city.

Like much of Malaysia, Melecca now has prominent Chinese and Indian communities that commingle with the local Malays.  Chinatown is particularly large; a popular spot for tourists from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, it is more thriving than little India—and separated by the river that divides the city—with its red-lantern-lit streets and food stalls making for a pleasant stroll.

Not finished, later that afternoon we grabbed some bikes from our hostel to find St Johns’ fort—formally a Portuguese chapel, converted to a fort by the Dutch, and now a relic with cannons and a view of the city.  Our ride was directionally challenged (due to the absence of a map), but rewarding nonetheless.  An inadvertent detour to the largest Chinese cemetery outside of China was a welcome surprise; so exiting that we did a complete loop—again inadvertently.  

Our return was better managed—passing Melacca Island, the port, and a replica trading ship from the 16^th or 17^th centuries.

I love food—which is probably stating the obvious.  But I also love reading about different places to eat.  So, later that night, after reading about Satay Capitol, I knew we definitely had to go there.  Satay Capitol consists of tables with buckets of boiling peanut sauce in the middle and a chiller full of meat and vegetable skewers.   How it goes is you grab a tray full of whatever skewers you want.  Take it back to your table.  Then cook the skewers in the bubbling sauce.  It is yum!  Very, very yum—except when you accidently get a skewer of liver.

The next day we started slowly, making use of the free wifi and good coffee.  In the afternoon we bussed to a recreational park just outside the city, but got off at the wrong stop.  Undeterred, we walked the rest of the way to the park.  A replica jungle with a tree-top walk, herb garden, and dinosaurs, it catered for locals who sought an outdoors with concrete paths.  It was nice, but nothing special.

That night we slept easy—we were off to Singapore tomorrow on an express, air-conditioned bus. 

Singapore

Our four nights in Singapore were splendid.  Entering Singapore over the 1 km causeway that connects the city state to Johor Bahru in Malaysia, we made light work of the on-again-off-again process of passing through two immigration checkpoints via bus—our first overland border crossing.

Having stayed in Chinatown in both Melacca and Kuala Lumpur, we decided to give little India a go.  Close to the city centre and with a large food selection, it was a great choice.  We stayed at the Inn Crowd with about 50 other ‘dorm-roomers’—a helpful, clean, and generous hostel that offered free internet, breakfast, and instant coffee.  That night we ate Indian curries and chapatti at a local market.

The next day—after a shopping mission to replace my lost fleece (I think it’s on a bus in Medan)—we met Debra for lunch.  Eli met Debra when she came to Jemena on an exchange from Singapore Power and worked in his team for two or so months.  

Debra took us to a food court.  Unlike those in other parts of the world, Singaporean food courts are great dining experiences—well, at least for us foreigners.  They offer many local traditional dishes at very reasonable prices; and this was one of the ones where Debra ate lunch regularly.  Debra generously guided us to sample (and brought) a range of dishes—some we probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise.  

Eating with a local was certainly a great way to try new things and learn more about the culture.  Thanks Debra!

Our afternoon began with a walk through the old colonial part of Singapore—which sits near the mouth of the Singapore River.  Eventually, and to avoid the heat, we ended up at the Asian Civilisations Museum—a truly fascinating place.  It contained a vast amount of information and artifacts from all parts of Asia.  Focusing on South East Asia, the collection helped put context around where we’d been and some of the places we were going.

The next day we landed at Sentosa Island—Singapore’s playground.  Sitting at Singapore’s southern most point, the island contains beaches, an amusement park, an old British fort, hotels, restaurants, and a horde of people—mostly locals and expats taking their kids for weekend outings.  We spent the afternoon swimming and enjoying New Zealand Natural ice cream before heading back to Little India for a quiet evening;  I had boysenberry ripple, Eli had hokey-pokey.

Of course we could not go to Singapore without going to the zoo—Eli made sure of that.   On our last full day in Singapore, we got up early to beat the crowds to see animals watch animals.  Located in the north west of the city, the zoo contains a sizeable collection of flora and fauna from all continents.  White tigers, baboons, cotton-top tamarins, and giraffes were all hot favourites.  Well sign-posted and shady, the zoo layout was simple and we left satisfied.

After a quick wander around Chinatown the next morning, we were back to Malaysia.

Don't forget to check out the photo gallery, we've added new ones

Love to all

xxxx