Malaysia Melaka 22.01.10

We leave Singapore in VIP air conditioned comfort on one of the many interstate luxury coaches which operate throughout Singapore and Malaysia, although it only costs us $24S to make the trip (approx £4). We don't have any problem carrying the knives through Mayalsian customs and the journey up the west coast to the historical city of Melaka, through fields upon fields of palm groves, takes little more than three hours. These buses are great- so comfortable, because the huge seats fold down into an almost sleeping position and the cool air conditioning makes for a very pleasant ride. They're very similar to the ones we journeyed on in South America. We arrive in Melaka to be confronted by a huge Tesco supermarket (they get everywhere) just outside town and we take a taxi to our guesthouse in Little India, 'Eastern Heritage'. This is an eccentric old place in one of the traditional trading houses complete with original black wood and gold detailing interior. The ceilings are high and the spiral staircase is of a plush dark wood but the place is so rundown it's very sad. There's a particular smell to it (!) and the tiled floors, wooden furniture and tiny age-old kitchen looks like they haven't been cleaned in years. I'm just dying to give it a good once over!, get rid of the silly, tiled plunge pool (intended for guests to use, but I think if I did I'd end up with some kind of waterborne infection!) and this place would be a stunning traditional Melakan mansion.

Our room is equally as eccentric as the entrance hall with a whole wall covered in a pretty well executed mural of a waterfall landscape, no air conditioning (only a small yellow fan which, as we find out later, simply cannot cool the hot air) and access to the 'washroom facilities' (one pretty suspect toilet and a not so inviting shower). I just thank my lucky stars I've not seen any big bugs! I don't mean to complain. I actually found the experience of staying in a rundown establishment very interesting because of its faded glamour and eccentricity and I'm sure there will only be more to come. We walk out to explore Melaka's streets and districts which cover all the periods in it's varied history, from the Dutch colonial influence, when it was once one of the most wealthy cities in the world (the river running through the centre reminds us of the canals in Amsterdam and the small white houses on either side are being carefully renovated) to Chinatown, which is a fascinating warren of rundown streets of old Baba Nyonya * houses and street stalls, to the village Morten, a distinctly different area of town where the stilted Swiss chalet style houses are lovingly cared for and the pot plant gardens are some of the most impressive I've ever seen.

The town now is largely underprivileged and the open drains and litter are a clear indicator of this, however there seems to be a lot of significant renovation going on for the tourists (many Singaporeans make Melaka their weekend getwaway) and, as we're finding with South East Asian cities, big and small, the ubiquitous mall and flashy food court are doing a very good trade in the city's modern quarter. We leave Melaka for Kuala Lumpur having mostly enjoyed taking interesting photos in it's picturesque and characterful Chinatown.

* Baba Nyonya is the name given to the particular ethnic group who resulted from the intermarriage of Chinese immigrant traders to Malay women in the 19th century.