Melaka: Part Two!

***NOTE*** I have imported this post directly from my Ipod. I wrote an account of the rest of our visit to Melaka in a hostel in Singapore. We were sheltering in the foyer from a severe downpour - I was starving and needed something to take my mind off my stomach! The numerous spelling and gramatical errors are a result of the circumstances in which this was written - I think it adds to the authenticity of my description of the rest of our time in Melaka.

It all worked perfectly althoufh i walkex straight past the entrance which was small and in between a wholesale looking place and a locql food canteen which seemed to have elderly chinsse men spilling out on the street siting on rickety tables and plastic chairs and having a wail of a time ass is the way in chinatowns. We headed up aome stairs toward a large grilled gate and after tryin unsuccessfully to barge our wY through rang a bell under 'please ring'. Nothing happened and then suddenlu a head ws thrust out over the bannister further up the stairs and a young woman asked are you william? When we arrived in the foyer a largeer than life man wS entertaining two scared looking couple. He interrupted himseld to introduce himself as howard the owner and shook our hands. He had a little pony tail bleached on the top of his hwad and wore glasses. He was showing the irish couple a video on his laptop of a large scantily clad lady being made beautiful with photoshop and loved it giggling and pointing and giggling some more. We put our bags in our room and rhen the younf lady showed us around- like a kid would show you around their den... We set out to explore and walked down Jonker st . I bouhht some shorrts from jonker arcade. Very nice and q cheap.. We walked trhough chinatown and headed for a. Quayside cafe for drinks and food. Cheap and tasty chicken and rice. I had '100plus' which is poor mans lucozade. Then we Headed to the maritime museum which was a full size replica of the 'flor de la mar portuguese' warship that had captured the town in the early 1500s. It sank in 1511 full of spooils and booty and was, according to many treasure hunters "the richest vessel ever lost at sea, with its hold loaded with 200 coffers of precious stones, diamonds from the small half-inch size to the size of a man's fist.". You could walk aroind inside and we spent a happy hour or so exploring ths beply od the ship and readinf the  exhibits. Then we hwaded back to the town square and went to the chur h around a huge group of chinises tourista and thwn went into the melaka museum which was all about the youth movement but had a good arr gallery upstairs. We then hwaeded to 'backpackrs place' for drinks and games of jenga before heading back. Backpackers Place was a really cool little bar down a side street, quite bohemian and really relaxed. Walked into Ringos foyer and howard said do we fancy goinf out later with him to show us round and then some beers with finger motions and slurping noises. We went to capitol satay for tea and i wore my nw shorts. Still no pants (haven't worn any since we left - a new record for me since I was out of nappies..) Capitol satay reLly cool. Busy and you can see why. Think fondue but replaxe cheese with satay sauce an you get skewers of so many different things fish beef shrimps squid everyrhing and put them in th pot to cook before taking out to eat. Each skewer was 80 sens so so cheap! Thrn we headed back via chinatown which came alive at night! Karaoke and dance lessons in the buildinfs to the side! Rhi tried on top and skirt and looked lush so i bought it for her.. I bought a cheese hitdog in waffle- rhi saod its a good job she can look past my foibles..  Carried on and had an icecream and saw a crazy woman pointing her fingers like a gun and shouting in a hoarse voice as if someone ws following her.. Went back and went to bed as it started raining - unfortuanatley howwrds touring plans didnt come off. I got up early though and knocked on his door he ws next door to us and he took me on the bikes early to see the sights. We had aeen most o them so that ws cool apart from the old town agate portuguese era and everyone seemed to know him which ws cool. Felt like I was cycling around town with the mayor or in a cheesy 80's film - shouts of 'Hi Howard!' came from all quarters. Hwaded back afterwards and got ready to leave. Got out of our rooms in a bit of a rushand said can we pay now to howard he said 'sure ok' looked uneasy and said tentatively 'err how much??' Rhi and i wwere a bit speechless and he said 'ok leys say thirty'. We were sure it ws meant to be more but he such a legend. Made us take the bikes to ge chicken rice balls for breakfast. Best things ever!! Malaka (Melacca was one of our favourite places in SE Asia. Would defintely recommend, especially for history lovers) Bus journey to SIngapore awaits!

Howard - the Peter Pan of Malaysia, he will never grow up

Malaysia: Our entrance to Melaka 10/03/10

After a fairly short, peaceful coach trip from the bright lights and bustle of Kuala Lumpur’s metropolitan atmosphere we arrived in Melaka Sentral (the main terminal bus station for the area) at 11 o’clock and sleepily collected out bags. We headed through the bus terminal avoiding eye contact with all the bus company hawkers and tried to make our way to the ticket booths. It must be noted that no matter how much ‘eye contact avoidance’ you practice in an attempt to look like you know what you’re doing, being the only white couple in the area and blundering into the station through the ‘exit’, clutching maps and lugging the worlds heaviest, most western looking backpacks, one can only achieve a certain level of nonchalance and incongruity. So, despite our best efforts, we were mobbed and pushed our way against the tide looking for tickets to the town centre.

We headed purposefully towards the busiest counter hoping to secure the next days ticket to Singapore early and managed after a quick exchange to acquire two tickets for eleven the next morning. Buoyed by our ticket success we headed through the terminal towards the domestic bus depot hoping to discover easy to read straightforward maps and instructions on how to get to Chinatown. Needless to say these were not apparent and so after a quick investigative sweep and brief interrogation of a number of drivers we found the bus we needed - bus 17 headed for Central Square. We made our way to a large rickety ‘17’ sign hovering precariously over a bus that looked almost as if it used to be a tractor and boarded awkwardly, clutching bags and possessions in a space that seemed a couple of centimetres smaller that we required and perched precariously on the stair as I attempted to find the right change.

We squeezed along the aisle and wedged ourselves into our seats as the driver reversed out of the parking bay. We stared out the window uncertainly trying to see where it was we should attempt the disembarkation. The first stop was still out of town so we stayed put, hoping that ‘Chinatown’ would be announced to us when we reached the correct stop. Suddenly the bus pulled up the kerb and the bus driver turned around and shouted ‘off!’ loudly down the bus. He ushered us off the bus and we stood in the muggy heat on the side of the road confused and trying to work out if we had been ejected at the right spot or if the driver had just got fed up with us taking up all the room on his bus. We were in a quaint town centre; a clock tower and municipal buildings rose in front of us, all painted in terracotta reds and brilliant whites. It looked generally more European and well kept than we expected, just like a recently refurbished quaint French square. A river ran along the west side of the square and an ornate bridge spanned the gently flowing waters.

After an extensive geographical appraisal, we set off across the bridge and walked past a vibrant, colourful line of shops and stalls. Jonker’s Walk, as it is known, illustrates Melaka’s Dutch influenced past lead us relatively straightforwardly towards Melaka Tech School, opposite which we would apparently find Ringo’s Foyer.

....tbc