More Malaysia

On the 12th, I came back to KL to process my visa for China. I left again on the 14th to explore the colonial town of Melaka (which used to be the home of the Dutch East India Co.). It's a popular tourist destination, and only 2 hours from KL, so I decided to give it a try.

The city itself is very western as well, but the population is less than 1 million people, so it is much smaller and more inviting than KL. My guesthouse was ready for my arrival and so I got to take a short rest before exploring the city.

On the afternoon of the 14th, I explored the colonial part of the city. First they were conquered by the Moguls from India, then the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and finally the British. Don't forget the great Chinese migration to Malaysia in the 1500s too!

It's amazing to see this mix of Indian and European architecture, customs and culture integrated in the city. The buildings, food, decorating styles, everything exhibits the multicultural influence of the town. It was breath taking.
I started out my adventure at the "People's Museum" to get a better understanding of the history of the city and then wandered through the Islamic Museum, St. Paul's church (built by the Portuguese), Church of Christ (built by the Dutch) and administrative centers (built by the Dutch but altered by the British). I had dinner at an Indonesian restaurant and hit the sack pretty early so that I could head out early and beat the heat the next day.

On the 15th I explored the Chinatown district of Melaka. It was quite funny to wander around this section of town. The Chinese took over the Portuguese area of the city, so there are all these Chinese shops and businesses located in Spanish style buildings.

After a quick lunch of rice chicken balls, it was time to head back to the guesthouse, collect my things and head back to KL to pick up my passport on Friday morning, the 16th.