Malacca was deserted by Sir Thomas Raffles for Singapore back at the beginning of the 19th century. Malacca's eclipse by Singapore means that many of its older buildings have escaped demolition. The town follows the twisting river inland, at each step you can find the traces of the different communities that lived and still live here.

To the North the town hall area would not be out of place in any Dutch town with its adjacent Dutch reform church.



At the top of the hill overlooking the town the former Catholic church built by the Portugese still dominates the townscape. The spire was removed by the ardent Dutch protestants so as to deconsecrate it. Around the slopes below you find numerous museums and the magnificent, rebuilt sultan's palace, re built without the use of any nails.

We explored much of the town on foot as its centre remains compact You can if you wish though employ the services of a rickshaw driver. They are a rare site in Malaysia but remain here competing with the colourfulness of their decorations and their sound systems. This one seemed to be a Barbie fan.



As well as the Dutch style town centre there is a Portugese area and a thriving Indian area. The most interesting part of the town though is the Chinese area. The wealthy Chinese straits community built town houses which combine Portugese and Chinese styles of architecture. They often have interesting windows.

Rather as in London the often modest frontages disguise the extensive interiors of these homes built around two inner courtyards. Many have remained in the same family for over two centuries. The Peranakan who live here are descendants of Chinese traders who married Malay women. The men are referred to as Babas and the women Nyonya. Nyonya cuisine is a tasty combination of Chinese and Malay food which tends to use a lot of coconut milk.


The main part of the town has the numerous small shops selling everything from fashionable dresses, plastic flowers and caged birds.







We had sailed up to a marina North of Melaka (the modern spelling)- a town called Port Dickson. The marina had the particularly attractive benefit of a rather nice swimming pool where we could cool off. The journey by road back to Melaka takes in miles of palm oil plantations, providing the ubiquitous "vegetable oil" in processed food as well as being a key component in bio-fuels. Naval and army depots are succeeded by long lines of empty beach resorts. The chalets are a bit reminiscent of the British south coast, neglected and empty. Perhaps not surprising since the heavily polluted sea is not very inviting. The roads are busy with cars. Having got used to the great swarms of motorcycles and scooters of Indonesia we still find the return to a car based economy strange. As you approach the town, massive malls present themselves, some with the familiar Tesco sign. Malaysian Tesco's have all the charmlessness of their British equivalents.

We elected to stay at the Majestic Hotel (rave reviews and special offer)for a couple of nights. The place is an absolute peach. The entrance is through an old manor house. The high elegant ceilings and wooden shuttered windows now house the restaurant and bar. The manor house conceals behind it a large modern accommodation block with all the facilities of a modern hotel. The charming, friendly staff go out of their way to help you. The rooms are beautiful complete with claw foot baths and best of all a relaxing massage in the spa centre. Malacca was definitely a plus place to visit.

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