Malacca Town and Penang's George Town were formally inscribed as UNESCO Heritage Sites in 2008.Malacca is rich in culture and it bears several places of historical interests. Tourism is an important industry in Malacca. "Visiting Malacca Means Visiting Malaysia" is a slogan adopted by Malacca…Read More

Malacca Town and Penang's George Town were formally inscribed as UNESCO Heritage Sites in 2008.

Malacca is rich in culture and it bears several places of historical interests. Tourism is an important industry in Malacca. "Visiting Malacca Means Visiting Malaysia" is a slogan adopted by Malacca because it was the location of one of the earliest Malay sultanates, and it was the birthplace of the Baba Nyonya heritage.

I took a day trip to Malacca with some friends. Jessica, our tour guide and driver, drove us from Kuala Lumpur. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to reach Malacca Town. Jonker Street is the main street in the town. Well-preserved prewar buildings turned into shops selling souvenirs, antiques, and local designs. On Fridays and Saturdays, the street turns into a night market where tasty treats and delicious knick knacks are sold at dirt cheap prices. A handful of bars turn the street into a mini street party with tables oozing beyond the sidewalks and a mix of live music beating throughout the area.

Traffic was pretty slow here. Jessica showed us the oldest and grandest temple in Malacca, Cheng Hoon Teng. It is located along Jalan Tokong (formerly Temple Street) in the core area of the Malacca Heritage Site. Dating back from 1646, the temple continues to serve the Buddhist community in Malacca. The temple is dedicated to Kwan Yin, is noteworthy due to its craftsmanship and preservation. A robed effigy of the Goddess of Mercy can be found within the main hall and remains the focal point for the entire shrine.

Malacca is well-known for its food. Its Baba Nyonya cuisine is a fusion of Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Indian, British and Malay cooking with most dishes being spicy in nature. We had 'Chicken Rice Ball' for lunch. It's basically chicken rice with the rice comes in the size of a ping-pong ball. Other famous local fares in Malacca are 'Nyonya Laksa' (a Peranakan cuisine, which is a fusion of Malay and Chinese cooking) 'Itek Tim' (a sour duck soup with salted vegetables), and 'Ayam Pong The' (miso soy braised chicken).

Malacca has a laid back atmosphere. Between the scattered historic spots are Chinese prewar shop fronts and traditional Malay houses. Time stands still as we head to the Main Square, where Stadthuys and Christ Church are located. Stadhuys, a salmon-pink town hall and the governor's residence, is believed to be the oldest Dutch building in the East, houses several museums. Christ Church is the oldest Protestant church in Malaysia. Built in 1753 to commemorate a century of Dutch rule in Malacca, it is one of the most recognizable buildings in the country. The square is never short of activities: trishaws adorned with plastic flowers (lots of them) and Malaysian flags to attract tourists, man with a white 'motionless' python that you pay a fee to pose with it, and street vendors selling souvenirs and tidbits.

Porta De Santiago (A'Famosa) is a must for anyone planning to visit Malacca. Constructed by the Portugese in 1511 as a fortress, it suffered severed structural damage during the Dutch invasion. What is remained today was saved by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1808 when the British planned to destroy the structure was aborted.

Malacca is a city mix of the old and new, historical sites and prewar shophouses stand close to modern shopping centers and offices. Here you will find old folks relaxing in their houses and young adults enjoying the life texting with their iphones. Malacca once a sleepy town, is slowly becoming a major tourist destination in Malaysia. And, before we drove back to Kuala Lumpur, we had Malacca famous satay celup, it's skewered raw fish or meat cooked in peanut sauce!   Close

Many people stop at Alor Gajah on the way to Melaka. This is the place where the locals call it - "A'Famosa Resort." A'Famosa Resort consists of a resort, in the forms of bungalow and apartment, a golf course, an Animal World Safari, a Water World,…Read More

Many people stop at Alor Gajah on the way to Melaka. This is the place where the locals call it - "A'Famosa Resort."

A'Famosa Resort consists of a resort, in the forms of bungalow and apartment, a golf course, an Animal World Safari, a Water World, a Cowboy Town and a Flying Club. This gated community along the highway provides a lot of local and overseas visitor the enjoyment of having all in a place.

However, our trip only allowed us to spend 4 hours in the Animal World Safari.

ANIMAL WORLD SAFARI
Entrance Fee with Unlimited Rides and Shows:
Adult: RM59.00
Child: RM49.00
Entrance Fee with Unlimited Rides and Shows for MALAYSIAN:
Adult: RM32.00
Child: RM25.00
Operating Hour: 9.00am - 7.00pm daily

Located on 150-acre piece of fine land, the Animal World Safari houses over 100 species of animals. It lets you encounter the wildlife in the closest possible condition - in a gated truck!

Take this ride with experienced tour guide to share with you the different types of animals and their origins along the journey. You will start off with seeing some camels, ostriches, giraffes and spotted deer followed by lions, tigers, bears and a lot of other species. The entire journey takes about half an hour.

There are four shows scheduled every day for you to experience how intelligent animals are when they are well trained. Enjoy the Elephant Show, the Multi-Animal Show, the Bird Show and the Wild Wild West Cowboy Show!

There are some walk-through areas where you can touch the animals, like ponies and horses, flamingos and many others. The area is well landscaped and perfect for a slow and relaxing walk.

You can also take cruise to the Monkey Island, located in the middle of a lake. The islet has a few different types of monkeys, squirrels and wild chickens. You can feed them with food provided by the ground staffs during mealtime.

The last stop should be at the Farm House, which is like a petting zoo. It houses chickens, goats, sheep, geese and ducks and others like the green iguana, cats and dogs. This is the zone where you can play with some of the animals and touch them if you like.

Overall, it's a well-covered World Safari which offers excellent experience for animal lovers!

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Bukit China, Melaka's Chinese cemetry, is situated on a hill just outside the city centre. Chinese cemeteries are always built on higher grounds, so the deceased are closer to heaven. As Melaka's climate is hot and humid, it was too far to go on foot…Read More

Bukit China, Melaka's Chinese cemetry, is situated on a hill just outside the city centre. Chinese cemeteries are always built on higher grounds, so the deceased are closer to heaven.

As Melaka's climate is hot and humid, it was too far to go on foot to Bukit China. Therefore, we hired a trishsaw. They congregate near Stadthuys right in the centre of the city. We haggled over the price, and paid RM4, which was money well spent, as our driver proved to be an excellent tourist guide.

"The graves are very much neglected," he began. "There are some 12,000 of them, and the oldest date back to the 17th century." We bumped along trying not to inhale exhaust fumes.

At the foot of the hill, we got out and, together with our guide, climbed the hill, which was more a gentle slope than a true hill. There were graves all around, semi-circular in shape. Many of them were overgrown by trees, grass, and weeds, and the Chinese characters were eroded. A few graves were still in remarkably good condition.

Our guide asked us if we knew the story of the Ming princess. "No," we said. In ancient times, Melaka and China wanted to outwit each other. One day a Chinese ship moored in Melaka harbor with its interior pinned together with a multitude of gold pins. It was as if the walls were made of pure gold. On board was a Chinese diplomat who had a message for the Sultan of Melaka, a message from the Emperor himself: I have a subject for every gold pin, if you can count their number then you know my power.

Here I tried to interrupt our guide as I wanted to know why the diplomat was on board and how the interior was pinned together because this was not clear to me, but he ignored my questions and continued.

The Sultan was very much impressed and sent a ship to China in return. Its cargo consisted of bags of rice. And this was his message: If you can count the grains, you will have guessed the number of my subjects and you will know my power.

The Chinese Emperor was intrigued and sent his daughter, Princess Hang Li Poh, to marry the Sultan. She came with 500 handmaidens. The Sultan gave them Bukit China as a place to live. And, until today, it is in possession of Melaka's Chinese community.

Whether this is a true story or not, I don't know. But it is a fact that in the 15th century a Chinese Princess, Hang Li Poh, married the Sultan. The purpose of this marriage was to strengthen diplomatic relationship between China and the Melaka Sultanate. The princess’s handmaidens married local Malay men. Their descendants are the Pernakans, which means "born locally." They are also known as Babas and Nyonyas.

Soon more Chinese traders came to Melaka, all with high expectations of success in trade. Some were successful, but others died before achieving success. They were buried at Bukit China. Their families had not traveled with them, and there was no one to pray for their souls and look after their graves. But the Chinese Kapitans took care of this.

Kapitans are appointed chiefs of Chinese societies or clans. The Chinese immigrants had language and cultural problems when they came to live in Melaka. Soon they formed clans that were self-governed. These clans took care of education, finance, and also had a social function. This system still works today.

Today, Bukit China is not only a cemetery, but also a park where many Melakans go jogging and mountain biking in the evening. Others practice Tai Chi while enjoying the view.

If you have only one afternoon in Melaka, Bukit China is not the most important place to see, but if your stay is longer, I would strongly recommend you see it.

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"Welcome to the temple of the Evergreen Clouds," said a friendly, middle-aged man, "Cheng Hoon Teng in Chinese." And he invited me to go inside. A statue of a dragon and a lion stood guard at the entrance. I entered an open courtyard; from here…Read More

"Welcome to the temple of the Evergreen Clouds," said a friendly, middle-aged man, "Cheng Hoon Teng in Chinese." And he invited me to go inside. A statue of a dragon and a lion stood guard at the entrance.

I entered an open courtyard; from here I could examine more closely the dragons on the green tiles roof with its up-turned eaves. The walls were decorated with clay figurines and more dragons. There were tortoises intertwined with snakes, elephants, lions. "Symbols of Taoism," my host told me.

I was a bit hesitant to step inside, as there were many people; some were arranging offerings on large tables, while others were burning incense. Two men were sitting on the floor, throwing wooden cubes to predict their future.

Chinese temples are very hospitable places and I went inside. I did not feel like an intruder. People continued their daily rituals and were not bothered by on-lookers. On the contrary, they liked to explain their religion to outsiders and point out interesting architectural features of the temple.

This temple, like all Taoist Chinese temples, was built according to feng shui principles - all aspects of life are related to keeping perfect harmony with nature. The temple was built facing and overlooking the river and the sea. At its back is a hill, which is home for potentially dangerous dragons. It is structured in such a way that air is allowed to circulate freely. This is necessary as the hall gets filled with the smoke from the joss sticks.

The temple is elaborately decorated: golden dragons and phoenixes, fine porcelain, and cut-and-paste shard work. The longer I looked the more details I saw.

The lay-out of all Chinese temples is the same: a courtyard with a large bowl for incense and paper offerings. Beyond it is the main hall with an altar-table on which are placed: an incense burner, candlesticks, flower vase, offerings of fruit, and soft drinks.

The main altar in the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple houses the image of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. She is associated with fertility, good fortune, and peace.

The most striking colour in the temple is red, which symbolises the sun and also suggests joy, festivity, and prosperity. The temple was built in the 17th century from building materials especially imported from China, as were the craftsmen. Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is an example of typical South Chinese style.

In the street outside the temple, there are shops that sell paper offerings. These are paper models of any worldly possession. By burning these models at a funeral or ceremony, it is believed that these possessions will brighten up life in the next world. People’s favourite possessions are represented: a big house complete with DVD player, stereo set, flat-screen television, paper Heineken beer cans, and credit cards.

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is in Jalan Tokong, right in the centre of Chinatown.

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Imagine this: feet as small as lotus flowers. Today there is still one old lady in Melaka who has lotus feet. Her feet are only 3 inches long; she has bound feet. When she needs a new pair of shoes she buys them from Wah Aik,…Read More

Imagine this: feet as small as lotus flowers.

Today there is still one old lady in Melaka who has lotus feet. Her feet are only 3 inches long; she has bound feet. When she needs a new pair of shoes she buys them from Wah Aik, the only shoemaker in Melaka who can still make these tiny shoes.

Doll’s shoes was what I thought when I saw them in the shop window. They are made of silk and lined with red velvet and fastened with gold-threaded laces. They have leather soles, which never wear out. Women with bound feet cannot walk.

Women with small feet were desirable brides. The smaller the feet the higher the dowry. They often married men of means and thus were sure of a prosperous life with one drawback: women with bound feet could not move about freely. They could not leave the house unaccompanied. This is exactly what their husbands liked.

These women walked with a swaying gait as they tried to keep their balance. Men found this swaying gait erotic. Besides, foot binding kept women in their place. They were regarded as their husband’s property, and, without the help of his support, they could not move. They were housebound and every step was painful; yet, they were expected to raise the children, prepare the meals, and do the housework.

Walking meant excruciating pain. Therefore, some women put stools next to each other to form a chain so that they could move without their feet touching the ground; others moved about on their knees, which was almost as bad as walking.

The binding of the feet began between the ages of three and six. The bones were broken and the toes were folded under the foot. The ball of the foot buckled in and was wrapped to the heel. The fold between the heel and the ball was the preferred site for intercourse. It is dubious whether women derived any pleasure from it.

Foot binding was banned in 1911, but it did not stop right then, as so many girls were in the middle of the process. Finally, in 1949, this practice was made illegal. This means that women in their early 60's can still have bound feet.

Shoemaker Wah Aik at no. 56 Jalan Tokong in Melaka, Malaysia sells these tiny shoes to tourists.

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There is not a whole lot of nightlife, but we found a couple of little pubs in walking distance from Red Square and Chinatown. I highly recommend getting out and walking around and finding little pubs where locals hang out. My husband and…Read More

There is not a whole lot of nightlife, but we found a couple of little pubs in walking distance from Red Square and Chinatown. I highly recommend getting out and walking around and finding little pubs where locals hang out. My husband and I hung out with some locals on two separate occasions and had a great time. We always seem to learn so much about the people, community and culture when we do this. Nothing like bonding over a beer!    Close