Following the same formalities to exist Singapore as when we went to Johore Bahru we were out in no time and on our way to Malacca or (Melaka in Malaysian). Unlike Johore Bahru which is the state directly across the bridge Malacca is a ways away from Singapore at about an hour and a half drive. We had a buffet lunch at a high class restaurant before heading to the main area of Malacca. The bus dropped our tour group off at the beginning of the ‘China town like area’ and we were guided through the busy streets in a direction heading towards Malaccas famous land marks. Our tour guide had obviously conducted this tour several times before as she knew most of the shop owners on a first name basis and took us around explaining different parts of Malaccan history and lifestyle. One notable store was small elf like shoes that were once used to bind female royalty so that they couldn’t move. The theory behind this is: because they have everything (maids, butlers etc) they don’t need to move and therefore are there to serve the King or Prince. (Don’t quote me on this as this trip was quite a while ago, before I started taking down all the important information) As we continued to walk towards the Dutch canals we were passed by several tricycles with immense decoration. This reminded me of our wonderful tricycle trip through China down the year before this trip. At least this time we weren’t on the flower laden tricycles.
After a quick explanation of a few more local industries here we made our way to a Chinese Buddhist temple and the guide thoroughly explained more facets of this religion and how it affects the local people here in Malaysia. The temple itself was quite elegant inside and out and no expense was spared on the details that went into the constructed. The temple itself was intricately designed with ornaments layering the outside of the building. As I had seen too many of these temples on my trips through Japan I wasn’t too interested but was more eager to make our way to the famous red buildings of Malacca.
We were given a bit of time to roam around the streets before finally meeting up again with the rest of the group and making our way over to the Dutch canals and famous buildings of Malacca. If you’ve seen any of the TV advertising on Malacca you can more or less bet that the advertisements include the Red Church of Malacca, the clock tower and the statue of a famous priest. The state of Malacca has been under several different rules of the last few hundred years and as such as strong influence from many foreign cultures. More notable the Dutch; The Dutch had strongly influenced the city and because of this a good portion of the buildings are red, and there is even city canals running through a good portion of Malacca. We took some photos with the clock tower and followed the guide into the church. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos in here but it was nothing special anyway. As usual there were souvenir stores selling goods here if you wanted to pay overpriced amounts. We headed out and took some last pictures with the church before heading to the top of the Malacca hill to see a famous area which houses a famous statue (again forgot the name sorry. Please check google). We had accomplished the greater portion of what Malacca has to offer. We took some last minute photos, picked up a few souvenir purchases and began walking down the hill towards the pick up hotel. We said goodbye to Malacca for which we probably wouldn’t be returning anytime soon.