SE Asia II - You say Malacca I say Melaka

Melaka is the first major stop on the West Coast of the Malay Peninsula. It is famous (or infamous) for its colonial heritage. The Portugese got here in 1511, the Dutch kicked the Portugese out in 1641, the British moved the Dutch on in 1795 and the locals got rid of the British in 1957. The locals seem quite proud of this history, or at least the marketing people do. In Bahasa (the Malaysian language) it is spelt Malacca in English it is spelt Melaka.

Melaka is a town of two halves. There is the new part of town with a couple of snazzy new malls and big open spaces. It felt akin to an Eastern European town square. The old town on the other hand has some colonial buildings, a Little India and a Chinatown. (I wonder why they aren't called Little China and India Town?). I liked Chinatown in Singapore because it was big and full of Chinese people. Chinatown in Melaka is even better because it still retains a historic quality. There are old temples dotted amongst the winding streets. The old town is great. It is a maze of narrow windy streets. The traffic through these streets is amazing, cars rush by with motorbikes weaving in between them. There is no footpath, so you try and doge oncoming traffic whilst avoiding falling into the open drains. I was surprised to see the cars had so few dents in them.

My first taste of public Malaysian public transport was the bus from the Coach station to the town centre. The array of buses outside the Coach terminal all looked like they needed a complete overhaul. The driver on mine seemed more concerned with playing with the buttons on the dashboard than paying attention to where he was going. The bus seemed to be in a constant state of motion, even when people were getting on and off, which was amazing considering the amount of traffic surrounding the bus.

I stayed at Shirah's Guesthouse. A bed in a 6 person dorm cost 1.80 pounds. It was only me and an Italian guy who greeted me (and Shirah) by walking down the corridor naked. Generally first impressions aren't the best when the other party isn't wearing any clothes, it makes you wonder what else they consider acceptable behaviour. Nothing dodgy transpired at Shirah's, though there was an unpleasant odour coming from something in the room (possibly the naked Italian). The place was clean and tidy. The shower was cold, but I think that is standard in this part of the world. I was lucky to have a proper shower head, apparently there is normally just a hose connected to the water pipes of the toilet. They also had the luxury of western style toilets, no crouching hidden toilet paper.

I had my customary breakfast of Roti. Roti is an Indian dish, which is a kind of pancake but not quite. Even though it is the morning the Indians will eat Roti with curry sauce and some form of curried meat. They serve both of these in separate dishes to the Roti so you don't have to eat them. Roti is served in a variety of forms. I have had them with chocolate, banana and egg. In all these forms curry sauce and curried meat is supplied.