Sweet.
So, the story behind Melaka is pretty interesting – it was originally a far more important city than KL, and would have faced a similar rush to development, but for changes in colonial rule and trade that relegated it to a second-tier trading city.
But hey – that actually works out perfectly for the tourist today. Now a sleepy, relaxed town, Melaka has taken pretty good steps to preserve its historic downtown – a collection of tight-packed maroon-painted storefronts, as well as a fantastic Chinatown.
Throw in some of the best food Malaysia has to offer, and you've got a great recipe (yeah, sorry about that, I just couldn't resist the pun) for a few days of concentrated downtime.
After catching an early morning bus from the massive tent city that serves as the temporary bus station in KL, I plopped my stuff down at Number Twenty Guesthouse, an immaculate hotel in a 1670 structure in Chinatown. Three years in the UK or no, I still get a kick out being in buildings that are far older that the US, and are still in use – not merely as a museums. Awesome.
Then, it was time to brave the seriously hot weather and go for a wander. My first stop was some of the spicy/sweet Malaysian specialty soup – laksa. Man, this stuff is fantastic. Coconut milk, noodles, curry, shrimp, and who knows what else – all for about $1. Plus, they have a dozen varieties of the stuff from town to town, so as a tourist I was never sure what I was going to get yet they all were equally delicious.
Chinatown itself was great – a bustling neighborhood, but still far more relaxed version that any that you might find in big cities. It's a small town in feel, complete with neighbors exchanging gossip across the street, busy artists painting on silk, and the ever-present knick-knack and tourist souvenir stores. Throw in a mosque, a Buddhist temple, and a big church, and you've got the multi-cultural landscape of Malaysia in a nutshell.
Even the bicycle taxi drivers got into the vibe:
I escaped without serious damage to waistline or wallet, although I did get sucked into buying a handmade t-shirt from a local artist named Charles Chan at his garishly painted store:
...and then, to quote the Princess Bride, I “fell victim to one of the classic blunders”... nope, I didn't get involved in land war in Asia. Instead, I tried a seemingly innocuous fruit named durian. Durian fruit in a shaved ice concoction called cendol to be precise.
Mistake. Big mistake. Stomach-churningly, “I nearly tossed my cookies”-type bad mistake.
Durian's the Marmite of the fruit world – you instantly either love it or hate it. The taste and odor? I can't even begin to describe it – but it's as far from the sharp, clean scent of an orange as it's possible to get outside a lab. It's funk is so nasty that some hotels even go so far as to ban it entirely from their premises.
So, after manfully trying (and failing) to eat more than one bite, I covered my dessert with a napkin and beat a hasty retreat from the store.
Then I got to check out the main plaza, where dozens of taxi trishaws were lined up awaiting customers. Unique to Melaka, each taxi driver takes great pride in 'tricking out' their rides – complete with artificial flowers, lights, and even a booming sound system rocking out to the latest Usher song. It's all good fun, and they're also great tour guides as well.
By this point, I was pretty much wilting, so I retreated again the blissful coolness that only a modern mall can bring, taking advantage of their free wi-fi, before heading out in the early evening on a quest for Melaka's best satay fondue.
At Capitol Satay, I think I might have reached culinary heaven. Not in any super posh, gourmet sense, but just for really good, unique food, all for an amazing price.
First, a quick primer – the way satay fondue works: take a circular steel table, put a near-boiling gas-heated pot of satay sauce and broth in the middle (let's just say Malaysia's a bit looser on health/safety issues than the UK). Toss in any number of fresh fish or vegetables on skewers. Cook for 1-3 minutes, and eat. And eat. And eat.
You basically just hit their buffet bar, take whatever squid/fish/beef sticks look good, and bring them back to your table. At about $.25 a stick, it's a great deal, especially when they throw in a massive 5-6” tiger prawn as a bonus.
Packed, friendly, and seriously hot – it was a blast. The locals got a kick out of watching me try to figure things out, and the friendly staff were great at showing me the ropes.
Stuffed after 20 sticks, I gazed in awe at pictures of the record-holders – a couple from the UK devoured 81 sticks-worth, complete with 4 beers to wash them down. Unreal.
My second day was a bit more athletic, as I hooked up with a mountain bike tour company to check out the countryside outside Melaka. It turned out to be a great decision – a nice easy ride through winding worker footpaths and backroads. We even encountered a guy waiting to trap birds that he trains as songbirds for the city folk.
First word that comes to mind? Green, green, green - the rural landscape of Malaysia is an ever-varied mix of plantations and small villages. From watching the locals cut the bark and bleed the liquid from their rubber trees, to checking out the palm oil and pineapple plantations, Malaysia is a seriously fertile climate. I'm exaggerating a bit, but I'm thinking that if you close your eyes and throw some seeds behind you, something will pop up growing, even from a non-green thumb guy like me.
The other bonus is that each village house also has its own amazing herb garden. Lemongrass, chinese ginger, and a dozen fruits besides – I can only imagine how tasty the cooking must be with such fresh ingredients on the doorstep.
Back in town, I just ended up cruising around town a bit more, and finished the night with a whisky and an odd dessert – apple pie baked in a glass – at the local ex-pat cafe. Odd, but tasty indeed.
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