MELAKA- MALACCA

On the third day of our tour to Singapore and Malacca we were told to pack an overnight bag for a three day trip to Malacca in Malaya. We were with 57 residents of our village. The CEO and her Singaporean family organised the tour for us. We boarded two coaches and headed for the Malayan border where we had to go through customs. Then we drove on to Johore for a lunch stop where we enjoyed a great banquet of Chinese and Malayan food.

 We filled the restaurant. After lunch we travelled for another two hours and reached the state and city of Malacca (English) Melaka (Malay). Finally we booked into our hotel and then Bill and I went looking for a money changer. We managed to get lost in the huge shopping centres which are all joined together with underground labyrinths so as to avoid going outside into the heat.

 The next morning we set off for a tour.

 We visited this beautiful Mosque in the Straits of Melaka

 Originally, Melaka was a fishing village but developed into a trading port by the Chinese. Later the Portuguese took over the city, which in turn was then occupied by the Dutch and later still by the British. Malaya gained independence in 1956. The old town with its Portuguese and Dutch buildings is now a world heritage city. The Dutch Stadhuys are the famous red buildings.

 This area is called Dutch Square and it is a hub of activity day and night.

The colourful rickshaws cannot be missed. At night they are even more noticeable with their bright lights and loud music.

 We split into two groups : those who wanted to climb the hill to the ruins of the Portuguese, St Paul's Church and those who wanted to walk around the base of the hill and see the remnants of the fortress wall.

 The ruins of St Paul's Church.

It was very hot and we became tired. I searched for somewhere to sit while we waited for everyone to return from exploring. I found a tree root in the shade.

 Around the bottom of the hill was the remains of the Portuguese fortress wall dating back to early 1500's

We met the second group in the cool of a shopping centre with one of our Malayan tour guides.

Then it was off to another banquet lunch and more sight seeing in the afternoon.