You say Melaka .. I say Malacca.....
This whole town has become very touristy since I was last there in the early 1980s (when it was known as Malacca) but at least the shophouses have been retained and there are some people living in them. Then there was almost no traffic and it was possible to stroll around .. now cars are everywhere ; Malaysia has become much more prosperous and that’s the answer. Even when Jonkers Street is closed to cars, there are so many stalls that it is difficult to walk along the street. Progress!
The Portuguese + Dutch + British were all here and left their mark in the form of churches, forts and graveyards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malacca
http://www.melaka.gov.my/
So everyone would know ....
Two huge modern shopping complexes near the centre include the French supermarket chain Carrefour. I went there to buy beer and after much looking, found a very small section serving alcohol (wine and spirits at very high prices). I paid at a special cashier and the goods were placed in a special pink bag marked non-hahal (that is, non-kosher). When I got to the main checkout, the girl would not even touch the bag and I had to remove it before she would handle the other items.
It could be mild paranoia, but I was certain that people were giving me an odd look, so I eventually put the pink carrier bag into my rucksack.
Puri Hotel
The Puri Hotel was built in 1822 by a rich merchant, then totally rebuilt in 1876 by his even richer heir. The 1876 building is the one you see now. Many of the original rooms have been restored and the modern hotel bedrooms fitted into the structure in a very sensitive fashion. The hotel's garden restaurant (alas, slow service when I was there) is a relaxing place. The location is very good just around the corner from Geographer's Cafe and Jonkers Street.
Where did you get that hat?
Geographer’s Cafe is a nice corner bar + restaurant open to the street and a great spot for people watching, I saw a striking couple .. the man very intense looking, wearing odd headgear and with a very strange stare ; the woman followed along behind .. she seemed 'normal'. I managed to get a photo of him on his second trip past the cafe when one of the local businessman is giving him a very odd look .. so it was not just me thinking he was odd.
Shophouses
I first became interested in shophouses after my first visit to Malacca in 1984. They were (and many still are) used for business purposes during the day, then the ground floor becomes the family room where Mum serves food, kids study, granny watches telly and Dad does his accounting. Sometimes the doors are nearly closed and a bit of eavesdropping is required, but normally the whole front is open for ready viewing.
The fine print
Date of travel : February 2008
Country information : https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html
Now what?
Return to Home Go to previous journal entry
Go to next journal entry