Day 99 - Touring Malacca/Melaka

I spent the majority of the day taking a walking tour of the city since my bus ride to Penang was at 10pm. Most of the major attractions were all situated in a small part of the city, including many museums about the history of the city and its inhabitants.

I visited the Stadhuys (Ethnography) Museum, the Literature Museum, the Governor's Museum, St. Paul's Church, the Melaka Sultanate Palace, and the Kite Museum. The things that interested me most were the bits and pieces about the blending of cultures between all the people that lived in the city in the past, including Malay, Chinese, Indian, and Portuguese. It was interesting to see the changes in wardrobe, customs, and food between Malay and/or Chinese, compared to Nyonya (a mix of Malay and Chinese) because you could see the influences from both cultures.

I headed back to Jonker Street in the evening to see if I could find some more goodies to try. I had the chicken rice balls again, and decided that I would try some durian fruit since it is ever so popular in this country, despite it smelling like stinky feet. I tried Durian Cendal, which is a popular shaved ice dessert in the country. It was edible, but I wasn't a fan of the taste of the fruit. I gave it another shot by trying some durian egg roll pastries, but again, it didn't do anything for me. I ate dessert, but the aftertaste in my mouth was as if I had just had some sort of savory dinner instead of something sweet...

St. Paul's Church

Sultanate Palace

Different royal headwear was on display at the Sultanate Palace, distinguished by the different folds.

The mannequins on display at all the museums had hilarious facial expressions. I spy Michael Jackson?

Kite Museum

Various Durian Desserts

Day 98 – Food Paradise in Malacca

I took a 2 hour bus ride from KL to Malacca. It wasn't as crowded on
the bus as I would have guessed during the holidays, maybe because
Melacca is a popular place to visit and there are so many departures
to the city on any given day. Or maybe because it seemed like the city
was predominantly visited (and inhabited?) by Chinese Malaysians who
probably don't celebrate Ramadan.

I walked around the city in the afternoon, without really knowing what
to look for except the night street market that everyone suggested I
visit on Jonker Street. I passed by some churches, temples, and other
landmarks. Some of the buildings were influenced by Europe
(specifically the Dutch and Portuguese). The city itself is a UNESCO
Heritage site, something I've been accustomed to seeing all over SE
Asia in some of the most special places.

Then came food paradise for my hungry stomach and eyes once the sun
went down. The entire Jonker Street was filled with food and
merchandise vendors selling lots of various items, many of them
Chinese/Taiwanese, something I was very familiar with, and happy to be
familiar with. Check the pictures out:

Portuguese Egg Tarts

Taiwanese Sausages

Hainanese Chicken and Rice Balls

Dim Sum

Taiwanese Radish Cake

Curry Fish(?) Balls

Street Dancing on Jonker Street

Chinese Calligraphy