The Madness of Malacca

I am writing these blogs a little out of order, as I visited Melaka after I went to Kuala Lumpur, however I finalised the Melaka photos prior to the KL ones, simply because there are so many of KL.

Melaka. I am trying to consider how best I can describe Melaka. On the surface, it is a mess. There is a log jam of traffic, street after street of half completed construction and large shopping malls cram the main area. In amongst of this, however, lies the true Malacca Town - the World Heritage Listed site. And it is here where the real fun begins. Most of the tourist attractions lie concentrated in one small city centre, where you can go from one interesting site to the next.

Malacca has such a rich history as it was the centre of Asian trade over a number of centuries, because it lay between Indonesia and the other Asian countries. Back in the 15th and 16th century, it was the capital of the Malaccan Sultanate and was the centre of the Malay world. However, Malacca was then invaded by the Portuguese in 1511. Following that were centuries of colonization by the Portuguese, Dutch and the British as well as development of Straits Chinese (Peranakan) culture. All of this heavily influences the architecture of the town and it remains a melting pot of a number of cultures. It was fought over so regularly because of the spice trade that existed between Indonesia, India, and the Chinese based countries.

I arrived in Malacca after two days in Kuala Lumpur. I went to Malacca because Ruth, a good friend and her traveling companion had planned to be there that weekend, having come across from Australia on holiday. I spent my time with Ruth and Gillian, exploring the sights, sounds and different flavours of southern Malaysia. Sit back and enjoy photos showing the madness of Malacca!