Melaka…a Pirate’s Life (Melaka, Malaysia). 

Not entirely sure how this happened…but we had less than 24 hours in Melaka.  We arrived via bus from Kuala Lumpur at 4pm and departed Melaka the next day via plane bound for Penang at 2:45pm.  Melaka is a beautiful city and I wish we had more time there…but we made the most of our short trip!

Historically, Melaka was a port city situated along the Strait of Melaka.  The port city was critical to the spice and tea trade between China, Indonesia and the West and Middle East (eventually Melaka was surpassed in functionality and importance by Singapore).

Melaka was colonized first by the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British.  The downtown district is spotted with western style architecture – remnants from past colonial eras. We spent our quick stay viewing some of the historical landmarks and visiting the local markets.  I really loved Melaka.  I highly recommend visiting and spending a few nights perusing Jonker’s Walk, eating the street food and viewing the historical sights.  It really would be perfect…if it weren’t so hot (we are definitely over the heat).

1.  Jonker’s Walk:  Jonker’s walk is a large street market situated just west of “Dutch Square” and the the historic district.  Jonker’s Walk was lively and packed – definitely the place to be after 6pm.  The market had tons of great street food, handicrafts and knock-offs.  Jack loved smoked duck kababs.  I tried my first dim sum.

2.  Trickshaw riding:   The Melakan trickshaws congregate at the eastern end of Jonker’s Walk.  They are pretty tough to resist when you have young children accustomed to riding in Thai tuk-tuks.  After speeding through Jonker’s Walk, we took a quick loop around the historic district via trickshaw.  Be warned the trickshaws are bright and blast horribly obnoxious club music.

3.  Melakan River Cruise:  Next, we took 45 minute boat ride down the Melakan River.  The river area has been cleaned up over the last two decades and is filled with bars, cafes and restaurants (previously it was incredibly polluted).  The cruise was excellent at night but would have been equally interesting in the day (the buildings along the river are covered in wall murals completed by local artists – which are only partially visible at night).

4.  Historical District:  In the morning we walked around the historic district.  The historic district is pretty compact (most sights are within 500 m of “Red Square” or “Dutch Square”).  We spent the majority of our time at the old Portuguese fort of A’Famosa…mostly because there was a man with an iguana and parakeet positioned outside captured Sam and Jack’s attention.