Victoria and I took a trip a few weekends back to Melaka, Malaysia. Located approx. 245 kilometres from Singapore we took the bus, on a journey which takes approx 4 hours each way. A small town, completely doable in just two days, it is full of character and charm. The trishaws offer a good vantage-point from which to see the town. The drivers double as guides and do their best to describe all the attractions around you. They also do their worst to make their trishaw stand out. We were attracted to ours for his colourful flowers which covered the bike...that and the fact as soon as we got on he started blasting Michael Jackson for everyone around us to hear! He must have sensed I was a fan!
On Sunday we visited Villa Sentosa. A little known tourist attraction in the town, it is a small house that exhibits the typical lifestyle of a Malay family. The house was built in the early 20th century and the owners sill live on the premises. In fact, they show you round.
It's definitely a must see if you visit. Even better if you appreciate the things of the past, Malay rich heritage and fine architecture. It's owner, Abdul Ibrahim, the descendant of patriarch, the late Hasim Hadi Abdul Ghani who manages the place together with his siblings take their time to show you around the house. Previous visitors include royalties, head of states and a former King of Malaysia. Lucky enough to be a in a small group of six we got to spend quite a while listening to his stories...and we all got to make a wish whilst hitting the 200 year old gong before we left.
As always people watching was fascinating. Especially along Jonker Street, a narrow street located in Chinatown. It has several of the oldest houses in the country, and is famous for selling artifacts of different periods. You can find stuff from the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. Apart from shopping Jonker Street has another speciality...food! The street sells some of the best cuisines in the town. Along the way Vic and I sampled, spiraled potato on a stick, dim sum, sushi, and most interestingly...curry inside a loaf of bread. Victoria was brave enough to buy what seemed like a large bread bun, only to discover a carton of chicken curry inside. Weird...but yummy!
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