Malacca, Malaysia

Our trip to Malacca with Shuwen's parents' church gave us the chance to explore a historical colonial city, and to also see a Malaysian city in the midst of economic transition. We spent our first morning there exploring the old colonial center, with red-colored buildings from both the Dutch and Portuguese occupations. The Portuguese arrived first, in the 16th Century, and used Malacca as a trading post for about 150 years. The buildings left over from that era include the door (Porta de Santiago) to the old Fort and the original St. Paul's church - mostly in ruins - built atop a hill. From the top of this hill, we could see the river, the old shophouses along it, a Dutch ship by the Maritime Museum, the Straits of Malacca, and all the new high rise apartments, condominiums and malls on the South-eastern edge of the city.

The Dutch (under the guise of the Dutch Indies Company, VOC) defeated the Portuguese in the 17th century and built a Stadthuys and new church - the Christ Church. Many of the other buildings in the center of town are also red-colored, though it is difficult to tell just how old they are. The other place of interest we enjoyed that day was the Istana (Palace), which was rebuilt in the 90s using old plans. The entire building was put together without a single nail and provided an educational glimpse into the history of Malacca and the Sultanate of Malacca. There were elaborate diaramas with plaques to explain them. We enjoyed the stories of some of the court intrigues, and pondered over the tragic story of the duel between the blood brothers, Hang Tuan and Hang Jebat. We also enjoyed a walk in the lush and very well manicured garden where we saw a kimono dragon, a large variety of palms and other interesting tropical plants.

Under the blistering afternoon sun, we went to Bukit Cina - Chinese Hill - which is really just a cemetery for the Chinese managed by a private association. Apparently there was some controversy in the 80s about this hill, which the Malaysian government wanted to commandeer, but that passed and the cemetery remains intact. Shuwen climbed what we both thought was a mango tree only to discover that it wasn't one eventhough the leaves and fruits looked very much like one (we still don't know what it is). On the way down she pick up a few large red fire-ants, which enjoyed pinching her. After that little adventure, we went to the temple at the foot of the hill which also has one of the first wells used in Malacca, used by the Dutch and others and poisoned more than once by malevolent enemies.

It was a surprise to Marc to see how many Chinese people there are in Malacca, and also how few people walk in this city. There are not many sidewalks in the older parts of town, so running is also a bit challenging, even early in the morning. The lack of sidewalks is not really unique in the developing world, but the small amount of foot traffic is striking. The city appears to sprawl a bit. This may be the result of very high petrol subsidies in Malaysia, which have encouraged the purchase of motor vehicles. Apparently the prime minister here is on the hot seat because petrol prices have recently been doubled, from uS$0.40/liter to about 0.70, which is still relatively cheap.

We enjoyed a wonderful Peranakan lunch off Jonker Street on Tuesday, which consisted of some new dishes for both Marc & Shuwen. The ayam buah keluak (chicken cooked with a black nut known as buah keluak) was everyone's favorite. Apparently it requires many days of preparation as the black nut can be poisonous (contains hydrocyanic acid) if not properly prepared.

We then visited the Baba-Nonya heritage museum which was the family home of a Chinese-Peranakan family. This was clearly a wealthy family as the home was very ornate, with furniture and decor imported from China, England, France, Holland, as well as many skillfully and locally made items. Jonker Street is also where many shops that cater to tourists can be found. Most sell various knick-knacks and traditional clothing and shoes. There are a good number of family-owned businesses that have been around for a long time, as was the case in Singapore 2 decades ago, but these have pretty much been obliterated in Singapore and it is likely that with time the family-run stores in Malacca will face the same fate. Shuwen tried hard in search of a nice kebaya and beaded shoes, but the good quality ones are hard to come by these days (and you have to pay through your nose for them!)