Day 84 – Day 85, 12-13/5/2012
I was taking a bus from Singapore to Malacca. Turnes out you have to cross the immigration with all your luggage (and it actually helps if you memorize the colour of the bus that you are travelling in, otherwise it can amount to a few stressful moments in the parking lot after the immigration). By 6pm I had reached Malacca. Looking back, I probably should have thought about it earlier and dressed appropriately, but I arrived in a short dress and the local people were way too happy about it. I caught a bus to the city centre, and set off to explore the Saturday night market. Streets full of people and merchants selling loads of crap – this was like a mini-version of Chiang Mai’s Sunday market. Finding veg food in the market stalls seemed mission impossible, as they were selling mostly different versions of fried meats, but I found some durian spring rolls.
Next day I spent first half of the day running some errands like arranging bus tickets for the further travel, shopping mosquito repellents for the rainforest and doing laundry. When that was done, I went sightseeing with a Swedish girl I had met there. Melaka does not offer much to see. Or (more likely) I’ve just seen so many breathtaking sights, that a simple small town doesn’t work on me anymore. It had the biggest concentration of museums I’ve ever seen, and the old houses were very picturesque. I was happy to see Chinese temples and also meet my first monitor lizard, swimming in the river. Melaka has plenty of art shops and original souvenirs – shopping is one of the rare activities one can indulge here in (oh, those lovely coconut-shell earrings!). Also, if you are looking for typical Malaysian sweets and durian-made delicacies, this is the place to be!
Chapatis, curries, rooftops and holy cows 