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Day 1- 9/02/09
After breakfast left Singapore at 9am by bus. The bus was very comfortable, the seats reclined and had footrests that came up. Departure from Singapore and entry into Malaysia went smoothly and the 5.5 hr journey went by very quick, it was a good chance to chat to everyone and catch up on sleep.
Got to Melaka which is a port town at 1.30pm. The first thing I saw as the bus drove in was TESCO!!!! Checked into the hotel which was in Chinatown and had lunch at the hotel. After lunch we went on a walk of the town and had a look around. Saw a wonky church that rumour has it was built by the Spanish in honour of St Xavier and they used Spanish labourers. The Spanish loved their drink hence they didn't realise it was at a slant!!!! Saw Vasco De Gama's church and where he was buried before the body was excavated and moved to Goa. The Church is now in ruins after storms damaged it, it is a top a hill and had a fantastic view from the top. The sea has been reclaimed and they built out onto it. The Portugese, Dutch and English influences are very evident. It is totally different to what I expected it to be!!! We gat back to the hotel and freshened up. Then we went out on a trishaw ride. These are bicycles with a little buggy to the side. We went to a Taoist temple - the oldest temple here built without using any nails and the timber is so strong that to date it is in excellent condition. It was very busy as today was the last day of the Chinese New Yr celebrations which go on for 2 weeks. From there we went to a Buddhist Temple and then on a tour round the town getting a history of the Country. The spices were what was discovered here. The name Melaka is derived from the Melaka tree, it has little round green fruit which is very sour. The tour ended at the food court in the town centre. Managed to get some veg noodles and lots of delicious fresh fruit juices, also had a grape ice-blend (not far off from a slush!!!!). We headed to the mall for a fish spa. This is where you dip your feet in water and little fish nibble away the dead skin on your feet. Then you get a foot massage, it is big in this part of the world!!! Unfort the place was closed so we headed to the Discovery Cafe round the corner from the hotel. They had live music, we had a few drinks, chatted and some played a few games of pool. Got back to the hotel on the way grabbing some pineapple tarts as we have been told to try these. I will pass my verdict on it later!!! Tomorrow is an early start heading to KL.
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