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From Kuala Lumpar it was on to the old port town of Melaka, 2 hours south of the capital. Following a short bus journey we arrived at Central bus terminal and found a bus into town. From here (with the help of some fellow backpackers!) we navigated the small twisty streets of Melaka's chinatown and eventually found our hostel for the next 3 days: Ringo's Guesthouse! After checking into our room (and finding that a couple we met all the way up in the Cameron Highlands were staying there too!) we headed into town to explore Chinatown (the area that we were staying in). Melaka is quite big but the historic centre is small and is a world heritage site. The centre is split into 2 halves by the river: Chinatown, with its small shophouses and maze of streets and stalls, and the colonial area (lots of old but big and grand red brick buildings from the portugese occupation). After a wander around Chinatown it was back to the hostel where we crashed in the tv lounge and watched Employee of the Month! After cooling down (Melaka was hot!) we went back out into Chinatown in the evening for food. Being only a few days away from Chinese New Year that area of the town was really busy with loads of market stalls and lanterns. We opted for the town's famous chicken rice balls, although i'm not too sure that Deb's was too anamored with them! For desert we got chocolate covered grapes before going to watch the street karaoke (lots of old people 'singing'!) and soaked up the atmosphere of Chinese New Year.
The following day we decided to cross the bridge and explore the old colonial part of town. We began at the old Christ Church before going into Studthays (the old town hall that now house's the museums of literature, history, education, culture and government!), before climbing up to the ruins of St Pauls Church on top of Bukit St Pauls. Having exhausted all the museums we set off along Jalan Kota (a long pedestrianised road with yet more museums along it!), stopping to look at Porta de Santiago and the Melaka Sultanate Palace. After a quick stop for food in a food court, we crossed over from the historic town centre to the modern part of the town for a quick look around a huge air-conditioned shopping mall, before walking to the harbour front and then following the river back to the old town square via the Maritime Museum. By now it was getting really hot and so we sought comfort back in the hostel, spending most the afternoon sat in the tv lounge with the other travellers watching American Gangster (one of my new favourite films!) and Blades of Glory. In the evening Howard (the guy who runs the place, yet is only a bit older than us and doesn't seem to ever move from the tv lounge; we mistook him for a guest when we arrived!) organised a bbq on the roof terrace. After way too many cheese and chili hot dogs we called it a night!
Having already seen most that Melaka had too offer our last day in the town (and in Malaysia!) was pretty laid back. We walked through Little India up to Bukit Cina (a big hill with lots of graves of Chinese people on it) before heading back to the town square for icecreams! The afternoon was spent chilling in the hostel and in the evening we went back to the big shopping mall for a pizza hut tea (everything in Chinatown was closed due to the approaching Chinese New Year)!
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