The first adventure of the day is trying to find the bus station again. Every local we ask gives different directions (perhaps they want to try to help rather than say nothing at all?) At one point we realize we are on the correct street but at the complete opposite end. Our bus leaves at 11am and it is 10:50! We dash across chaotic streets, dodging motorcycles along the way and sprint down platform 8. "Going to Melaka?" we ask 3 drivers who all reply "No." It must have already left! Then at 10:59, the Melaka bus pulls up and everyone piles in rapidly. Within minutes we begin our 2 hour blissfully air conditioned journey south to Melaka.
From the Melaka bus station, we take another bus Red Dutch Square and locate The River View guesthouse on Jalan Pantai. Mani, the owner, gives us Li Chi juice and a map detailing nearby areas of interest. Our guesthouse boasts a cozy lounge festooned with plants overlooking the river, watercolor paintings, and a serene minimalist decor. Luxury possible for $6, I love it. Walking about town I watch trishaws wrapped in colorful fake flowers ride down the street. Everywhere, red paper lanterns hang above me.
On Jonker Street, I find the Wah Aik Shoemaker which specializes in shoes for women with bound feet! The owner, Raymond Yeo, explains how his father began marketing the shoes to tourists as souviners after his last bound feet customers passed away in the nineties. Women of high social ranking would bind their feet to snare a wealthy husband. The process began as early as 2 years of age when all but the big toe would be wrapped with cloth and the arch crushed with a stone! Feet needed to be bound their entire life or the feet would begin growing again. The ideal size fit in a 3 inche shoe--known as "san zun jin lian" or the "golden lotus."
One day I explore Harmony Street--named as such because of the 3 places of worship on it. Malaysia is a predominately Muslim country but it's citizens are allowed to practice other religions freely. I enter the Chen Hoon Teng Chinese Buddhist temple and listen to 5 monks in saffron robes chant while several people listen on bended knees behind them. The monk in the middle gentlely taps on a wood carving as they chant. A man walks around handing out oranges and a woman with several sticks of incense in hand bows several times in the direction of the buddha statue. Suddenly, the monks begin to walk around the temple and everyone follows them single file. I join the end of the line and together we snake around the temple in a long line, bowing at the buddha statue when we pass.
In the Hindu temple, Sri Poyyatha Viyanga Moorthy, I am offered sweet rice and chickpeas from a rotund Indian man wearing a white sarong with blue trim. We engage in a brief conversation but in his broken English all I can decipher is that some important man is visiting the temple in a few days and will I still be around? Then he removes the lid from a silver platter and places some sticky rice and chickpeas on the tips of my fingers. "It's sweet, yes?" he asks. "It is delicious" I reply, "What kind of rice is this?" "Yes!" he answers with a smile and I laugh.
Other curious characters include Abraham who introduces himself as "a nomad from Kashmir" intent on enticing me with beautiful goat-skin bags in his shop and Gabrielle the quirky Swiss woman who owns the second-hand bookstore and a 17 year old blind cat she claims is "the most photographed cat in all of Melaka." (Are many cats vying for this title?) Abdul insists he used to play golf with Obama and that smoking is the inspiration of life while his friend is equally adament that there are actually 52 states in America. Both wish Britney Spears would send them some of her money. One thing is for sure, all the Malaysian people I have encountered are friendly!
The Museum Rakyat (The People Museum) is a mixed bag of bad English translations and historical events described as accurately as having occured in "yester year." One entire hallway is dedicated to the spinning top (also known as a gasing) and another to kites. I learn how one should never stand on a doorstep during a gasing tournament because a satantic knot may be placed there by insincere people. In the 3D gallery downstairs a large diorama with a television inside features a low-budget movie of Melaka's invasion by the Portuguese. Nearby, scenes from Melaka's takeover by the Dutch are depicted in trippy hologram form.
One evening I walk Melaka river at dusk as silent lightening flashes in the sky. I watch red river boats float through the water and the passengers take a picture of me while I take a picture of them. I startle when I hear something rustling to my right and watch some type of huge, long lizard scurry across the path in front of me and plunge into the river! Another night Laura and I boat down the river. I make small talk with the Omani family sitting across from us as we float past peeling Dutch style buildings and a Mariah Carey song wails from the radio.
The food is delicious and diverse, a reflection of the many cultures residing in Melaka. My favorite the roti pisang at Selvam--banana chunks in warm thin bread accompanied by 3 types of sauce. I wash it down with mango lassi, an icy yogurt fruit drink. All for 5 ringgets (less than $2)
Despite receiving UNESCO World Heritage status in 2008, Melaka's tourist population remains relatively small. Most conversations begin with "Hello, how are you? Where are you from?" and then "Ohhhh the USA!"accompanied by a somewhat incredulous look. Perhaps Americans routinely pass up Malaysia in pursuit of more popular southeast Asia destinations. As for me, I am fully enjoying the many pleasures Malaysia has to offer!
From the Melaka bus station, we take another bus Red Dutch Square and locate The River View guesthouse on Jalan Pantai. Mani, the owner, gives us Li Chi juice and a map detailing nearby areas of interest. Our guesthouse boasts a cozy lounge festooned with plants overlooking the river, watercolor paintings, and a serene minimalist decor. Luxury possible for $6, I love it. Walking about town I watch trishaws wrapped in colorful fake flowers ride down the street. Everywhere, red paper lanterns hang above me.
On Jonker Street, I find the Wah Aik Shoemaker which specializes in shoes for women with bound feet! The owner, Raymond Yeo, explains how his father began marketing the shoes to tourists as souviners after his last bound feet customers passed away in the nineties. Women of high social ranking would bind their feet to snare a wealthy husband. The process began as early as 2 years of age when all but the big toe would be wrapped with cloth and the arch crushed with a stone! Feet needed to be bound their entire life or the feet would begin growing again. The ideal size fit in a 3 inche shoe--known as "san zun jin lian" or the "golden lotus."
One day I explore Harmony Street--named as such because of the 3 places of worship on it. Malaysia is a predominately Muslim country but it's citizens are allowed to practice other religions freely. I enter the Chen Hoon Teng Chinese Buddhist temple and listen to 5 monks in saffron robes chant while several people listen on bended knees behind them. The monk in the middle gentlely taps on a wood carving as they chant. A man walks around handing out oranges and a woman with several sticks of incense in hand bows several times in the direction of the buddha statue. Suddenly, the monks begin to walk around the temple and everyone follows them single file. I join the end of the line and together we snake around the temple in a long line, bowing at the buddha statue when we pass.
In the Hindu temple, Sri Poyyatha Viyanga Moorthy, I am offered sweet rice and chickpeas from a rotund Indian man wearing a white sarong with blue trim. We engage in a brief conversation but in his broken English all I can decipher is that some important man is visiting the temple in a few days and will I still be around? Then he removes the lid from a silver platter and places some sticky rice and chickpeas on the tips of my fingers. "It's sweet, yes?" he asks. "It is delicious" I reply, "What kind of rice is this?" "Yes!" he answers with a smile and I laugh.
Other curious characters include Abraham who introduces himself as "a nomad from Kashmir" intent on enticing me with beautiful goat-skin bags in his shop and Gabrielle the quirky Swiss woman who owns the second-hand bookstore and a 17 year old blind cat she claims is "the most photographed cat in all of Melaka." (Are many cats vying for this title?) Abdul insists he used to play golf with Obama and that smoking is the inspiration of life while his friend is equally adament that there are actually 52 states in America. Both wish Britney Spears would send them some of her money. One thing is for sure, all the Malaysian people I have encountered are friendly!
The Museum Rakyat (The People Museum) is a mixed bag of bad English translations and historical events described as accurately as having occured in "yester year." One entire hallway is dedicated to the spinning top (also known as a gasing) and another to kites. I learn how one should never stand on a doorstep during a gasing tournament because a satantic knot may be placed there by insincere people. In the 3D gallery downstairs a large diorama with a television inside features a low-budget movie of Melaka's invasion by the Portuguese. Nearby, scenes from Melaka's takeover by the Dutch are depicted in trippy hologram form.
One evening I walk Melaka river at dusk as silent lightening flashes in the sky. I watch red river boats float through the water and the passengers take a picture of me while I take a picture of them. I startle when I hear something rustling to my right and watch some type of huge, long lizard scurry across the path in front of me and plunge into the river! Another night Laura and I boat down the river. I make small talk with the Omani family sitting across from us as we float past peeling Dutch style buildings and a Mariah Carey song wails from the radio.
The food is delicious and diverse, a reflection of the many cultures residing in Melaka. My favorite the roti pisang at Selvam--banana chunks in warm thin bread accompanied by 3 types of sauce. I wash it down with mango lassi, an icy yogurt fruit drink. All for 5 ringgets (less than $2)
Despite receiving UNESCO World Heritage status in 2008, Melaka's tourist population remains relatively small. Most conversations begin with "Hello, how are you? Where are you from?" and then "Ohhhh the USA!"accompanied by a somewhat incredulous look. Perhaps Americans routinely pass up Malaysia in pursuit of more popular southeast Asia destinations. As for me, I am fully enjoying the many pleasures Malaysia has to offer!
No comments:
Post a Comment