Breezing On A Malayan Float - Malacca

Next state up the road if one takes the North-South Highway is Malacca. The old town is the site of the first Sultanate in Malaysia and is a Unesco Heritage site. Unfortunately in my opinion, we do not see that many artifices from the Golden Age of the dynasty founded by Parameswara around 1400. That is not to say it is not steeped in historical installations though, as one can see plenty of buildings built by the Portuguese, who conquered Malacca as early as 1511, the Dutch, who took over in 1641, followed by the British in 1824. It is clear that Malacca has a storied history. But it is taught widely in schools here and Singaporeans are very familiar with the main tourist attractions, so maybe this piece would be on how Malacca relates to us.

I admit we probably have gone to Malacca more often than we would have done because we have a unit in a property being built at MITC near Ayer Keroh, at the outskirts at Malacca. This is the latest picture we have of it. It seems to take forever to complete!

Of course, we do spend a considerable amount of time at they city centre as well, which mind, is quite a distance from the exit at the North-South Highway. If there is a jam, it can take one more than an hour to reach Malacca town proper.

Most Singaporeans would be familiar with Jonker Street, with its iconic night market. It gets its name from Dutch. In Amsterdam, the prime street everybody wanted to be on was Gentleman's, or Heer Street. When Malacca was under the Dutch, the city was modelled in the same way. The aspiring nobleman would be found at Young Gentleman's Street, or Jong Heer Street.... See how it became Jonker?

This area is not without controversy. Jonker Street is a road by day but a pedestrian market by night. It used to be a nightly affair but in what was a shock to many, after the elections in 2013, the new Mentri Besar tried to stipulate that Jonker Street would be accessible to vehicles 24/7, potentially effectively signalling the death knell for the night market. The reason was to ease traffic congestion. Protests were vehement. Wasn't the night market touted in almost all promotional and tourist materials?And what about the congestion at the walkway near Dataran Pahlawan. That is predominantly a Malay area while Jonker Street is a Chinese one. Some commentators said therefore that the move was to appeal to ground-level Malay sentiment after UMNO's bad showing in the elections. In the end, a compromise was reached. The night market is now open during weekends....

And these are the goodies one gets to savour while there. Peranakan Laksa and the all so yummy chendol, a dessert with coconut and gula melaka.

I will also admit that nowadays we pamper ourselves and stay at the Casa Del Rio, a gorgeous hotel by the side of the river. A bit pricey though, but then again, we paid our dues staying in cramped holes-in-the-wall with mattresses with bedbugs in our younger days....

Lesser know attractions can be found away from the city centre however. There is the Portuguese village. This is where descendants of the former Portuguese colonial masters run a food centre. They are also considered Bumiputras, like Malays.

And there is also Pantai Klebang, where one can drive right up to the waterfront to view the sunset. We found it a bit of a jam getting there from the city centre though...

Nice state. And from what we hear, developing further. I just wish our property would complete sooner.