Malacca

Thursday December 19th... Internet connection problems delayed the posting of this entry. So as we are posting this from Kota Tingga, our last stop before Singapore. We'll ride into Singapore tomorrow. 7780 km behind us, 125 to go. Here is the rest of the blog, written a couple of days ago...

Two riding days out of Kuala Lumpur and we arrived in Malacca for the last rest day before our final three riding days into Singapore. Malacca is another UNESCO world heritage site recognizing its past as a trading port. It was successively under Portuguese, Dutch, and British control, and it was here in 1956 that the proclamation of independence was made after a negotiating team representing all of the Malayan provinces returned from meetings in London.

The town has a great mix of past and present. The town grew around a fort that was initially built by the Portuguese. That area has bits and pieces from all of the colonial eras, and there are a number of archaeological digs in areas around it where more recent structures, roads, etc were built and are now being removed.

We spent the day wandering the town, then in the evening had a delicious meal hosted by the Malaysian Travel people.

The river was once a transportation route. Now it houses
restaurants and small guest houses

The old Dutch area, narrow streets, shopping, small hotels, etc

The tourist district here is full of these bicycle rickshaws, gaily decorated, most carrying music that is sometimes loud and not necessarily music to our ears - in fairness, some have more classical and/or Christmas music and they play it softly. For 40 RM (about $13), you can get a one-hour ride. We didn't, so not sure how the ride is from the riders point of view, but as a pedestrian, it sure looks like the drivers are kamikazes - in fairness, probably some of them are not.

On the lighter side....

Main street shop display, Christmas carols playing
almost continuously, cute hats on the mannequins,
and all of this in a Moslem country where most seem
enlightened enough to distinguish between religious
beliefs and the commercial side of Christmas.



...and the sign of the day, posted behind the toilet in the hotel... All of our hotels on this trip have had toilets that you can sit on, something we rather take for granted, but for people who know only the squatter type of toilet...