Malacca is a must-see during a holiday in Malaysia. A small, electic town that's fun to wander around - quiet little lanes and colourful low-level houses nestled next to churches, temples and mosques. The Baba Nyonya Museum is well worth a visit if you want to learn more about the region's history and culture.
Whilst the town is quiet during the week, it bursts into life at weekends. This is when Jonger Walk, the road that circles the old town, holds a night market that opens on Friday evenings. Let yourself be tempted by stands selling exotic drinks and snacks. If the trinkets on sale don't have any gift-appeal, there are numerous boutiques in town that have some wonderful products - local handicrafts including jewelry and textiles.
Malacca'stuk-tuks are a tourist attraction in themselves; their owners go completely overboard when it comes to decking them out! Fake leather seats, light garlands and Hello Kitty throws are firm favourites. And then there are those with huge hearts stuck on the back of the bike and/or speakers that blare out love songs!
I spent several days in Malacca City when visiting Malaysia. A former Portuguese colonial city, it's a very visually attractive place. As with all cities in Malaysia, there are numerous museums, temples and mosques to visit here. You'll also be able to admire various examples of street art if you go for a walk along the canals.
There is a night market held in Chinatown's main street (Jonker Walk), at which times the whole place is decked out with food stands and stalls selling all sorts of ornaments and trinkets. However, if you want to sample genuine Nonya cuisine (the traditional food of Malacaa), it's best to leave this street behind and head off down the ones that run parallel instead. Nonya food is very sweet and sour and highly colourful. And finally, to round off your visit to the city, consider taking a rickshaw tour. I found this a very tacky experience myself however, and it was too noisy (with music played at full blast).
During my stay in Malaysia which lasted several months, I spent a day in Malacca. The town is 2 hours away from Kuala Lumpur by bus. Even though it is always hot in Malaysia, you must not forget to take along a light jumper, as the air conditioning in the buses is turned on at full blast. I have already experienced a whole night in a bus travelling across Malaysia, in a sleeveless T-shirt, where I thought I would freeze to death even though the temperature outside was 35°C...
As Malacca is situated between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore , this is your opportunity to break your journey in two and see Malaysia's oldest port city. Formerly, the port was one of the main ports of South East Asia.
The town was colonised many times in the past and I therefore notice a variety of styles in its architecture and cuisine. I strolled around the old town surrounded by ancient colonial buildings.
You must not forget to try the local gastronomy, a mixture of Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine.