An old Seaport

  Melaka, Malaysia
Thursday, April 17, 2008

We are now in Melaka, once a very influential trading port for the East.  The town is still bustling and is split by its winding river.  The streets are tiny and the cars and scooters constant.  Most of the time pedestrians and motor vehicles share the little bit of road while shops spill out onto tiny porches.

The streets

The architecture is mixed with Muslim, Chinese and European influence.  Many places are a bit run down but it is easy to imagine the beauty of their newly painted faces. 
There are Mosques, Chinese temples and even some Catholic Churches all dating back to the 1700s.  So many different cultures mix into one and you can tell not only by the architecture but the food.  There is Portuguese influence in some Malay dishes.  Malay influence in Indian dishes and Malay and Chinese together as well.  In most, the spice is outrageous and we made sure to try as many as we could. 
The first morning we awoke to grab a bit of breakfast.  Walking through the heat we found ourselves lost, thirsty and hungry.  We ended up on the outskirts of the old town and rashly chose the first restaurant with a number of people sitting at the tables.  It was buffet style, which we thought was in our favor.  Most places there are no menus and you have to guess what is what, here we thought things would be much more straightforward.  It was made up of noodle dishes that although did not scream breakfast looked pretty basic at first glance.  We piled our plates with a few different things and sat down with a coffee.  We ate.  We began to sweat, the food was beyond spicy.  We laughed a bit about it and continued, I was downing my iced coffee, when much to my surprise I looked down at my plate to see many little eyes staring back.  My meal was covered in sardines!  Ok, I thought, just breathe and continue.  The food was good but not my first choice to start the day.  We laughed a bit more.  After a sweaty breakfast with many pauses we stood up and walked away in a daze.  Tom leaned in and whispered "I didn't want to tell you while we were eating, but that meat I had was liver and kidneys! And I am still not sure from what animal."  Ahhh ok so maybe we will stick to a fruit stand from now on.
There were plenty of sites to see and although we got to see most of the museums and old buildings by foot we also had an awesome ride on the trishaw. 

Our Trishaw

The old man that was our guide traveled around showing us one ancient building after the next.  He had been touring people around for over 30 years and was in his 60's.  I couldn't believe he could peddle us around, since I am sure the two of us weighed at least double his weight.  For the hour tour a small coastal breeze picked up and for a short time we were actually comfortable and cool. 
After our tour we walked to meet a new friend for tea.  Ibrahim, a man of the mountains, from Kashmere, in India, had spoken to us on the streets the day before.  After a long talk and a look at his sons store, that had many treasures from their home, he had offered us a longer chat and some tea. 
When we got there we set pillows up on the floor of the store and listened to Ibrahim tell us stories of the treks he took people on in the Himalayas.  He is a great story teller making sure to pause for drama and use his hands as much as possible.  Even though we were in Malaysia we both were transported to the high peaks.  We left promising that we would visit for a trek soon. 
Talking to Ibrahim made us realize how great an adventure can be.  If you are traveling with no plans, you always find new places to go and new things to discover.  Sitting over a beer, listening to a Malay man sing old American tunes, we came to the conclusion that no matter how small the world becomes there are always hidden places to find and the only way to get there is to go.
Our last walk in Melaka took us to China hill, a large hill in the middle of the city covered in Chinese graves.  The graves are sunken into the ground and well manicured trees dot the landscape.  We climbed to the top and looked at the old city and sea beyond.  The mosques had started evening prayer, which is chanted through a loud speaker and can be heard for miles.  There air was heavy with humidity as the sun disappeared and we finally felt like we were on the other side of the world.