Our day started off with brekky at an Indian place for ... you guessed it, roti! And then we made our way along the river towards the town square and the few churches situated there. First we quickly checked out the Church of St Francis Xavier where the colourful stained glass windows took our breath away.
From there we headed into Christ Church where the pink bricks used to make it (and the clock tower and town hall) come from Zeeland in Holland - just another thing to make us think of home!! The town hall (Stadthuys) is thought to be the oldest Dutch building in the East - built in 1641 after the Dutch took control from the Portuguese here in Malaka.
We headed across the river and into the heart of China Town where we ambled amongst the old shop houses and temples. We got shown around a beautifully restored shop house by a Portuguese/American/Chinese man - this house was built over 300 years ago and is a wonderful mix of wood, clay and bricks, and built in a style between Portuguese and Chinese.We stopped of for a refreshing snack of Cendol: crushed ice, coconut milk, palm sugar, red beans, and green jelly - all mixed together in a combination of Chinese and Malay tastes.
Next stop was the Cheng Hoon Teng temple, the oldest Chinese temple in Malaysia, built entirely of materials imported from China (and the workmen were all Chinese too). It is particularly famous for its amazing wood carvings found all over the temple, and left us craving for our old Chinese home.
From here we passed 2 Mosques, which we only had a quick glance into, but were surprised at the Chinese style of the roof - though later in the day we did see a traditional tiled dome roof.
We had a lunch of samosas and fresh coconut juice while perched on the riverside before setting off to scale the steps up to St Paul's Church. This church has had a confusing life: it was originally built by the Portuguese, renamed by the Dutch, before the British came and turned it into a gun-powder store. Nonetheless, perched on the top of a hill overlooking Malaka's sights and sounds the ruins of St Paul's was an excellent stop on our city tour.
We wandered to the Porta de Santiago, the only remaining gate of a Portuguese fortress - originally constructed in 1512 the rest of the fortress was destroyed by the British afraid the Dutch would use it to defend themselves from their attack.We had a quick browse through the Proclamation of Independence Memorial - a museum that showcases the history of the colonial rule of Malaysia right up to its independence in 1957.
We managed to make a quick call to Carly to wish her a happy birthday for yesterday - we can't wait to be able to wish people happy birthday in person rather than over the phone!
We sat down for dinner at the river front with the cool breeze making the evening Malaka meal and enjoyable night out.
Adlibing our shoe soles down.
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