To Melaka, which has been a UNESCO
World Heritage Site since 2008, we go on a one-day excursion on
Thursday, November 17. It turns out a good decision because there
isn't really much to do here. The center is in fact a former town
hall and a church, both painted in a dark shade of pink. Rickshaws,
decorated with dozens of flowers, catch the eyes, each of them seems
to be in want of making sounds louder than the others.About our impressions from Kuala Lumpur - read here.
Many bus companies operate on the route
from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka. Ticket prices differ slightly so try to
find the cheapest company to save a few ringgits. We paid 7.90 MYR to
get there and 9.20 MYR for return. Between 9.30 am and 17.30 pm buses
go every quarter. The best way to get to the new bus station Bandar
Tasik Selatan is to take a train from KL Sentral.
The
journey to
Melaka take
about two
hours. Buses
arrive at
the Melaka
Sentral and there
you need
to get
on a
city bus
to the
center. The
journey takes
about 20
minutes. Note:
the return trip
may take
up to
45 minutes
because the
bus goes
a different,
circuitous route.
Tickets cost
1.00-1.20 MYR.
Tourist Information Office is located
at Jl Kota, opposite the church of Christ; open 8.45-17, closed on
Friday from 12.15 to 14.45. You can buy a map here, which costs 5
ringgits; it seems to be an advertising brochure but it also contains
fairly detailed descriptions of the major attractions.
Attractions
*Rickshaw ride – vehicles are usually
decorated with lots of flowers and issuing loud sounds every now and
then; 40 MYR per hour
 |
| Rickshaws in flowers in the center of Melaka |
*Town Square (Dutch Square) – the
main square of the town, distinctive for its dark pink painted
buildings; there's a Christ church here, built in 1753, still open
for service it's an Anglican temple
 |
| Dutch Square |
*Stadthuys Complex – town museum in
the old town hall from approx. 1660, presents typical features of
Dutch colonial architecture; www.perzim.gov.my,
open 9.00-17.30; 5 MYR
 |
| Sultanate Palace |
*Melaka
Sultanate Palace
– at the
foot of
St. Paul's
Hill; daily
9-17.30, 2
MYR; renovated
with great
care and
very
well-maintained
building where
you can
see how
a sultan
used to
live as
well as
how the
daily life
of his
court looked
like.
*Maritime Museum Complex – consists
of two parts, the proper maritime museum, made in a shipwreck from
the XVI century and the naval museum; in my opinion the first one is
more interesting as it shows the daily life of the sailors and
merchants; 9.00-17.30; 3 MYR
 |
| Inside the ship-museum |
*Proclamation Of
Independence Memorial – in the building being a unique monument to
independence there are exhibited items showing the struggle of the
inhabitants with the colonizers
*Chang Hoon
Teng – the
oldest Chinese
temple in
Malaysia
 |
| Ruins of St. Paul church |
*St. Paul Church – built in 1710 on a
hill overlooking the town; it was probably the oldest Catholic church
in Malaysia; today there are only remains of the building but still
worth a visit
 |
| Porta de Santiago |
*Porta de Santiago – an old gate
built by the Portuguese in 1512; today in ruins
*Boat trip on the river; 9.00-14.00; 10
MYR
*Botanical Garden, founded in 2006, the
area of 92.5 ha includes bamboo, orchids and herbs gardens
*Floating Mosque
*Museums – Melaka is famous in
Malaysia as a town of museums, you can find here, among others,
museums of: stamp, architecture, Malay youth, literature, governor,
Islam; however most of them don't have much to exhibit
 |
| Ramains of the city walls |
As for the city which is known as one
of the most interesting tourist destinations in Malaysia, there are
not many places where you can eat cheap and well. We managed to find
good and cheap dishes in the mall just opposite side of the street of
Porta. For a big bowl of soup and a main course we paid around 6 MYR.