This is my 3rd day in this kingdom of Malaysia (a little reminder that we are here in a constitutional monarchy, although the word "kingdom" does not appear in the official name, unlike countries like the United Kingdom, Belgium or even simply its Thai neighbor).
I arrive in Malacca, a historic city of importance, a former Portuguese trading post, with its share of old buildings to see, and a small seaside town that is pleasant to visit. A quick overview.
Brief History of Malacca
Malacca (Melaka in Malay) has a long colonial past of 450 years, which began with the arrival of the Portuguese, who favored commercial exchange through the control of the famous strait of the same name.
The Strait of Malacca was in fact a strategic issue coveted by the European powers which made the city an important port from the 16th century (it is also the oldest port in Malaysia as it was founded at the beginning of the 15th century) when Malacca was still only a Sultanate.
Portuguese rule would last 130 years from the conquest of the city by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511 and it was in 1641 that the Netherlands took control until 1824 when the British Empire came to establish its sovereignty in Southeast Asia, until the independence of Malaysia in 1956 (not counting the period of Japanese occupation during the Second World War).
The city has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (just like Penang where we went last time) since 2008. The modern city is very large (even larger than Kuala Lumpur) and still has more than 500 inhabitants, but the historic center is concentrated in the same area, making the visit easily accessible on foot.
Getting to Malacca from KL
Let's skip the historical tidbit and get back to my trip. I left my hotel in Kuala Lumpur at a leisurely 9 a.m. and headed to the bus terminal via KL Sentral, taking the local commuter rail, the KTM. I got off at the Bandar Tasik Selatan station (Terminal Bersepadu Selatana – Bandar Tasik Selatan, abbreviated as TBS - BTS), the new bus terminal for buses heading south.
As an aside, between the train stop and the main hall I passed a blonde girl, seemingly a tourist, well-groomed, but who was begging... or rather waving a cardboard box, sporting a pretty smile and saying "give me 1 or 2 RM to buy me a ticket...".
What are commonly called "begpackers," a recent phenomenon among Europeans, finance part of their round-the-world trip or journey through donations…
Not always appreciated in Asia, as many find it indecent, given the differences in salaries and the very chance of being able to travel to the other side of the world easily (powerful passport, greater purchasing power to buy the plane ticket, etc.).
Anyway, back to the point. The KL bus station was crowded, but the queue wasn't too long. The ticket wasn't expensive, just 12 RM to Malacca , which is about two hours from Kuala Kumpur (when traffic is good). There were dozens of companies to choose from, with prices varying slightly, mainly depending on the quality of service and the bus.
Personally, I took the first bus that was leaving depending on the time, I have nothing to complain about with the company in question, Transnasional I think.
Welcome to Malacca
The journey went smoothly, but no sooner had I disembarked than I encountered the day's little "scam." Upon arriving at the Melaka Sentral bus terminal , I saw a sign displaying something like:
Ignore the taxis that solicit customers and go to the official stand to get a taxi meter.
I thought, okay, fine, so I follow the signs and politely walk over to the stand in question. Then, I start getting turned away for no reason by the guy at the kiosk, and all the taxi drivers jump on me, yelling, " No taxi meters in Melaka !" Okay... and that sign over there, is it just for decoration?
So, I'm confused by the logic of the warning, which clearly doesn't change the locals' behavior, even though the local officials seem to be in on it too… I was given a very rude awakening, to the point that all the drivers refused to take me…
I finally resigned myself to paying the 20 RM requested, seeing that I would have no choice… Finally, someone agreed to take me, but what an atmosphere… And from what I observed, I wouldn’t be the only one to be a little disappointed by this reception.
Where to sleep in Malacca
Finally arriving at my small room in the River One Residence guesthouse in Malacca , I appreciated its relaxed atmosphere, right next to the canal. It was a very basic room, with air conditioning, a fan, a piece of furniture, and a single electrical outlet (for which I didn't have an adapter since it was a UK-style plug). The bathroom was shared, and I was paying 400 baht per night (less than €10).
The hotel is close to the famous street that becomes pedestrianized with a market on weekends, the Jonker Walk (which is officially marked "Jalan Hang Jebat" if you search on Google maps)
Shortly after, I met a group of young French people, passing by my hotel while I was having lunch on the terrace overlooking the canal. When I heard them, I couldn't resist saying hello. I then learned that it was a group of students from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (but all from the same business school). We got on well and finally, we decided to meet up to visit the city together (and we ended up spending a good part of the evening together as well).
Dutch Square or the “red” square of Malacca
We'll start with the unmissable square in Malacca! Sometimes called Dutch Square… or even Red Square. It's easy to understand why, when you see the buildings surrounding the square; it's also known as Town Hall Square.
It includes the Melaka Clock Tower and the Queen Victoria Fountain (dating from 1904), the Christ Church which dates from the time of Dutch rule and the Youth Museum which was once a post office and now serves as a documentation centre on associations and other activities for young people in Malaysia and elsewhere.
We decided to take a look inside the church, which is very simple in style, nothing like the naves with large stained-glass windows, etc. No, it's a Protestant church, and in fact, it's the oldest in Malaysia still in operation.
This is the local attraction! The rickshaws (or tricycles) with the flashy decor, in addition to this very flowery style, they push the music to the max (well more or less) with on-board sound systems, you can even choose your music!
Most of the buildings were built during the 19th century, the oldest dating back to the end of the 17th century. It is said to be the oldest building still intact from this colonial era in the Orient.
The Stadthuys , its charming name, was reportedly completed in 1660 and initially served as the residence of the Dutch governor in charge of the region, before becoming a town hall during the British period. It was the governor himself who gave the place one of its names, as it means "town hall" in Old Dutch.
Walk to the estuary
Knowing that Malacca is on the seaside, we said to ourselves, let's go there! And there, not having a map, I thank the GPS on my phone... We first took a look at the remains of the fortress next to the square, where there is also a reproduction of a 13m water mill wheel, built in 2008.
As soon as we moved away from the historic district, the streets became very quiet. We passed in front of the maritime museum, installed in a reproduction of an old Portuguese ship, it is a beautiful effect.
We arrive at a small island where the famous Selat Mosque is located . Famous in the sense that it's normally one of the city's main attractions, being situated on the seafront and therefore quite photogenic. But we won't go that far. Groups of buses full of Chinese tourists disgorge their streams of visitors who take their pictures here and then leave…
After this little moment of breathing the breeze coming from the sea, we retraced our steps and first passed through a small covered market (look for the Newton Food Court on Google Maps), looking for a place to sit (and which we didn't find...).
We then passed through the small square of Taman Merdeka , which seemed quite popular with its train and airplane parked there. Next stop, the remains of Fort A Famosa and its 16th-century gate.
The Fort A Famosa
We arrive at the famous gate, which is all that remains of the original fort, dismantled in 1807 by the British. The fortress, of Portuguese construction, dates back to 1511, making it one of the oldest examples of European architecture still standing in Asia. The fort is known as "A Famosa" in Portuguese, or simply "the famous one" in English.
Its dismantling was ordered (just like the capture of Malacca) to deal with Napoleon's expansionist ambitions... Which shows that it is linked to the history of France! The reasoning at the time was that we did not want to risk maintaining it only to end up falling into the wrong hands...
It is actually thanks to the future founder of the city (and future state) of Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles , a great lover of history, that the gate known as "Porta de Santiago" survives today. While visiting Malacca in 1810, he ordered that it be preserved while the fort was almost entirely dismantled.
It's a shame he didn't arrive sooner. But it also shows how long it took to dismantle the fort! Upon arrival, you pass the Memorial Pengisytiharan Kemerdekaan , which was a club founded in 1911. Today, it's a memorial to those who worked for Malaysian independence after more than 450 years of European rule…
Before climbing up to see the remains of St. Paul's Church on its hill, we needed a short break to cool off. Luckily, there's a nice shopping mall right next to the fort.
Saint Paul's Church
After this refreshing drink break, we headed back towards the gate to go up and see the remains of Saint Paul's Church , which, given its history, should really have been called Saint Francis Xavier. The name was actually given by the Dutch, and also applied to the hill on which the building is constructed.
This church was once a simple chapel, built in 1521 to the glory of the holy virgin Mary, by a Portuguese nobleman wishing to thank heaven for having spared him during a terrible storm, while he was sailing on the China Sea.
It then became a burial place for nobles. It was renovated several times until the end of the 16th century before being enlarged, notably by adding a 2nd floor topped with a bell tower, this had already disappeared when the English arrived in 1824, while the church had been abandoned since the Dutch had built their Protestant church in 1753 on the town hall square.
From here, there's a nice view, and I can see the department store where we were on the left. I'm thinking that I'm not sure much of all our modern buildings will remain in 500 years… Not necessarily nostalgic, but just an observation (because humanity has turned to more temporary and less timeless constructions…)
The Legend of Saint Francis Xavier
In front of the church stands a statue of St. Francis Xavier, which is relatively recent, dating from 1952. Interestingly, the missing right hand is attributed to a falling tree branch, whereas the actual body of the venerable Francis Xavier is indeed missing his right hand (in fact, his entire arm, see below), as the Pope wished to keep a limb of the Saint as a relic in acceptance of his canonization…
So why this reference to Saint Francis Xavier? He was the first Catholic Jesuit missionary whose missions took him mainly to Asia, leaving Lisbon in 1541. He had previously founded in 1534 in a chapel in Montmartre the famous Society of Jesus, whose members, the Jesuits, are in the news after the election of Pope Francis.
For 12 years, notably in India, Goa, Malacca, Japan and China, he preached the word of God, successfully converting the populations. His fame was such that many miracles were attributed to him.
From his experience, he would remember the welcome and his time spent in Goa. Thus, when he fell ill in the South China Sea at the end of 1553, and sensing his time was coming, this is why he asked that his remains be brought back to Goa.
The process being complicated by the length of the journey, his body was placed in a coffin with quicklime (which burns the fabric and prevents odors), then temporarily buried beneath the Church of St. Paul in Malacca while the ship was prepared for Goa. The site of the tomb, which remained open, is surrounded by a fence.
Legend has it that when he was moved to a new coffin for the journey, one of his fingers was cut off to make it a relic; the blood then flowed as fresh as if death had occurred the day before, while the body was astonishingly in a perfect state of preservation.
The same phenomenon was observed 60 years after his death, when Pope Gregory VI agreed to canonize Saint Francis Xavier in 1622, on the condition that his right arm (with which he blessed) be returned to Rome. The legend persists all the more because his body remains in Goa, displayed publicly every 10 years and in a remarkably well-preserved state.
Jonker Walk and Malacca nightlife
From there, most of the sightseeing was done. The group of young people I was with decided to take a shopping break (especially the girls, the only guy just followed them), I took the opportunity to go back to my hotel for a good shower before going out to eat with them later.
After exchanging contact information to find each other, I headed back towards River One. But I took the time to stroll down Jonker Walk before nightfall, just to get my bearings. I also took some photos of the sunset, which was a vibrant red and bathed the streets in a beautiful glow.
Concretely Jonker Walk is THE lively street of Malacca, a sort of local Khao San Road even if less festive strictly speaking. There are many restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops and local merchants.
There were quite a few people there that evening. Once we'd met up, we found a nice little spot to eat on one of the streets perpendicular to Jonker Walk. To continue the evening, we immediately looked for a bar to sit down at on another perpendicular street.
We did take a look at the Hard Rock cafe but it's clearly too expensive (as an aside, I ended up going there the next day when I was going to spend the day with a Singaporean friend).
A little heated, the group decided to go for a rickshaw ride as they passed Red Square, for fun. Personally, even when drunk, it didn't appeal to me so I had fun watching them do it and playing the music loud. Once we found a spot where we could stop (sorry, I can't remember the name...), we stayed there until closing time, at 4am. What a night!
