Traveling West Malaysia, part 2 of 3

 

Malacca (or Melaka in Malay), where Malaysia starts (to be known by the world). Out of the many theories about where the name comes from, I believe it is more likely from Arabic word "Malakat," meaning "market." This is where people trade, people from Arab and people from China (pirates in the South China Sea). Literally there are silk roads inland, and silk road on the ocean. Malacca is the center point of the latter.

We booked the tour from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca to save the trouble. It starts at 8AM. Although the hotel pick up to the bus stop has some delay, it is smooth once we get on the highway. The tour guide said he is a Sikhs (錫克族人). This is why he has turban (頭巾) and keeps beard. His great-grand father come to Malaysia as a soldier. After the war, they stay. There are about thirty some people on the bus, Indians, Koreans, Mideast and Europeans.

The bus and the driver

After one and a half hour ride, we have a water break and then 20 min later, the first stop is St. Peter's Church. This is the oldest functioning Roman Catholic church in Malaysia. It's a significant historical landmark and a testament to the enduring faith of the Portuguese community in Malacca knowing it was built when Dutch rule the Malacca. The tour guide emphasized a few things.

1. St. Peter, San Pedro, and Tu es Petrus are the same person.

2. The church is the original structure since 1710, never been rebuilt, only maintenance.

3. Malacca was once ruled (occupied) by the Portuguese, Dutchese, British, Japanese (very short tme), and British again.

There is a terrace where the story of St. Peter met the God while he was fishing is told.

The city tour starts from Muzium Samudera (Flor de la Mar). The Flor de la Mar (Flower of the Sea) was a Portuguese carrack (a type of sailing ship) that sank in 1511 off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was carrying an immense amount of treasure plundered from the Sultan of Malacca, making it one of the richest ships ever lost at sea.

1:5 size replica of the Flor de la Mar

Continue walking upstream along the Melaka River (Sungai Melaka), you see the hotel & residence on one side and wall ruin on the right.

The tour map gives you the perspective of the wall that was protecting the area in the past.

We even spoted a crocodile on the bank while the tour guide is talking about diver finding treasure on the river bank two years ago.

This crane is preserved here to show what happened in the past. Junks and boats carrying heavy and solid goods requires a crane to upload and haul the goods to the shore. This crane was built by the Dutch during their rules and later improved by the British.

The center of the Malacca is Mile 0 apparently. This is called Dutch Square or Red Square. The exact origins of the red paint may not be definitely known, many believe the British influence. When they rule the area, they repaint the buildings to evoke a sense of British authority and presense.

The fountain in the center is also the drinking water for the horses. Today, there are popular trishaws (pedal-powered riskshaws) for sight-seeing in Dutch Square. Not sure if they charge by the mile, start counting from here?

Rickshaw

The tour continues toward the highest point of Malacca, the ruins of St. Paul's Church. From there, you can almost see the ocean.

St. Paul's church was built by the Portuguese as a chapel to the Virgin Mary in 1521. Our tour guide said when British came, they blowed up the church because they want a fortress instead of a church. But if you ask Gemini, AI denies any "blow-up" story. It was the Dutch who converted the church into a fort and used it as a granary. The British later used it as an ammunition depot.

Outside the ruins stands the statue of Saint Francis Xavier. He was a prominent Jesuit missionary who traveled extensively in Asia, including Malacca. He died in 1552 on his way to China and his body was temporarily buried in St. Paul's Church before being transported to Goa, India. According to our guide, it was the British that blowed up and church and dig out the bodies buried there. When they found Saint Francis Xavier's body is not rotten at all after so many years, they cut his right arm and sent back to Britain for further study. You cannot find this on Gemini.

Saint Francis Xavier

The watch tower outside has ladder to get in. Imagine how hot it is in Malacca, you won't want to serve here.

Even the view could be nice.

Once we came down from the peak, it is a famosa. A Famosa was a Portuguese fortress built in 1512. The fortress included a five-story keep, which was the tallest building in the region at the time. Most of the fortress was demolished in 1807, with only a small gatehouse (Porta de Santiago) surviving.

Porta de Santiago

Our tour guide keeps saying the proclamation of independance was first done here and then again in Kuala Lumpur. I believe it is the memorial right next to the Porta de Santiago.

After lunch, they dropped us off at Jonker Walk (雞場街). We got to explore the area at our own pace, do some shopping and have Kopi.

As you can see this is literally Chinatown.

三多廟 我以為是 神多 錢多 人潮多 可惜不是這麼一回事

We finally picked a 椰糖燒餅 made of coconut sugar filling and 淡汶餅 with 綠豆沙餡. Both very sweet.

The kopi (coffee) shop the tour giude recommands is located on the end of the Jonker street called Pakopi 1969 Melaka. The coffee is strong and cheap. Recommand.

At 4:30PM, the bus took us back to KL. With heavy traffic, it is almost 8PM when we get off at the Twin Towers.

This is where we have dinner. Le Shrimp Noddle Bar @Suria KLCC

Notice there are Touch 'n Go, SmartTAG, RFID, and OPS for the highway toll. The toll booth line up over hundred meters wide. However it is not the cause for the congession. 

Continue to the next blog for the last day in Malaysia.