Malacca, Malaysia

Tiles in the town square.
A trishaw driver. Some of these had stereo systems that played music while the guy rode you around town.
The ruins of an old church. From the top you could see the Straits of Malacca which was important back in the days of the spice trade.

An old Dutch church.
The clock tower in the town square.
Doesn't this look like small town America?
I love the Chinese lanterns!
Jonkers Street.

After Singapore, I took a bus into Malaysia and stopped in Malacca. This is a sleepy town with more colonial influence. I walked to the top of the hill and sat in the ruins of an old Dutch church. There were some guys selling their wares, tourist trinkets and such. There was also a guy playing the guitar. The first song I hear him play was Country Road (they love to play that over here in south east Asia...he didn't quite get the mountain momma line but I didn't have the heart to correct him either; maybe the fact that he was missing several key teeth garbled his pronunciation). I experienced a very strange feeling, a clashing of times and cultures. Christian church, Muslim country, a centuries old edifice, a popular song playing in the background, Asian, European. Such an interesting blend of influences.

I liked Malacca. It was small town. I also stayed in a real hotel (not like the hostel in Singapore where I had to share a bathroom with everyone and their mother) that had a restaurant where I ate nearly every meal. I visited with some of the other travellers and got to know the waitstaff. There was a guy who played live music every night so that was an extra perk. Besides the historical square and church up on the hill, the other highlight of the town was Jonkers Street, kind of like their Chinatown. Most of the places were closed due to the holiday but it was decorated with tons of red lanterns and hanging lights. Just walking down the street at night was magical.