Melaka (Malaysia)

Advantages: Fascinating cultural and historic destination
Disadvantages: too much to see in one day

Melaka (or Malacca) is a quaint but fascinating Malaysian seaport, situated on the West coast of Peninsular Malaysia about 148km south of Kuala Lumpur. The capital of the state of Malacca, it was once the foremost trading port in SE Asia, before Sir Stamford Raffles came along and founded Singapore! As such, there is a great deal of historical and cultural significance to be found within the town. Whilst I was teaching in Singapore it was my task ...
...little about the history of Melaka in order to appreciate the diversity of sites in the town so I’ll intersperse history with information about some of the sites we visited. The town dates it’s origins back to the 15th Century. There is a charming legend about it’s founding by the Hindu Prince Parameswara, who was fleeing Singapore. One day as he and his followers stopped to rest and hunt, his favourite dog was kicked by a mouse deer. He was so ... Read review

Advantages: Historic city. lot of heritage.
Disadvantages: The strrets in the "Old City" are heavily congested

Malaysia is not over endowed with heritage buildings but the one town in the Peninsular which has more than its fair share is Malacca. Once the greatest sea port and spice trading centre in the region,Malacca is often billed as the place "where it all began". The place still oozes charm and the must see sights include the Porta De santiago - a reminder of the Portuguese rule of the 16 th century- the reconstructed Malacca Sultanate Palace, St.Paul's ...
...Dutch rule. Also in town is the Clock tower and the Queen Victoria Fountain,which was dedicated to the Queen back in 1904.The Portuguese Settlement is also well worth a visit. Not surprisingly this old city is the antiques capital of Malaysia and most of the shops selling antiques are located along Jalan Hang Jebat-formerly called Jonker Street. Besides Malay/Indonesia, Chinese, Indian and western food,Malacca is a great place to try real Nyonya ... Read review

Advantages: Compact,historic city. Good Food
Disadvantages: The old city area can get crowded

Malacca is one of my favourite cities in Peninsular Malaysia especially for a short sojourn. What I particularly like about the place is that it is not too big,its easy to find your way around and there is a lot of history to absorb. The Portuguese,the Dutch and the British all left their influences on Malacca. You can enjoy looking at the heritage buildings such as the red painted Stadthuys, the historic Jonkers Street-very good for antiques,art ...
...well worth a visit. The food in the restaurants is something special,try the curry capitan,its fiery but very nice. There are a number of good hotels in the city,I particularly like the Equatorial, but if you want budget accommodation,that can be found as well. Eating out in Malacca is very enjoyable. Besides the usual Chinese,Indonesian/Malay, South/North Indian food you can also get the eclectic Nyonya food,which is very tasty. Shopping has improved ... Read review

Advantages: Worth visiting this city!
Disadvantages: The roads are quite cramped

...so many historic places in Melaka to visit. This is because Melaka has been the centre of trade since the 17th century and we have seen this place being conquered by the Portugese, then by the Dutch before it was being taken by the British. That is why it has so many historical places in this small city. As a result, we can see different cultural and races in this city which adds to the uniqueness of this multi-cultural city. Food is a variety in ... Read review

Advantages: hospitable, welcoming, laid back, beautiful
Disadvantages: public transport especially buses are not very reliable

...That was a Bargain. Melaka is the place where the Malaysian history was said to have begun. It goes back to Parameswara who happens to be the founder of Malacca in the 1400's. It's amazing to know that the Portugese had conquered this town in 1511 and some of their predecessors still live here. They have now become like the locals living in this city. They are able to communicate in the local dialect which is Malay (the official language of Malaysia). ...
...Al Buquer when he left Melaka during the Dutch intervention in 1641. The ship was said to have sunk and was retrieved by the people several hundreds of years later. It is now a museum. Finally if you have time to spare, you should go by doing some shopping as things are relatively cheap. £5 can get you something decent. On the whole i liked Melaka because it was a city that gave me loads of pleasure to just kickback and get value for my money. ... Read review