Melaka
Asia, its big and its a daunting. My hostel is a large, old, colonial style affair. Wooden floor boards underneath, high ceilings and whiring fans above. The one paperless toilet and not totally hygenic smelling shower reminders why it cost 1 pound a night. Now i know this is real travelling.I was woken this morning by the strains of a brass band playing auld lang syne whilst parading around the streets below holding up chinese banners. I guess that makes in Chinese new year.... Venturing out of my hostel into the street the town is abuzz with activity. The crumbling shop fronts hold 1001 vendors, standing in front of an ecelctic mixture of goods, piled randomly around them. Motorbikes and scooters screach by, practically brushing your arms. I am, as yet, totally unable to fathom the traffic laws, the danger coming simulanteously from almost any direction. Crossing the street here being some kind of olympic event, some local made the peace sign at me whilst coming within an inch of running me down. Malaka itself has been a trading town from the 15th century, first as a sultanate and then under a succession of european powers - portugese, dutch and british - underwhich its importance dimished. With the trade came a mixture of cultures, leaving a strong indian and chinese presence. Not suprisingly much of the interest here is historical, the old town being littered with portugese buildings and the remains of a fort. So have spent time exporing the town and museums.Well, starting to get my head round this asia place but i think it'll be a week or so before really at home..
posted by justplainnigel @ 2:09 PM
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