Before we proceed on to write about Melaka, have a look at this photograph taken of yours truly, within the Bat Caves:-
Can you observe the ghostly apparition of a male and female couple standing behind me? They almost look like a bride and groom. Freaky Beaky Eh? Just goes to show that truth can be stranger than fiction…
Anyhow, we headed for Melaka utilising Lion Air, to Kuala Lumpur, then got lucky with a fast bus connection to Melaka, and ducked into China Town, where we located a cheap and cheerful guesthouse. It was a bit run down, with holes in the mosquito net, which I initially attempted to salvage with sticky tape, but then abandoned the attempt when I realised that there was no real mosquito prevention throughout the entire building!
Check the year!
All we had to protect us from flying blood suckers was the electric fan, and a mosquito coil. Technically, we were in a street with a no smoking policy, which prohibited smoking in all of the buildings an our street, but once the coil was lit, I just smoked cigarettes as usual, as the coils stink to high Heaven! It was all a bit farcical really.
We had read that Melaka boasted a street market at night on Jonker’s Walk, which was only a five minute walk away, so we decided to check it out. There was a nice atmosphere amidst the hustle and bustle of the shoppers, but as we are travelling, we can’t afford to carry any extra weight in our rucksacks, so we weren’t about to purchase anything of substance.
A hand made lollipop, very tasty!
None the less, Melaka immediately proved to be a charming and quaint melting pot of art, culture and the architectural legacies of colonialism. In some respects, the town reminded us of Georgetown, and we were resolute in our plans to explore for at least two days.
We cut out of the market, snuck up to Little India and located an Indian restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet, ate well, and then wandered back down to the town centre, in the hope of finding a reasonable bar.
‘Selvam’ what a great restaurant!!
As luck would have it, we stumbled across a guest house ‘Sayang Sayang’, which specialised in bicycle hire, and had a variety of photographs hung on string and fishnets in the reception area. Curiosity prompted us to linger for a moment, and an employee enquired if we would like to buy a beer? ‘Was Sid Vicious a punk rocker?’ I thought to myself, but a swift survey of the empty cans on the tables prompted me to ask “Is it a choice of Tiger, Tiger or Tiger?”
The guy grinned and replied “I can certainly offer you a Tiger”. It was at that stage that it dawned on me that the guest house was blasting some heavy rock, and despite not being a fan of Tiger Beer, I was instantaneously sufficiently tempted to sit down, so agreed to a said can of Tiger, as did Emma.
It emerged that the photographer whose photos were being exhibited at the guesthouse bar was named John, who happened to be the resident manager, was from Singapore, and was partial to punk, rock and hip hop.
John ‘1’ the photographer
A second incoming resident manager, who was the man I had initially spoken to, introduced himself as ‘John 2’, and it rapidly transpired that his great loves were Metallica, rock music and The Predator movie!
These two Johns were a great pair of guys, and their guesthouse was opposite a hard liquor store, on a crossroads adjacent to a supermarket – ideal for a curator of ‘Travelling Cocktails’, such as I !!
As the local Mosques call for prayer was partially drowned out by music of the Beastie Boys, the beers began to flow, and the local drinkers continued to arrive well in to the early hours of the morning.
John 2 was soon engaging in a long discussion about quite what had gone so dreadfully wrong with the Alien Vs Predator film sequels (Emma and I were begging to differ on their quality – although it was to emerge that John 2 was somewhat of a Predator movie purist!) as I started to begin to realise that it was likely that we would be spending more than just a couple of days in Melaka…
John ‘2’
It was around 2AM when Emma and I strolled home, but this was long after I had popped into the supermarket to buy a mixer. A funny story – when travelling, I always give any coins I receive in change to Emma, who either gives them to beggars, or uses them as small change for minor purchases, when we’re on the move.
So, I’m in the supermarket, trying to add up the various notes I had on me to make a payment, when the rather female attractive cashier says to me “You’re not travelling with your girlfriend then?” and shot me a pout!
Drunk, and somewhat naive to quite what I was being offered for sale, I replied “How did you know that my girlfriend pays with all our change? We only arrived today!”
The cashier simply winked at me, took the note I held in my hand, and replied “Never mind…”
Those types of things never happened to me when I was single!!!
Trent */X
Lows, heights and mosquito bites! 