Sunday - Day trip to Melaka

What a day. Up and out with the sparrows - 10 am. Our sponsor, Lisa was raring to go and was in a hurry to get started. I've nicknamed her super woman because she is just so full on. One very dynamic lady. Day trip to Melaka and the first thing that happens is "I get the map". Not a good thing as I get lost going around the corner but no one believed me. Melaka is a very traditional and historic place. Very multicultural. The chinese originally occupied this part of Malaysia and set up trade. They freely intermarried with the locals and the first generation of the Chinese/Malay offspring were called Straights Chinese. They took on a local name of Nyonyas (women), and the Babas (men). They continue to respect and live according to some of their unique traditions. Lisa made sure that we went through a museum house of a wealthy Babas and Nyonya. The antiques and artifacts were amazing. One problem was that some of the beautiful chinese embroidery was being affected by black mould and deteriorating in the frames. Another restaurant left us with more traditional flavours to mull over. Definitely not Chans Chinese.

We finally found the "Fort" after much searching. We wondered why the fort was so far inland and once we read the story it became clear. High vantage point with a one direction attack zone made it a very difficult target. One side steep and the uphill climb was a challenge for the attackers. Small cannons with rifles was sufficient to hold ground.

We had a ride on a revolving viewing platform and it was worth every cent. What a view over the city and harbour. We took a lot of pictures and later headed back to Kuala Lumpur. Dinner, another huge shopping mall, and the twin towers shining pure silver in the night sky were a sight to behold. We arrived back to the hotel exhausted but happy. Again, what a day.