Malaysia: Malacca or Malay: Melaka

Background

My grandfather served with the Royal Australian Navy in the Far East Strategic Reserve often patrolling the Malacca Straits so I grew up constantly hearing of this place. I have to say, it was one of the first times I could say “I could live here” within a day of visiting.

Getting there

After arriving in the ever exotic Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia we had a few days to kill prior to catching our connecting flights to other Asian cities so we decided some internal travel would be a great way to see more of  Malaysia. Malacca was an easy choice - it had amazing european architecture with a strange mix of old dutch and small chinatown feel to it. The easiest and most hassle free way we found of getting my KL to Malacca was by bus. Taking two hours non stop  -it was cheap and actually extremely clean and pleasant.

City History

Not normally my style but I feel it's important in this case. Malacca has been changing hands since the 1500s, as a strategic port in the spice and world trade, whether the Dutch, the Portuguese or the Dutch East India Trading Company.

In 2008, the city received UNESCO registration as a world heritage site. Remnants of the historical nature of the city are spread throughout from the ruins of the former bastion or more recent history - a former WW2 Aircraft in the city park.