I’m pretty sure everyone who knows me in real life is tired of hearing me talk about how wonderful Malaysia is. I first visited in October, for a whirlwind tour of KL, Kota Bharu, the Perhentians and Penang. I had a marvelous time eating street food, snorkeling and learning how to batik. Such a good time, in fact, that when I made plans to go to Singapore for a week in November, I skipped off to Malaysia for a couple of days in the middle to check out Malacca (now spelled Melaka).
The city was once a Dutch colony, and some of the downtown architecture — particularly the brick-red Stadthaus — reflects this. Later the British took over, which is why Queen Victoria’s face adorns a factory right outside the Stadhaus. In the northern part of town, you can wander through a neighborhood of wooden Malay-style houses. (You can also see them from on board a sightseeing boat, which is a pleasant way to while away the hottest hours of the afternoon.)
But to my mind, the most interesting part of town was Malacca’s Chinatown. Like those in Penang, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, most of the buildings are shophouses — designed to house shops on the ground floor and living quarters above. As I strolled around the neighborhood, I was captivated by details: a sign cleverly designed to resemble majiang tiles, the ubiquitous doorway shrines, and a temple’s elaborate and colorful ceramic roof decorations.
This is the latest in a series of (mostly) weekly slideshows spotlighting places I’ve been on my travels, in China and beyond. You can view more of my photos at Picasa and Flickr. For more great travel photos, check out the other posts at DeliciousBaby’s Photo Friday.
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gorgeous photos! i haven’t been to malaysia yet…