Malacca is one of the most vibrant city in Malaysia. It has a varied history, having been colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. One can find these influences in food, architecture and even the language. Every backpacker coming to Malaysia makes it a mandatory stopover. I have been to Malacca many times but each visit gave me a different experience.

    Dutch square

    One thing i did regularly was to stay at discovery cafe. Allan, an English used to take care of the hostel. When you ask him “have you settled in Malacca? “, his instant reply would be “I’m a traveler”. It used to be a perfect traveler hostel until Allan was there. We used to share lot of travel stories together. Whenever i feel bored and devoid of travelling, i head straight to Malacca and stay at discovery cafe. For more than 25 years he is away from his country, travelling around the globe.

    With Allan at discovery cafe hostel

    During my first visit, when got down at Dutch square it felt a different world. It was picturesque with red painted buildings. It reflects the history of Malacca, with the Stadthuys and Christ Church portraying the Dutch influence, the Queen Victoria’s fountain shows about the British colonization and Tan Beng Swee Clock Tower in honor of a generous Chinese tycoon.

    Remains at “A Famosa” focuses on Portuguese influence . One can also see some ruins of Portuguese fortress on the bank of River Malacca across the Dutch Square.

    Remains of “A Famousa Fort”

    Jonkers street is the Chinatown of Malacca, you can find heritage buildings built during 17th century on either side of the road. Authentic Malay and Chinese restaurants are found here. Weekend night market makes this street colorful and lively with lot of road side sellers selling some unique stuff.

    Malacca has lot of museums and the ones i liked the most was maritime museum and sultanate palace. Maritime museum is a replica of “Flor de la Mar“, when a Portuguese general Afonso de Albuquerque  was returning from the conquest of Malacca, bringing with him a large treasure trove for the Portuguese king, the ship was lost off the coast of Sumatra. One can get lot of information regarding the trade, culture, etc of Malacca from these museum

    Malacca since it’s a multi-cultural city one can find Hindu temples, Chinese temples, Church and Mosque in close proximity. It’s an experience to witness different rituals performed at these holy sites.

    Evening people tend to relax in the restaurants along side the river. This is one of the unique things to do in Malacca, since the river runs right in the middle of the city.

    In Night there are some cycle tours that give you lot of insights about Malacca. Like how the city has transformed from a normal town to a place with such history. We went along the river side, Portuguese settlement, beach, wet market and many more.

    When one talks about food, Malacca has everything to offer. I being an Indian first thing that comes to my mind is the Indian restaurant “Hotel Selvam”. Anyone going to Malacca will definitely know it. The restaurant opens early in the morning and closes mid night. Their flavors are unique. Since I’m a frequent visitor, made lot of friends with people working in the restaurant and also some foreign nationals by taking them there to taste the banana leaf South Indian meals.