Day 3: Malacca, Sun & Cloud, +31°

The Jonker Street Night Market!

After sleeping better last night, we were up and walking along the river looking for breakfast just after 8:30. Hungry again! Early morning with full sun, the reflective colours along the river were lovely.

We found a nice little breakfast nook with a small table riverside that offered wonderful views.

AM spotted the first monkey of our travel which somehow made us feel like we had finally arrived.

Today we planned to walk down to the coast to visit Masjid Selat Melaka, the ‘floating mosque’. When possible we like to walk away from the city core to try and discover a bit more about the place we are visiting. The only issue was the sun. It was unexpectedly shining and at 10:00 it was already very hot! However, we really wanted a walk, so off we went.

Our first brief stop was at the Porta de Santiago one of several original gates leading into the 16C Portuguese fortress, A Famosa. Interesting story. It was built to keep the Sultan’s supporters from attacking the Portuguese settlement. It was later handed off to the Dutch who enlarged it before it later fell into British hands. In 1807 the British resident decided to destroy the fortress so that the Dutch could not recapture it and use it against them. Part of it survived and it’s considered the oldest surviving European structure in Asia. So now you know!

We pressed onwards in an effort to stay ahead of the ever building heat, but made plans to return to this area on our way back to see the Sultan’s palace.

We walked through a less than touristic part of the city, but we were pleased that we had resisted the ride option.

Turns out we apparently walked through a huge tourist accommodation area. A planned development that was definitely having problems getting off the ground. Perhaps this will change with the upcoming 2025 Tourist gathering here in September. It’s a big deal here and a huge coup for Malaysia to get it.

We crossed the tidal zone to a man made island. It was all a bit odd.

Arriving on the island we discovered a hugely developed area with references to Arab money. It was basically in a state of decay. Very little was occupied and the few parts that were had commercial for lease signs on the windows. Almost a huge ghost town.

We eventually arrived at the mosque which is located on the Straights of Melaka, about 50 km north of Singapore.

It’s called the floating mosque because at high tide it apparently appears to be floating. The tide was unfortunately ebbing while we visited. I guess we should have been up and walking much earlier!

We walked on to the mosque, and because it has a very strict dress code, AM had to shift somewhat in order to get in.

I just had to zip on my pants legs. 😅

After taking off our shoes we were allowed to enter the peripheral part of the mosque. We lucked out, arriving just as a wedding concluded. Here, as is often the case at home, the serious photos were followed by some silly light hearted ones.

We started the walk back only stopping at a 7-Eleven to go inside and cool off a bit in the air conditioned environment. Lovely!!

We also stopped at the Sultan’s recreated palace museum. It was pretty interesting, but it was mostly about an old story concerning betrayal, loyalty, intrigue and death. You know, the usual palace stuff.

We moved quickly on to the rehydration portion of the tour! We had both been looking forward to this part of the days agenda!

As mentioned yesterday, last night we wandered the first what I expect will be numerous night markets on this trip. This one only operates on Friday and Saturday nights. We arrived in search of dinner just as it was beginning to get dark.

There were street food stalls everywhere cooking all sorts of stuff! It’s really a fun experience. We started with a pretty tame prawn fried rice. We paid our cash and were told to return in 10 minutes and that our order number was 11. It was pretty good, and now gaining a bit more confidence we started to look for our next course.

We found a step to sit on and thoroughly enjoyed our chicken skewers! Mine had just enough heat to keep reminding me the rest of the evening. Perfect!

We walked on and on enjoying everything!

The whole city core just comes alive. Tourists mingle with overwhelming numbers of locals. Cars were parked everywhere outside the core. Even the tuk tuk drivers got into the act.

They were everywhere outside the Main Street in front of the Red Building and further out along the river. Each one all lit up and blaring out music. Of course I recorded and sent off numerous videos to our grandchildren.🙂

Not sure yet what we will be up to tonight. We found what we think is a good local restaurant, but there is also the appeal of the open market. Hmmmm?

I’ve been meaning to mention that we have seen almost no public cigarette or vap smoking so far. Very surprised and impressed. Not sure the reason for this. Perhaps something to do with the Muslim influence? I’ll have to enquire.

Tomorrow we travel north by bus to Kuala Lumpur, now better rested and well through the jet lag. It was a good decision to come here before tackling the big city.

I didn’t plan to blog every day, but so much is happening, and we are taking down time late in the afternoon heat. So I blog away!😃

Geoff🌴☀️🥵