More Melaka

A potato chip machine. Wind the handle and get a spiral of potato...

My turn apparently but as we have many days here we are taking things slowly, so this hopefully will be short!

...dip it batter, paprika and other spices, deep fry for a minute or so and, potato crisps!

Went out for an explore once it had cooled down, which remarkably happens about 17.30 when it becomes really quite pleasant, wandered around and B found me a massage, it was advertised as reflexology, which I was happy to give a go to – see if playing with my feet could cure my back, though I didn’t envy anyone getting near my feet (how can they smell when the only shoes you’ve worn are a sole and 4 bits of fabric?) But no, he explained to her where I hurt and she got on with it, amazingly strong fingers, I thought my right shoulder was going to fall off, it was only when she came round to do my arms I realised she was blind. We’ve actually seen a lot of signs for blind reflexology/massage, which I think is great and very good she was too. It did help, but didn’t cure me!

A couple (presumably just married) being photographed outside Christ Church in the Dutch square

Looking down the Melaka river. A very pleasant city

This replica of a Portugese ship is actually the maritime museum

These are the trishaws all lit up and playing loud music

The Portugese built, Dutch modified, St Johns Fort

Strangely it felt so much better the next morning when I got onto a push bike! Odd I know, we’d walked towards the Portugese settlement we’d been recommended before realising quite how far it was. When we came across a shop hiring out bikes, seemed to make sense so off we went. Up the hill to St John’s Fort (which got raised eyebrows from the receptionist here in the hotel when we told her) fine for B, but I had no gears on my bike! Finally got to the Portugese settlement through some very nice houses, only to find it mostly closed! 

On the bikes outside the Portugese Settlement

Perhaps the huge eating area only comes alive in an evening, still we found some very interesting men in a small museum who showed us a film and told us all about their minority, still making their presence felt with their own language and their own food. Cycling back was interesting as we had to go the wrong way down a one way street, still no one seemed to bat an eyelid, even when B stripped his T-shirt off as he had got too close to a bush and was covered in cm long ants!

Jackie finds a cat (or perhaps the cat found Jackie!)

And another one! This one had 5 really small kittens in a box nearby

The Dutch Square. The green is a covering protecting one of the buildings under refurbishment

The Independence Memorial building, formerly the British built  Melacca Club

There are more museums in Melaka than is imaginable – we’ve been to the Independence Memorial (which isn’t in the museum book, as I guess it doesn’t mention museum in the title, but it was a Museum) the Portugese Museum (which isn’t in the book) and the Straits Chinese jewellery museum (which isn’t in the book) So what is? Well 35 other museums, including the Admiral Cheng Ho museum (he was the ‘main man’ in the Gavin Menzies book B read all that time ago when we had to go and disprove that the Moeraki boulders were ballast from a sunken junk) which we tried to go to but sadly it was closed for renovation till next year! We may go to the maritime museum, the Sultanate Palace, and the Melaka gallery, but I think we’ll give the Melaka Chief Minister Gallery a miss along with the stamps museum, the Police Station Gallery and the Golf gallery!

Have seen this Monitor Lizard several times in the Melaka River swimming about

And here it is on dry land. It's probably 1.5m long

Jackie grassing me up as street sellers try to sell some special biscuits in the Jonker Street night market

Bars along the Melaka riverbank

We saw this and thought of our friend Iain McDowell!

Hair-cut day for both of us. RM36 (£7.20) for us both!

The queue outside the chicken-rice restaurant we visited on our first day here

One of the few surviving Chinese Shop Houses, now preserved as a museum in this UNESCO heritage city

There are some magnificent buildings here

A view inside the Baba Nyonya heritage building (it's very grand but we weren't allowed photos except here)

The Heeren tea shop

B was a happy bunny this afternoon – found a tea shop with tea in a teapot (sadly I could smell the long life milk) and scones and jam and cream (as long as you got there before the squirty cream melted) It was very nice, all baked and served by a lady from Stockport we had a long conversation with. I suspect we may have to go back as apple crumble and custard was also on the menu! In spite of being a very good tea shop, the mossies liked it too and I got bitten three times!

Our reward after a hard day of walking round the city!