SEA07: From KL to Malacca

Three nights in KL were all right, but it was time to hit the road again. And this time my destination has been one of the jewels of the journey. Malacca, probably the town in this region with the richest colonial history.

An important trading post between Africa and the Indian subcontinent on one side and China on the other, and being part of the lands of the spices, it has been in the center of many historical developments in this region. Having had some brief comercial contact witrh the Spanish and then having been colonised by the Portuguese, later colonised by the Dutch , followed by the British, then the Japanese during WWII and the British again afterwards. Only with the independence of the Malay state, 50 years ago, they managed to start their own life (more or less). ;-)

In an case, all this succession of influences and colonizers have left a rich footprint in the architecture (and gastronomy) of this town. It's time to explore it....

SEA07: First dinner in KL

The first dinner in a new city gives an important impression.
This time, I went to a Nonya restaurant in Chinatown, not far from the Red Dragon, my hostel. The "Old China Cafe" used to be some sort of Union meeting place, and now it has been converted into a traditional restaurant and exhibition hall. You can see in the pictures below, how lovely it is.








And you should try this starter... "Ikan bilis"... crispy anchovies in a spicy dressing... a very original and delicious starter!! (mmhhh... there's not much left even to take the picture...)

SEA07: From Singapore to Penang

Sooo... where were we? Ah, yes, on a train, going North, into Malaysia.

 

I thought that having had my passport checked at the train station in Singapore, I would be allowed to sleep (or try to), all the way to KL (Kuala Lumpur). Well... Wrong!! At about 23h (when I was starting to fall asleep), the border police woke me up, and made me follow everyone else on the train, out into the station, to have our passports checked another time. then we had to wait for some 20 more mintes till everybody's passport had been checked, and they would open the doors of the station building so that we could board the train again.

 

Finally we were on our way, and I could sleep (more or less) till we arrived to KL, around 7AM, without too much of delay. Buying another ticket, waiting for my next train, and off we go again... 8 more hours of train travel.

 

Not many people were travelling in the first class carriage (three japanese, a malay and myself), so it was rather quiet. Good oportunity to sleep, read (continuing with "The Illiad"), and enjoying the landscape. Towards noon, another young malay guy entered the carriage and asked me where I was from, and whether I would mind to be interviewed for some freelance TV program they were producing. Of course I could not decline. :-D

 

Some time after the interview, we arrived to Butterworth. The TV crew where going into town to get a van and drive back south, and I was taking the ferry to Penang and Georgetown.

 

 

SEA07: Taking the train North...

There are still many pictures of Singapore to upload, but I'm afraid they will have to wait a bit. In about two hours, I'll be boarding a train going North, to start to explore that country for the next two weeks.

 

The plan so far is to start covering all the western coast of the country, discovering the colonial past of the country (Portuguese, Dutch, British...), and later on go to the far north-east region to learn about some ancient malay traditions: kites and shadow puppet theater!! And of course, one cannot end a trip like this without spending some time relaxing in some paradisiacal beach... may be doing some snorkeling, and gathering the energy needed to return to the underdeveloping Europe...  ;-)

 

Well, that's the plan. I'll let you know how it progresses...

 

A tantot!!

SEA07: Colonial quarters

SEA07 Day Trip to the Jungle

SEA07: First touristy walk

SEA07: Arrived to destination

Here I am. A bit jet/lagged, but safe and healthy in this small and vibrant island. A shower, some cuttlefish stew and noddle soup, and now a cup of tea are getting me fit again to start tomorrow (or even this very evening!) with the hard duties of a tourist.

 

SEA07: The planning

Well, if you already knew of this blog, or if you've been browsing a bit, you would remember that last year there was a long planned trip to Thailand.

 

That trip was carefully organised in advance, months in advance, getting information from different sources, guides, maps, history and  archaeology books, blogs, podcasts, the internet in general, asking friends and relatives...

 

This year's trip is different. I have friends living *there* and they have been very kind to invite me to go and visit, and of course I could not refuse!! ... I checked for flight offers and I got one that was unbelievably affordable, and that on top of that fitted exactly with my other appointments for this periode (basicaly two weddings), so I didn't hesitate much to buy the flight.

 

At some point, other things came my way, and I assumed that I could not make the trip after all, but in the end, here I am, busying myself writing the first 'chapter' of this trip, while I try to kill the 5 hours tranfer in... But no, I won't give that clue... you'll have to guess my destination...      ;-)

 

SEA06: The complete journey (finally)

They say that better late than never... well, then here you finally have what you were waiting for... the map of Thailand with our complete route (thanks Ignacio!!). Much easier to grasp than imagining it from the chronicles, and surprisingly, showing that after all our journey was pretty efficient!!

:-)