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.