On Sunday we spent the day being complete tourists and visited all the recommended tourist sites. I love being a tourist in general but being a tourist in Malaysia is especially nice; the people are more than friendly (locals regularly gave up their seats on buses and trains to me, everyone is always smiling and people are constantly helping us out and able to speak English) and the atmosphere is super laid back and relaxed (we frequently had to wake people up to help us in hotels, restaurants and taxis).
We had coffees and muffins right on the river at the Dutch Harbor cafe again. The mornings are beautiful this time of year in Malaysia - breezy, cool and clear. A few students have emailed me to ask how the trip is going and some have encouraged me to try the local coffee. In Malaysia, the famous drink is called a "white coffee" which I assumed was coffee and milk/cream but is actually a different way of roasting the beans with caramel. In Chinese and Malaysian, the way 'white' is translated actually means 'pure'. We tried it and it was very sweet and tasty. Another drink that Daniel liked was called a Milo which was basically a hot chocolate with added malt - it was also delicious. ($7 coffees and muffins)
After breakfast we set off to the maritime museum which is housed in a re-creation of the Portuguese sailing ship, the Flora de la Mar, which sank off the coast while transporting Malaysian goods back to Europe. The ship was pretty cool and bigger than I expected. There were many exhibits on the different floors of the ship itself. After the ship we checked out the "Beauty Museum" which showed the many ways in which different people groups change their bodies in order to become beautiful. The museum wasn't that great but the concept was interesting at least. ($2 boat museum, $2 beauty museum)
From there we hiked up the main hill in town to Paul's Church which was built in 1521 by a Portuguese sea captain. The church is old and crumbling apart but the view from the top of the hill is amazing and you can see all the way out to sea. We lunched on the local Nonya food -dishes that are known for the sweet flavors of coconut, coriander and dill. It's basically a combination of Chinese and Malaysian cooking but in any case, it was delicious. ($10 lunch)
We sat out the afternoon shower with a very expensive beer in a restaurant on the riverfront called Harper's and then spent some time hiking out to the seashore to get some sand for my dad. Dinner was by far the highlight of the day when we tried the most famous satay spot in Melaka. You sit at a table with a group (we were paired with two Germans), choose from a variety of meat and vegetables on sticks, and then cook them in the pot in the middle. It's like fondue except that the sauce used to cook the food is satay sauce; spicy and a little nutty. Since all the locals were drinking coconut juice with their meal, we tried it as well and it was awesome. ($3 ice cream, $12 beers, $11 dinner)
At night we took a river cruise and then Sean and I went on a short night tour in a tri-shaw. The tri-shaws were small carts attached to bicycles and colorfully decorated with flowers, pinwheels, and anything else their drivers could think of to make their carriage stand out. They also held stereo systems on them and each one blasted different tunes: country, R&B, pop etc. At night, each tri-shaw was brilliantly lit up with flashing lights which made them all the more entertaining. Needless to say, it was quite a ride. ($7 boat ride, $7 tri-shaw ride, $13 room, $4 gifts for friends) (Total = $78 for two people)
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