I suppose that i don’t have to introduce Malacca… i think i’ll stick with Melaka – Malacca just doesn’t click with me since the word “Melaka” had been pounded into my brain since primary school. This goes to show what damage it does to kids when the government can’t make up their mind, flip-flopping between basic languages in the education stream. It messes with kids’ head, it does.

Anyways, let’s start all over.

I suppose i don’t have to introduce Melaka since everyone locally have probably been to the historical state for like a dozen times and especially since Melaka had made it into UNESCO World Heritage Site’s list, foreigners probably knows more about Melaka than say, me who never set foot on the state before this. I’m embarrassed max.
 

 

A brief history nonetheless:

“Melaka was a fishing village before founded by Parameswara. A popular legend accounts Parameswara was resting under a tree near a river while hunting, when one of his dogs cornered a mouse deer (pelanduk/kancil) which in self-defense pushed the dog into the river. Taken up by the courage of the mouse deer, Parameswara decided to found an empire there and named it “Melaka” after the tree under which he had taken shelter.

Melaka emerged as a strong maritime trading state under Parameswara and his chiefs and because of its strategic location straddling the Straits of Melaka, it thrived as a port-of-call and a centre of entrepot trade with ships and merchants from China, Japan, India, Arab and South Africa.

In 1511, it fell to the hands of the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch in 1641. In 1795, Melaka was given to the British to prevent it falling to the French when the Netherlands was captured during the Napoleonic Wars. It was returned to the Dutch in 1818 under the treaty of Vienna but was later exchanged by the British for Bangkahulu, Sumatra. From 1826 onwards, the British East India Company along with Singapore and Penang governed it, under the Straits Settlement administration in Calcutta.

 After the dissolution of this crown colony, Malacca and Penang became part of the Malayan Union, which later became Malaysia.”

 

 

Getting to Melaka is a pleasant 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. Getting to a specific location in Melaka on the other hand is not so easy or pleasant without GPS.

The road signs are mostly nowhere to be seen or planted at the most inconvenient places and the fonts are smaller than what we are used to. I would have expected that this being one of the most visited tourist state, there would have been huge road sign pointing to the tourist attractions but there weren’t any.

Starving, we tried to find the Chung Wah Restaurant to sample their famous chicken rice balls but ended up driving round and round the place. In the end we settled for Ee Ji Ban instead. Not a bad choice actually; the service was excellent and the chicken rice balls were moist and fragrant. It did manage to lift our dampen mood a little before we set out for Fort A Famosa.
 

 

It’s amazing what a little fresh air and a satisfied stomach could do when you are nettled. Feeling less irritated and finally getting the hang of the roads in Melaka, we saw what we didn’t see before; the modern buildings and big shopping malls blending with the old, vintage shop lots.

The cars crowding the road in Melaka bears number plates from all different states in Malaysia. The many, chicken rice shops scattered around Melaka city made me wonder why were we so irked on the first place at not finding the specific restaurant when we could have just stopped and sampled the Melaka dish at any of these restaurants.
 

 

Braving the sun we walked over to the complex.  It was a great idea as well to park at Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall instead of trying to park at the open parking near the fort. It’s just a 5 minutes walk and the open parking is almost full all the time.

And then we saw from across the street, the crowd, the tour guides holding small red flags, the buses and the wonderful sight of colorfully decorated rickshaws.

My eyes couldn’t stop staring at the elaborately flower-decorated rickshaw that so definitely defines the uniqueness of Melaka. Once again in high spirit, i was debating with myself whether to snap a photo of myself with the rickshaws when i overheard one of the rickshaw drivers asking for payment just to take a photo of him and his vehicle. Ah right, i forgot it’s a tourist area.
 

 

The Dutch and Portuguese influence is prominent in Melaka and many relics are left marking their heritage.

Fort A Famosa also meaning “The Famous” in Portuguese is ironically fittingly named. The 500 year old Portuguese monument  is among the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Asia. It is quite the star of Melaka and Malaysia; Fort A Famosa goes hand in hand with Melaka really.

Once upon a time, A Famosa was a fortress of four major towers; a vital link in the Spice Route, now only a small gate house, Porta de Santiago is still standing.
 

 

The fort is beautiful in a way but i was slightly disappointed. Perhaps having seen the majestic Angkor Wat in Cambodia and ancient temples in Bali, this pales in comparison. I shouldn’t compare but there is just so… so little of the fortress to see, so little to absorb.
 

 

There are steps from behind the A Famosa leading up to St. Paul’s Hill. There are 121 steps in all and as you walk along them you will meet friendly peddlers selling trinkets and souvenirs and artists who will casually chat you up and offer to draw a portrait of you (for a price of course).

The old Dutch tombs scattered through the hill reminded me of the rich history of the site.

I remember smiling to myself and feeling quite serene walking up the steps albeit a little breathless from the leg exercise.

And i remember absolutely loving what i saw when we finally reached the top.
 

 

The charming ruin of St. Paul’s Church looms in the background while more foldable tables with all sorts of knickknack – key-chains, pen holders, wooden clarinets, etc, set up by eager sellers. Visitors were offered photo opportunity with a poor white parrot and a python which both i guess had seen way too many camera-flashes in their lifetime.

I’m not exaggerating but as we stepped into the ruins, an aged but charismatic street singer sitting by the entrance started strumming his guitar and singing a hypnotic tune. I couldn’t recognize the song but the melody was distinctly Portuguese.

For a second i closed my eyes, bewitched and completely immersed in the charm of the monument.
 

 

“St. Paul’s Church was originally built in 1521 by Duarte Coelho; a dedication to Virgin Mary for saving his life in the South China Sea. It is also known as Nossa Senhora da Annunciada (Our Lady of Grace) or the Nossa Senhora da Annunciada (Our Lady of the Hill).

The church was handed over to Society of Jesus in 1548, the deed received by St. Francis Xavier. It has been enlarged in 1556 and a belfry tower was added on 1590.”

 

 

They say Melaka could get really hot compared to Kuala Lumpur. I was considerably worried that it’ll get too humid so i made sure i slapped on enough sunblock before we left. As it turned out, the weather was exquisite; the sun warming our skin while a gentle breeze blowing through our hair.

Surrounding us is the walls made of beautiful red laterite stones, stained and worn down by age. Blending in are the modern fixtures here and there to support the structure from even more ruin.

It was romantic in a peaceful, nostalgic kind of way. I wished i had a picnic basket. It’ll be nice just to sit here and take it all in.
 

 

At one time the nave of the church was used as a Dutch churchyard. Many of those buried here were people of distinction.

The old tombstones scattered around the vicinity now are affixed to the walls reminding us of the history of the place and the people that had once called Malacca home, even a temporary one. The stones were meticulously carved; some simple with few Latin or Portuguese inscriptions while others were decorated with carvings of swords, skulls, sails and kancil even.

I felt a lump rise in my throat as i went from tombstone to tombstone reading the small faded translation. There were tombstones of families and children as young as 5 years old laid to rest here.
 

 

Further in is a wire mesh cage marking the place where Francis Xavier was briefly interred (for 9 months) in an open grave before delivered to Goa.

Legend has it that Xavier became ill at Shangchuan island in the South China Sea and before his death he instructed the sailors to return his bones to Goa. The body was buried in St. Paul’s Church temporarily before it was shipped back to Goa. When it was time to ship Francis Xavier’s body to Goa, the coffin was brought on board. The coffin was opened and they found the body in a condition as fresh as it had been when first buried. When one of Xavier’s fingers was cut off, blood even seemed to flow.
 

 

Whatever it is, the vault is obviously some kind of a wishing well now full of money and coins of different nations dropped by believers, well wishers and perhaps most probably by tourist leaving their globetrotting trail.
 

 

On a sad note, i’m utterly disheartened by the evident vandalism the church had endured through the years. On the interior of the church where it is shaded from the sun and the paint on the wall has yet to peel, were obvious doodles and scrawling.

“XXX was here”

“YYY love XXX”

“XY forever”

“Call me at 12345678″

This on a monument that is supposed to be a proud heritage of the country. It’s humiliating.

There should be a stricter rules and security guards manning the place.
 

 

Facing the shoreline of Straits of Melaka, is the bell tower with a trap door. The statue of St. Francis Xavier with a missing right arm stands overlooking the view below.

Facts shows that the day after the statue was consecrated, a large casuarina tree fell on it, breaking off its right arm. Coincidentally, Xavier’s actual right forearm which Xavier used to bless and baptize his converts was detached from its body and has been displayed in a silver reliquary at the main Jesuit church in Rome.
 

 

A serene feeling washed over me as i gaze out into the sight beyond; Taming Sari Tower rising into the skyline.