Heritage Shmeritage - We Came for the Food!

Thailand is now a recent memory (albeit a very positive one), and while most roads in Malaysia lead to the capital, Kuala Lumpur, we decided to go a bit farther south for our first couple of days - we're in the city of Melaka (Malacca).

Melaka is a centuries old city with a vibrant cultural mix - you will find large populations of Indians, Chinese, Malays and other vestiges of an old European presence - owing to its days as the center of commercial activity for colonial powers, Arab and Indian traders, and Chinese merchants. The city has managed to retain and preserve so much of its history and past architecture that it has received the coveted UNESCO 'World Heritage Site' status.

Not that these guys fixing the sidewalk seemed to care much. 

But we certainly did. The town is well laid out, compact enough to manageably walk in the 35 degree heat and humidity, very photogenic, and luckily for us, a major player in the Malaysia foodie scene. We were able to see, eat and learn much in our two days here, so enjoy a few of our highlights.

You could wander the streets of the old Chinatown for hours taking in the simple sights like this. The quiet solitude of the morning paper enjoyed under nature's own reading lamp...

...contrasted with the bustling noise of dim sum breakfast at Rong Mao (perfectly located beside our hotel).

Melaka is a city where your time is best spent simply wandering around. Around almost every corner is a building, canal or museum worth visiting, even if only for a few minutes. Of course, all of this walking builds up your appetite....

And plenty of restaurants and food stalls were perfectly willing to help get rid of those hunger pangs while treating us to some of the tastiest food we've had in Asia. Melaka is famous for a number of dishes, such as chicken rice balls and Hainan chicken (above).

As well as the very refreshing Ais Cendol (shaved ice covered with tasty Chinese and Malay sweets). We seemed to find ourselves enjoying shaved ice about every 3 or 4 hours here, as the weather is a little overpowering, and the stifling heat seems to know only one remedy - frozen desserts!!

Our only wildlife spotting during our visit was still rather impressive - a 5 foot long monitor lizard lazing in the sun at the edge of the canal.

The canal itself is actually quite charming, lined with numerous old buildings representing the mix of architecture one might expect from a city inhabited or occupied by Malays, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, British and many others. By the way, Melaka Tourism Authority, one canal does not make you the "Venice of the East".

It's always great when we are able to visit old colonial cities in strategically important locations - it means there's at least half an hour where we can play with guns, and our son's imagination can get fired up. Not sure the colonized Malays would think 300 years of subjugation was worth entertaining our boy for 30 minutes, though.

Another interesting feature of Melaka is the ubiquitous tricycle rickshaw - these two seater vehicles are not that uncommon in Asia, particularly in tourist centres, but it's the garish and over-the-top decoration (complete with music-blaring boom boxes, I might add) which makes these so unique here in Melaka. If Liberace had a chariot, this would be it.

They seemed to be doing brisk business, but with space for only two passengers, and at a whopping $15 per ride, our poor hard-done-by children had to miss out on this magical experience. I was not a popular dad.

Typical scene on our trip - Owen getting ready for an educational experience (in this case the Nautical Museum) watching all the 'fun' go by. Oh, how he would gladly trade a lesson in history of early colonial trade routes for just 10 minutes in a trishaw. Get used to disappointment, boy.

But with the oppressive and unrelenting heat always an issue here, we began increasing the frequency of mealtimes to allow for a quick escape into the air conditioned comfort of restaurants. With Shirley being quite the connoisseur of Laksa, we thought we would give the Melakan version (known for it's sour coconut-based broth) a try.

And a local specialty, a Melakan version of the Chinese snack food, Poh Piah.

And when you're in Southeast Asia, the king of fruits is never far away. The ingenious locals are always looking for creative ways to make the consumption of the stinky-fruit Durian a bit more palatable....

....looks like they've still got some work to do. A brave face, Annie, but I'm your dad and I can read you like a book. 'A' for effort, though.

"Of course Owen, I'm sure your friends, classmates and teachers would love a picture of you by the fountain in the old town square. Uh huh, you can choose your pose". Predictable outcome.

Selfies cut across all cultural barriers.

What? Dinner already? Let's try some Indian food, of the mouth-burning but oh so good Southern Keralian variety, washed down with some hot and steamy chai. Perfect for those hot and steamy Malaysian evenings. By now even I'm begging for something to cool me down. I could use the biggest Ais Cendol in the world...

...whaddya know!! Ask and ye shall receive!!

It's kind of embarrassing, but we visited this little piece of paradise three times in the span of about 24 hours. Embarrassing, but 100% completely necessary. And really, it's not the least healthy dessert out there - look, it has real fruit!

And with the sun setting on a string of dilapidated but charming Chinese row houses, we're glad we chose to spend a couple of days here in Melaka. There is enough to 'edutain' the kids with so many sites and museums, and the grown-ups are merrily putting on a few very tasty and high quality pounds to help get us through the jungles of Borneo next week.

It's sometimes difficult to make it through the long heat of the day without wilting, but the cooler evening brings back a smile and that little burst of energy to make it home.

But Melaka isn't quite ready to go to bed yet- someone needs to start preparing my meals for tomorrow. A man's gotta eat, after all.

And with the beautiful mosque across from our hotel ready to serenade me with a pre-dawn call to prayer, I know I will be getting up early enough to perhaps squeeze four, or maybe even five, more meals into our busy day tomorrow. Who's complaining?