Malacca and Kuala Lumpur

It is sad to leave Matty and the gang but we have to move or the moss gathers! A short trip to Johor, the Malaysian border town, Passport control and we are in Malaysia. Its a 4 hour trip to Malacca. The land is generally forested although it has the scourge of the Palm Oil plantations that have hit this part of the world.
Vast plantations cover Malaysia and Indonesia to produce Bio-diesels and edible palm oil.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#Environmental_and_cultural_impact
The journey is pleasant and there we travel through small towns on the way to Malacca. Itis evident that we are now in a muslim country as the precense of mosques has increased, thankyou James! We are due in Malacca at noon and the heat is overwhelming. we pass the new large city mosque which is only rivalled in size by the new Tescos built right next to the bus station.
We taxi to the Puri Hotel, a boutique style chinese establishment in the old quarter of Malacca, one street from Jonker street, the cultural and market centre of 'Old Malacca'. Just by the entrance to Jonker street, from the old bridge you can see the remains of the portuguese fort that once made up an enclosing wall which protected Malacca. This has all gone but the foundations of the fort remains and there are people 'panning' the silt under the fort in the river for old Portuguese and British currency. The Puri hotel has been renovated and is really comfortable with a cool central courtyard where the restaurant and bars are all found with service from the 'hoard of a thousand' smiling waiters (Indonesian).
Malacca was the thriving central port of the area until the Portuguese rocked up in 1511 and spoiled the party. The usual change of hands ensued: the Dutch in 1611, English in the 1780's and Malaysian Independence was declared, again in Malacca, in 1957 or so.
The town has a rich history of immigration from all areas of SE Asia, Javanese, Sudanese, Burmese, Sulus, Khmers, Thais etc but the chinese immigrants imposed themselves on the trade to Malacca. A lot of the houses on the hotels street and the parallel Jonker street are old Peranakan houses of wealthy 'Baba' (chinese immigrant) merchants and their wives, the Nyonya (the names of the Straits born descendants of the original Chinese immigrants). They are shoulder to shoulder with classic chinese shop houses and restaurants in the old quarter. As in Singapore a lot of destruction of the old quarter has taken place in the modernisation of the town. Despite that there are some marvellous examples of the old houses which are mostley shops and bars now. The Geographer bar is a great central meeting place on Jonker street doing delicious Lhaksa or pie and chips. They also have a veritable fayre of music for the delictation. He plays a Moog organ and various drum and beat boxes and knocks out 'Feelings', rcok classics and is periodically joined by a 'Sheila' who does a throaty Tina Turner impression while her husband undresses her with his eyes from the ringside table...whatever turns you on! In the bar opposite there is the Malysian Cat Stevens who does a remarkable 'Here coms the sun' and 'Wild World' allbeit with a 'comedy chinese' overvoice and the battle of the 'one man bands' ensues.
It is hotter in Malacca than it was in Singapore and it is difficlut to stay out in the midday sun without being drenched in sweat and anyway if you venture out the locals are all relaxing in the shade. Transport around the old town is in Malacca tuk-tuk which are decorated to the extreme with silk flowers and lights all washed along with a thumping bass box under each seat pumping out rock anthems. The owners congregate in the old town square waiting for rides. They are the equivalent of the Gondaliers of Venice, great at a quick town tour and a serenade, but pirates of the backtreets with fares in the Rm10 for a stealthy 100m.
We don't spend enough time here and miss a lot of the sites. a week would do it justice. Unfortunately we have a 'one pound', two hour busride to Kuala Lumpur (KL)and we mean to be on it.
The bus takes us to Central KL and we get an equally long taxi ride to KL airport which costs '20 pounds' and parks us at the Concorde Airport Hotel which must be a converted barracks. We leave for Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in the morning. We booked this on a whim but this is the great advantage of having no plan (serious for a virgo), you can book great places at the drop of. The plane fairs are very cheap as well although this does not ease the 'green footprint' which is embarrasingly monstrous at the mo..sorry Polar Bears, but it may be too late already.