Melaka is certainly one of the more famous and more popular tourist destinations in Malaysia. Our Rough Guide gets a bit down on it for being touristy (and then devotes 20+ pages to it), but despite all the tourists we found it quite pleasant and a nice break from KL. Melaka (also sometimes spelled Malacca) is one of the oldest cities in Malaysia (14th century) and at one time was certainly one of the most important both in cultural and economic terms. It was originally founded by a Sumatran prince in exile who got on well with the locals and Melaka quickly became an affluent trading outpost between India and Indonesia.
Thanks to its strategic location and wealth Melaka proved irrestible to the Europeans and as a result Melaka has a particularly long and varied colonial history. The Portugese cruised in about 1500 and then 100 years later the Dutch relieved the Portugese of their duites. The Dutch hung on for nearly 200 years but they were no match for the Brits who, save the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, hung onto it until Malay independence in 1957. On top of this the Chinese have been flocking to Melaka for a couple hundred years as well. The result, is a bizarrely coherent yet wonderfully diverse little town that deservedly (I think) achieved UNESCO World Heritage status 2 years ago.
Aside from the wonderful architecture, Christian churches, Buddhist temples, mosques and Hindu shrines sit quite happily next to each other, the food and the markets are the real highlight. The standout food of Melaka, commonly referred to as Nyonya cooking is based on Chinese ingredients and cooking techniques with local Malay and Indonesian (and occassionally Indian) herbs and spices. The result is amazing.
As for the markets you can buy all the usual tat that you can get at any market anywhere in the world but there are some standout shops particularly in terms of furniture and antiques. It is a reprint, and after some mediocre haggling Ian picked up an amazing map of British Malaya ca. 1834 for about $15.00. Borneo appears almost entirely blank with the following note:
'Borneo produces gold, tin, diamonds, camphor, spices &c. Interior unknown but inhabited by the aboriginal Dayaks, & the coasts by Malays & Chinese. Borneo is three times larger than Great Britain & divided into several independent states. Probable population 3,000,000.'
Great map!
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