The border crossing from Singapore into Malaysia by bus had been quite straightforward, and as soon as we got off the bus in Malacca we had a strange sense of familiarity. The Malay words on the signs (not that we understand that many of them but still), the smell of the food, but also the higher level of chaos, especially notable if you are just arriving from Singapore. It is the first time on this journey that we are returning to a country we have already been to – or maybe we should count returning to ‚mainland‘ China from Hong Kong in. Anyway, a few months ago we were in Malaysian Borneo, and now we are making our way north through the Malaysian peninsula.
We felt Malacca was rather small (we kept bumping into the same two travellers we had met on the bus into the city several times every day), but despite the high density of tourists it retains a really charming atmosphere. Centuries of colonisation by the Portuguese, Dutch and British have created a historically as well as architecturally really interesting place. What struck me most however, was the line-up of Taoist, Buddhist and Hindu temples, mosques and churches, sometimes all of them in one street. An impressive reflection of the multicultural and religious diversity of the Malay society. These religious edifices are not just historical sights, there was active religious and cultural life going on in each of these places. It was fascinating to watch the Strait Chinese light yet more giant incense sticks to pray for good luck in the approaching Chinese New Year, then, as you step out of the temple gate, you can already hear the sounds of music from a ceremony at the Hindu temple down the road, and peering into the mosque you see muslims kneeling on the prayer rug, if you happen to come by at the right time.
The food is equally multicultural. One of our favourite dinners in Malacca was ’steamboat‘ – we had something pretty similar already in China, where it’s known as hotpot. It’s often described as Çhinese fondue, with a pot full of broth simmering in the middle of the table. At the place we ate steamboat, they had an amazing buffet of ingredients that you could pile on your plate and then cook at your table in the hotpot. Noodles, sliced beef, lotus root, fresh prawns, baby octopus, even eggs can be poached. The dinner lasts for hours, it’s really fun, fishing for lost items in the pot, and you can get creative with the dishes you cook up at the table (and you know what you eat, which we otherwise can’t always say for Chinese dishes).
All in all: nice overture to Malaysia part II.
