Melaka is perhaps the most famous trading port you’ve never heard of. Its prominence in the 15th and 16th centuries was legendary and according to that guy who wrote 1421: the Year China Discovered America, it was where Columbus stole the blueprints for making his transatlantic journey.

The Malaysian peninsula is where the great seasonal monsoons meet and the tip of the peninsula was a natural stopping point for trading ships from China or India (depending on which way the winds were blowing on which monsoon) to stop and replenish supplies. A renegade Sumatran prince made Melaka his seat of power in the late 1300s and realized how strategic the location was so he set up a town with favorable trading conditions and he and the town became rich on the spice and silk trade. In 1511 Portugal attacked the city in their quest to rule the spice trading routes and the European colonization of Melaka began. In 1641 the Dutch took over to be supplanted by the British in the 1800s. The colonial times were dismal for Melaka because it was merely a pawn in the great colonial wars and the repressive tactics, especially religious discrimination by the Portuguese and Dutch, scared away most of the traders and Melaka’s name was swept from the history books.

History was what drew me to Melaka but the charm of the modern city was what kept us there for 4 nights. As we arrived at the bus terminal, a very pleasant man approached us and told us about his guesthouse. Normally we avoid these touts but his manner was so mild and helpful and the guesthouse was one we were going to look at anyway so we hopped on the city bus and soon we were looking at the rooms in the Travellers Lodge. Our room was a huge loft with lots of charm – hardwood floors (OK, they were Pergo but they were nice), tiled new bathroom and large windows along with air conditioning all for only 50 ringgit ($13.33) which is expensive in backpackers terms but worked for us. It was definitely the nicest hostel we’ve stayed at and it combined comfort with all the things you go to a hostel for: shared spaces where you can meet other travelers, free movies at night, a kitchen to make your own meals and extremely helpful and friendly staff. They also made a mean breakfast and lime juice. Staying there definitely made our stay in Melaka better that it would have been if we had stayed at a regular old hotel. It was also conveniently located next to a mall, where we retreated every afternoon to avail of the air conditioning and the Cadbury’s chocolate dipped ice cream cones at McDonalds (42 cents each).

We spent our days in Melaka visiting museums like the replica of the Sultan’s Palace, a beautiful wooden building that showcased the many nationalities of Malaysia, including the intricate and beautiful traditional dress (and more) from each region. Also interesting was the maritime museum which is housed in a replica of a Portuguese ship. We also strolled the vibrant Chinatown and the old colonial sights and the riverfront, which is quite nice as long as you don’t get close enough to smell it.

Melaka is also known for its colorful trishaws and we met a couple of characters who pedal these things. We stopped off for a bite to eat after sightseeing and ran into 2 men drinking Guinness. When they found out Pearse was Irish, Tony and Ali insisted that we join them at their table. Ali then insisted on taking our photograph and they launched into an interesting dialogue (actually it was a monologue by Tony punctuated by completely off-topic asides by Ali) about Melaka and life in general. We heard about how great Singapore is, what a tragedy it is to be an only child (like Tony and I), what a Malaysian ringgit used to buy (in 1960) versus what it buys now, how many sons Pearse & I will have after being blessed by the tragic only-child Tony, how we’re all here one day and gone the next (like the Pope), why Sharia (Islamic law) should not be instituted in Malaysia and various other topics. It was certainly a diverting hour and the lads were quite nice, but after watching them down three Guinnesses at 2 in the afternoon, we were a little more hesitant to ride in a trishaw with them. We never ran into them again though, and since we couldn’t cheat on them with another driver, we never took our trishaw tour of Melaka.

We enjoyed our time in Melaka, despite the heat and the downpours every afternoon and we can recommend the town as a nice spot to visit. The only problem is that it’s not near any of the other tourist areas except KL so we decided our best course of action was to continue heading south to Singapore and then go up the east coast of Malaysia, instead of backtracking to the Cameron Highlands. So, next stop Singapore.