Melaka to Singapore

Melaka was great. The city developed into a major trade port in the 1400's which led to a diverse population of Chinese, Malays, Tamils and many others. A long colonial history beginning with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch, then British added to this diversity. I checked out the museum at the old Dutch Governor's home, which is now a history museum of the history. I also visited a church that has stood upon a hill overlooking the infamous Straits of Melaka since the early 1600's.

I went on several bike rides with Sebastiaan, a cool Dutch dude. One evening we rode past an alley and heard some music and lots of lights, we went ahead and checked it out. A family of Chinese were honoring the ghost of their ancestor who had been dead for three years. They had built an elaborate display of crafts all lit up... it took them 5 months. They said they were going to burn it the next, had something to do with transcending the spirit world and material world. It was fun chatting with them for a while, listening to their music and watching their rituals. Later that night we heard the police, well after midnight in the town square blaring music, singing karaoki, dancing... I thought they were drunk, but apparently thats what the police force does in Melaka. Next day, we walked around China town, little India, and watched the police do some line dancing. We asked about it, and apparently they do it for the exercise and I think possibly for entertaining tourists. Later that night, we checked out the night market and did some line dancing, over the weekend the city swells (it's a major destination for tourists from KL, Japan, China, and Singapore).

The next morning I hopped on a bus to Singapore. For the first time in my travels, I was asked a question at the border... did I have an onward ticket?, and for the only time in my travels, I did. Later that day I met up with my friend Johnny's pal, Iskandar. We partied at East Coast Park, where there's a beach, and slept overnight there. The next day, I checked out the Little India, which was awesome, cheap eats, cool Hindu temples and Muslim mosques. I walked around all over the city. During my time in Singapore, I also checked out the Botanical Gardens and a little bit of the Orchard Road area. Orchard Road is the image of Singapore that the government likes to broadcast to the world, super clean... however as in the rest of Asia, there was a huge presence of whores. Apparently chewing gum isn't ok, but prostitution is legal...

Singapore was an impressive modern city, really safe. I slept at Iskandar's apartment one night in what he referred to as the "under belly of Singapore" but I never heard a siren all night. I think I would go crazy living there, but maybe it'll be worth a shot down the road.

Oct 27, 2009

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