I have been lucky that in 2015 I have chance to came to one of UNESCO’s world heritage city Malacca or Melaka. As one of Heritage city, Melaka became remarkable examples of historic colonial towns on the Straits of Malacca that demonstrate a succession of historical and cultural influences arising from their former function as trading ports linking East and West. Melaka is very cultural yet very vibrant city, with the colonial era buildings surrounding the area. If you interested with the History, read first before you visit Melaka, It will help you understand the city more.
How to get here? You can go by buss or drive from Kuala Lumpur, its only take few hours to get here. Or you can come from Indonesia, by boat.
How long you need to stay? I stayed here 2 nights, and it is enough time to see the main attractions, sinced all the city’s attraction/ Tourist destination all is almost in walking distance. You can getting around the city 4 ways, walk ( if you are fit enough), by bicycle, Trishaw ( local becak/tuktuk) or by cruising the Malacca River.
Top Attractions? There are more than enough attraction in Melaka, you may spent 3-4 nights and still find Interesting place to see. As for me, who are not so in to history, I choose only a few that interested me most.
- Dutch Square, cover in red paint, this is a very popular attraction for tourists. What you will like about Dutch Square is the atmosphere, like a carnival square, you can buy souvenirs here or riding a trishaw to others attractions. Dont forget to bargain if you want to ride trishaw.
- Christ’s Church, this church is at same complex of Dutch Square, built in 18th century and an icon of this city.
- Flora De La Mar Maritime Museum, This unique museum is actual restored Portuguese ship called Flora de la Mar. This Museum contains an abundance of model ships from different time periods in trading history of Melaka.
- A’ Famosa Fort (Porta de Santiago), Back in time, it was built by the Portuguese, who arrived here in 1511, defeated the local Sultanate and laid their claim to the area by building the A Famosa Fort.
Where to stay? When choose hotel please look on within the heritage area, there are a lot of attractions and activities that you can explore. My recomended Hotel is RC Hotel, (a.k.a. River Cruise Hotel) is located along Malacca River and takes about 10 minutes walk to reach from the shopping district of Jonker Street.So you no need to worry about finding place to eat. I chosen this hotel because I love the classic colonial exterior and the touch of romantic feel inside the room.
When night is coming, what could you do? Enjoy the nightlife, these are my options.
- Jonker Street or known as Jonker walk. This street popular for hunt the best food in Melaka, at night many souvenirs shop and street-foods, attracts many to come. You can enjoy the streets performers too. There is a saying that if you haven’t visited Jonker Street, you haven’t been to Melaka!
- Hard Rock Cafe, You should be here if you like live music and beers. Hard Rock Cafe Melaka was designed to match the old charm of Melaka with the state of the art building and architecture. Not forget to mention, you have view Melaka River while enjoying your beers!
That’s my experienced conquering the city, I hope you can all visit here soon. Anything you want to ask, feel free to write in comment section…
Need food guide in Kuala Lumpur? visit my blog…
p o s h p a c k e r t e a m 
boring small town. i prefer Georgetown in Penang.
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Thank you for sharing… Malacca is for who love historic site…
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