Scenes of Melaka

Tonight marks the end of our final night in Melaka. Tomorrow we're off at 10 am to catch the bus back to KL. Then it's an afternoon of catching up with friends and relatives (and perhaps a short trip to Batu Caves) before getting on the 11 pm overnight bus to Penang, which would get us in to Butterworth at a little after 4 in the morning.

Well, at least it means we'll be able to save on a night's accomodation. So far we've managed to keep our expenses pretty low, in large due to the relative cheapness of everything over here. 10 ringgit (about HK$23) is often times enough to keep us well-fed for one meal. Tonight we went all out a this Southern Indian joint and it only amounted to 12.50 ringgit. The biggest damage seen on this trip so far (besides a really cool belt at Topman that I JUST had to buy) has been a visit to Starbucks for wireless internet access. The brownie and drink costed us 21 ringgit.

Tonight we went to a couple of museums - the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum, which presented the immense treasures and legacy of a very wealthy Baba Nyonya family in all its glory, and Villa Sentosa, a traditional Malay kampung house belonging to, well yes... yet another wealthy family. Both were definitely worth visiting, but ironically, what I enjoyed most was an impromptu visit to the Central Hotel.

I say impromptu because the place has been shut down for well over a decade. It just so happened that we stopped outside right when the owner's grand-daughter unlocked the gate to go inside and feed the stray cats. I'd been fascinated by the facade and history of the place since setting eyes on it on my first night in Melaka so I decided to try my luck and ask if it was convenient to pop in for a quick peek.

We ended up staying there for well over a half hour, the lady giving us free reign to go upstairs and explore to our hearts' content. Naturally the place was in a real state of disrepair, but from the size of the place and way things were laid out, one could really get a sense of how magnicient it would've been at the height of its glory. According to her, the hotel, set on a busy road in a very prime location, was THE place to stay at a few decades ago. I suppose the numerous big chains that have popped up in Melaka over the years have made it hard for a hotel of this nature to continue on. It's too run-down for the people with the money, and not really 'ghetto' enough to cater to the backpacking variety. Hopefully the pics I took of the place (on film) will do the hotel some justice.

Alright, off to bed. Let's see if I'll have as much luck with the Starbucks in KL as I've been having with the two over here. Otherwise I'll do another update once we've made it to Penang.