Melaka, sometimes spelled Malacca, is a small former city-state a few hours south of Kuala Lumpur. The sultanate became an important trading center in the early 15th century, lying halfway between China and India, and with easy access to Siam and the spice islands of Indonesia. The Portuguese arrived almost exactly 100 years later. After less than 150 years, the Dutch in their turn conquered and took over the port, only to be replaced by the British after another 150 years.
With its long history at the crossroads of many cultures, and occupation by many different European masters, Melaka has a rich supply of historical and cultural attractions.
Most people seem to visit on a day trip from either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. Most tours will just give you time to walk up St Paul's hill and see a few shops along Jonker Walk. They won't give you time to take in the museums or browse the shops.
The "city center" is essentially divided into two major areas. If you're staying in Melaka for a couple of days, you can easily devote one full day to each of the two areas. The first is the area around the Bukit Melaka, also called St. Paul's Hill after the church now in ruins at the top. This is where the center of power has been since the city-state's founding in the fifteenth century, and where the remains of all the colonial occupiers can be seen.
The other large area to explore is on the other side of the river from the hill, and is generally called Chinatown. This is where the trading houses of the nineteenth century are located, although a few of the buildings are much older than that. While the hill is surrounded by museums, Chinatown now holds an array of restaurants, antique shops and small hotels.
Puri Hotel in Melaka When to go: Picking the right time to go to Melaka isn't so much a matter of the season as it is the time of week. Thanks to its location on the sea near the equator, the weather is warm and tropical with a chance of thundershowers all year long, so there is no time when it is really all that much 'better' weather-wise to visit Melaka.
Interior of the Transnasional Bus to Melaka Melaka is easy to get to, although getting there in style is not so easy. There is really no direct train or air service, although Melaka does have an airport. The nearest train station is in Tampin, on the main line from Singapore.
Buses are plentiful between Melaka and both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. It's about a two hour trip from Kuala Lumpur, a little longer from Singapore.
There aren't a lot of hotels in Melaka, although there is a good range of accommodations, from inexpensive guesthouses to five star properties. As with any destination, one important decision is what area to stay in. For Melaka, I think it's best to stay as close to the historic area as possible. Several of the old shophouses in Chinatown have been converted to hotels and guesthouses. Among these, the Puri Hotel is probably the best of those that can be booked through the on-line sites.
With its rich colonial background, there's a wide variety of cuisines to choose from when dining in Melaka. That's the good news. The downside is that, while there are a lot of restaurants in the heritage area, many of them cater to the day-trippers from Kuala Lumpur, opening at mid-day only and closing before 5:00 pm. So while you may be spoiled for choice at lunch time, you may be hard pressed to even find a place that's open for dinner.
An 'antique' shop in Melaka's Chinatown area. Chinatown's Jonker Street is famous for it's antique shops, which you'll also find along the parallel Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street). As in much of Southeast Asia, 'antique' doesn't have specific legal meaning, it just means something is old, or even just made in an old style. With many of the old shops, it's very much a case of "one person's junk is another person's antique.
Melaka got its start in 1396, when the Sumatran prince Parameswara was exiled by his father-in-law (yes, in-laws have been hell throughout history). Parameswara first went to Temesek (now Singapore) where he killed the king and took control of the island. Unfortunately, after just a few years there the Siamese attacked and forced Parameswara to move on. He then landed in a small fishing village on the coast of Malaya and founded the sultanate of Melaka.
Melaka's location on the sea gives it a remarkable stable climate. You'll note on the temperature graph below that the average highs are a steady 30 to 32 degrees centigrade, while the average lows never dip below 22 degrees. The picture is slightly different when it comes to rainfall. There is definitely a greater chance of rainfall from September to November, although it should be noted that in any given month, there is roughly a 50% chance of rain on any given day.
Most of Melaka's sights are clustered around the base of St Paul's Hill on the southeast side of the river. Between the hill and the river is the old Dutch town square. From the square, you can climb the hill up to St Paul's Church at the top. Descending the other side of the hill will bring you to the remains of the A'Famosa fortifications built by the Portuguese. Around the ruins of the fort are several museums of interest, including the Proclamation of Independence Memorial and the Cultural Museum, housed in a reconstruction of the Sultan's Palace.
Shophouses along Jonker Street, the heart of Melaka's Chinatown. Across the river from the old Dutch Town Square is Melaka's Chinatown district. Although a few buildings date from the Dutch era, many of the most decorative shophouses date from the nineteenth century. The most interesting parts are along the three roads running away from the river. The extremely narrow Tun Tan Cheng Lok (or Heerin Street) was once called 'Millionaires Row' for its many mansions built by Straits Chinese who became wealthy on the rubber trade.
St Paul's Hill Museums & Attractions Museums and attractions around St Paul's Hill. Click on the labels for details. Photo taken from the Taming Sari tower. The area around what is now called St Paul's Hill has been the center of Melaka since it's founding in the fifteenth century. It is also called Bukit Melaka and Bandar Hiler in Malay. The hill is dotted with the remains of the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonizers, and so now is something of a museum district.
As a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an important place in the history of Malaysia, there are a lot of museums in Melaka, more than 20 in all. Many of the museums are operated by the government owned Melaka Museum Corporation, known as PERZIM. A number of museums are probably only of interest to Malays, but there are still many places to see.
You're unlikely to want to take in all of these places.
Photos of the old St Paul's Church in Melaka. Click on any of the thumbnails to see the full size image. Ruined Church Building Tombstones Statue and Church Atop the hill which guards one side of the river mouth, the Portuguese built a small church which was named 'Our Lady of the Annunciation'. The construction was funded by a Portuguese captain named Duarte Coelho in 1521. Many of the stones came from the foundations of the sultan's palace, which the Portuguese demolished.
The Santiago Gate to the A'Famosa Fort One of the first things the Portuguese did when they took over Melaka in 1511 was to build a massive fortification which encircled the base of St Paul's Hill. Inside the A'Famosa were the governor's palace, bishop's palace, state halls, five churches and two hospitals. When the Dutch seized Melaka, they kept the fort, but moved most of the administrative functions for the growing city outside the walls.
In the mid-fifteenth century, the Sultan of Melaka negotiated a trade and protection agreement with the Chinese emperor. To seal the deal, The emperor sent one of his daughters to wed the sultan. The princess came with a huge entourage, which included 500 handmaidens. The sultan gave what became known as China Hill to them for their residence.
As the Chinese got married off to locals, the hill gradually became a cemetery.
Christ Church in Melaka's Town Square Siting at one end of the town square is the great red front of Christ Church. Built in 1753 as a Dutch Reform church, it was later converted by the British into an Anglican church. Although things were added, many Dutch and Armenian elements remain, including tombstones laid in the floor.
The church is open most days, but as it is still a working church, with daily services in several languages, it's often closed to tourists on Sundays.
Sunset view on the river A nice way to relax and take a load off after walking around Melaka, especially in the evening, is to take a river cruise up the Melaka River. Boats depart from the pier near the Maritime Museum and proceed up-river to the Spice Gardens and back. The whole trip takes about 35 to 40 minutes.
Boats operate from 8:00 am to about 8:00 pm and depart every 15 minutes as long as there are at least eight passengers ready to go.
The old town square of Melaka. Malaysia's own 'Red Square', the rather triangular group of red-painted buildings was the center of town during the Dutch years. In its center is a large garden with the Tan Beng Swee Clock Tower, built in 1886 by a well-to-do Straits Chinese, at one end. In the center of the garden is a large fountain carved from red English marble. It was built in 1901 to commemorate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.
A restored Portuguese style house St Peter's Ber House Well away from the old center of Melaka is the Portuguese Square area. The district was settled by descendants of the original Portuguese colonists, most of whom had intermarried with Malays, in the 1920s. A priest to the community felt it would be better for them to have a community where the customs of old Portugal could be kept alive.
St Peter's Church Built in 1710 by descendants of the original Portuguese colonists, St Peter's is the oldest functioning Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia. Like so many of Melaka's religious structures, the church is a mixture of styles from both Europe and Asia.
The Taming Sari Tower For a great view over all of Melaka, and beyond, consider a ride in the Taming Sari Tower (Menara Taming Sari). The 110 meter (360 feet) tower stands not far from St Paul's Hill, very close to the Navy section of the Maritime Museum. The tower is as much a ride as an observation platform. The circular viewing car travels up and down the tower, slowly spinning all the while (it might not be a good idea to do this on a full stomach).
The Dutch seat of administration, the Stadthuys Facing Melaka's town square, the long building called the Stadthuys was the imposing seat of the Dutch administration. Construction was started when the Dutch took possession of Melaka in 1641, making it the oldest surviving Dutch building in the East. The building stands on the foundations of the old Portuguese fortifications.
The building was completely restored and now houses the History & Ethnography Museum displaying many interesting artifacts from Melaka's 600 year history.
