Malacca

What did we do for six days? I have no idea. We had a pretty slick bus trip from Tanah Rata to Malacca (with just a little speed bump in Kuala Lumpur, but we won't go into that...o.k. the girl who sold us the bus ticket told us to stay on the bus until the last stop where we would change to a bus that would take us all the way to Malacca. At the last stop we found out we should have got off earlier but no big deal we would just have to navigate our way through the rapid transit system back to the central bus station. Oh well, just another day on the bus) Once in Malacca we went straight to a guesthouse that was recommended to us by the Polish couple on our tour in Tanah Rata. The Travellers Planet Hostel was clean, cheap (less that $20 w/aircon, including breakfast) and far enough away from town to be nice and quiet. But six days! they went fast. Really. We walked around town checking out China Town, went to a movie (Dead Man Down, we gave it a 9), we also went to the night market and walked the beautiful canal...twice...once at night and once during the day. We also tried a lot of the local foods...everything on the Lonely Planet's list of "don't leave without trying"...at least once!

The entrance to China Town is easy to find with this flying boat overhead and a steady stream of people heading down the street.

Obviously the seat on this guys bike is not comfortable enough for his long trip!

Malacca is known for its trishaws, a little out there!!!  They are all decorated to the max and usually have music blareing.  

We saw these weird looking fish that are just as comfortable out of the water as in the water at the zoo at Chang Mai.  In Malacca we saw them during low tide on the banks of the canal.

Another culinary experience at the 'Royal Satay' restuarant.  After picking your choice of  many different types of satays (food on a stick) you bring them back to your table and cook them in a hot pot filled with a spicy peanut sauce. 

It doesn't look that appetizing but it is actually really good.  Maybe a bit heavy on the sauce but it was an experience.

On the banks of the canal there is a whole strip of restuarants, guesthouses and private buildings that are painted with all kinds of art.  Graffiti art.  

We caught a glimpse of a monotor lizzard swimming in the canal, he was about 1 meter or 1 1/2 meters long.  They live right in the middle of the city.

More great food, in the back a banana leaf special and in the front a thosias, served with several dips and sauces, along with a couple fresh orange juices.

At night the trishaws light up the roads with their fancy lights, music and charismatic drivers.