Port Klang, Selangor, Malaysia (not far from Kuala Lumpur)
We arrive in the Port of Klang at 9:00. It is the port city which serves Kuala Lumpur. There were a number of excursions here. We will be in port from 9:00 until 19:30; well all on board is 19:30 the Mariner sales at 20:00. We are probably insane but we chose an eight and a half hour excursion to Malacca. No, that doesn’t mean we’ll we walking for several hours. But it does mean we will be on a motor coach for for a long time.
We didn’t realize that Malacca was two and a half hours from our berthing point. We managed to get off the ship and on to the motor coach before it has gone 10. The next two plus hours were riding south back towards Singapore! The direction we just came from. This is different, it is by land.
We are getting to see a a little bit of Malaysia on the way. It is nice to be out of the city and in the country side for a change. The bus is, fortunately, very modern, clean and comfortable. The best thing is that it is air conditioned! It is 35 degrees C (95F) and there is about 85% humidity.
The guide is going on with the tale of the city. The present-day city was founded by Parameswara, a Sumatran prince who escaped to the Malay Peninsula in 1288 when the Srivijaya fell to the Majapahit. The King of Singapura (modern Singapore), Parameswara, no not the same guy, founded the city more or less in 1400. There was the usual succession of European colonial interests. The Dutch East India Company, the Portuguese, and British all of whom were vying to dominate the resources, spices and trade routes, which included Malacca.
Our first stop is at Stadhuys, a square, in where a number of the buildings are painted red. Why? The guide spouts several theories. The favorite being that the locals spat so much red betel juice on the walls, out of disrespect for the Dutch, that the British eventually just painted then salmon red to avoid additional maintenance costs. The truth is probably no one knows for sure.
We are walking along the roadway looking at several buildings, on of which is Christ Church Melaka which is an 18th century Dutch Protestant church. Yes, it is painted Salomon red like all the others. In the middle of the square, just in front of the church is a fountain dedicated to Queen Victoria. Maybe the British were snubbing the Dutch? Maybe the story is true?
Walking on we start to cross the Malacca River and enter the area known as Jonker street, no wait! There is a Hard Rock Café here. Oh, and it is Grace’s birthday. By the way happy birthday princess. We stop the guide and ask if we will have time to go in to buy a t-shirt for our granddaughter. Later is the response, we are on our way to the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum, and we are late.
The Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum is a World UNESCO Site! The house was built about 1861 by the Chan Family. Between 1861 and 1985, a hundred and twenty-four years, the house was occupied by the Chan family. Baba is an honorific manner of addressing a Straits-born gentleman and Nyonya is the way of address an Straits-born lady. This is a good glimpse into the rich heritage of a late 19th century and early 20th century traditional Chinese Malaya Home. The home offers a taste of the eclectic taste of Baba Chan Chang Siew (1865-1919). It shows the richness of the culture and the opulence that was fashionable in pre-Wolrd War II Peranakan homes.
Who or what are the Peranakans? Peranakans are descendants of immigrant Chinese who have forgotten their own language and integrated and adopted some local Malay customs, and practiced intermarriage with the natives. Legend has it that this unique ethnic group could be traced back to the 15th century. China, then under the Ming Enperor, traded far and wide. In an effort to strengthen ties with the rick and strategic port of Malacca he betrothed his daughter to the Malacca ruler. The princess and her entourage, of about 500, formed the first permanent chinessse settlement in Malacca at Bukit China or China Hill.
Getting hungry. We continue walking the old streets of the Jonker district learning all about the history and architecture of the area. Finally we stop at the Puri Spa and Hotel. The building stretches 100 meters from the street to the kitchen in the back. The most important thing is that when we step inside it is air conditioned! As we walk though the building we walk through three “airwells” which are there to let in light and air. Unfortunately, the airwells don’t have modern air conditioning. There is an L-shaped courtyard in the middle which houses the café and dinning room.
We are lead into a long dinning room with a buffet of all types of Malaysian foods. The dinning room isn’t air conditioned but it isn’t as hot as outside. The hotel was first built in 1822 by businessman Tan Jim Seng. It has been rebuild and modernized several times and is quite beautiful. The food was good and it was even better to just sit for a while. Honestly, this might be a place to return to. Very interesting but not enough time to explore. Like the prices. $45 a night!
Finished lunch, heading back to the air conditioned lobby to wait for the guide. Across the street there is a beautiful white colonial house. Very Victorian in style. Other than a no parking sign, there is no identification of what it is. The guide is in too big a hurry to talk about it.
We are walking through the area and are off to A Famosa. Back on the motor coach we ride just a few blocks to A Famosa. In 1511, a Portuguese fleet arrived under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque. His forces attacked and defeated the armies of the Malacca Sultanate. Moving quickly to consolidate his gains, Albuquerque had A Famosa, a fortress, built around a natural hill near the sea. Albuquerque believed that Malacca would become an important port linking Portugal to the Spice Route in China.
At the same time other Portuguese were establishing outposts in such places as Macau, China and Goa, India to create a string of friendly ports for ships heading to Ming China and returning home to Portugal.
There isn’t much left of the fortress but the guide tells is that it once consisted of long ramparts and four major towers. One of the towers was a 60-m tall four-story keep, known as A Famosa ('The Famous'). This was the tallest building in the region from 1512 until it was destroyed by the Dutch in 1641. Unfortunately not much is left except the sixty-six uneven, stone steps to the top of the hill.
At the top there aer the ruins of the Church of Saint Paul built in 1521 by the Dutch. Some tombstones, in Dutch, and a statue of Saint Francis Xavier. However, the view from up here is really spectacular. So much so that returning here might not be a bad idea. Unfortunately, what goes up must come down. Going up was difficult. The heat and humidity didn’t help. Going down is more difficult than going up – it hurts the hips and knees more. Down we must go.
Arriving at the bottom of the hill we are greeted by the Tasman Bunga Merdeka (a park) on Jin Kota (street). It’s 15:30. The guide tells us we will now have time for shopping in the Jonker Street district before reboarding the motor coach and heading back to the ship. As we are walking around the hill the church is on, we can see the Hard Rock Café. We make a bee-line for the café. Can’t leave without Grace’s t-shirt.
The café is air conditioned. We have until 16:15. We spend time shopping for the t-shirt and then head to bar for a cool drink. Not that we are ready or want to in has gone 16:00 and it is time to head back to the motor coach.
We are on our way back to the ship. Both the guide and driver seem concerned about the traffic and weather. It’s 16:30 and the all aboard is 19:30. Yes, it took a good two plus hours to get here. Apparently, afternoon traffic can be an issue. Then the rain starts. We put our heads back and take a nap knowing the Mariner won’t sail without these thirty guests.
We are pulling into the pier at 19:31. Everyone is waiting for us. Please make you way to the gangway. All aboard. We just make it to our suite as the ship is pulling away from the pier.
A good day. Lots of fun. Got Grace a t-shirt. Tired as an old dog.
Buonanotte e ciao, Enrico e Maria.
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