Ah Melacca

After the huge night we had at the Oriental Cottage Cafe I thought I would be in a pretty bad state but amazingly I bounced back pretty well. Breakfast was in the dress shop, I kid you not. Breakfast is included in the hotel package and to get there you exit through the front door, cross the street and walk three shops down and enter through the dress shop. The hotel breakfast bar is at the rear. What more can I say.

Melacca goes off, everywhere you turn there is an old building being renovated into a new business. There are a multitude of languages being spoken and everyone is out to make something of the them self.

We took a cruise along the Melacca River. It has undergone a makeover in the last twenty years apparently. Previously it was the sewerage dump for the shops facing the street, now it is the focal point of a very pleasant riverside walk. Lined with cafes, bars and other shops, water monitors patrol the shore looking for fish and if you have a Thai partner that is craving some home cooking she can have her needs met here as well.

Speaking of sewerage, it does permeate the air. Travelling certainly brings home how good we’ve got it. Things that wouldn’t even be considered as acceptable at home are just the normal way of life here. Exposed electrical wiring, water that needs filtration before drinking, open sewer drains are just a few things we haven’t had to worry about for a while. Don’t let these things fool you though, this will be the Asian century and before long it won’t be we westerners who visit to see a different life, they will blow right past us on the progress front and in 100 years their great great grand kids will be visiting us to witness our quaint customs and strange ways.

To finish the day we skipped lunch and wandered up and down Jonkers Walk, grabbing street food as we pleased. Oui was keen on a massage and I was keen on a drink so we parted company and I found myself a seat at the Geographer Cafe and listened to the live music. I enjoyed their extensive wine list with the collection including just the two items, white and red. After some procrastination I settled on the white and by the fourth glass I couldn’t even tell you how bad it was.

One of the real joys in staying here at the Courtyard @ Hereen is that old fashioned pleasure of having the local paper delivered to your door every morning. I love absorbing the local news. The awful atrocity in Christchurch is getting plenty of coverage. It makes me ashamed to be an Aussie. They too are having their own water crisis and desalination is very much on the agenda. 

Museums and a village are on the agenda for tomorrow. We’ll see what it brings.