Melaka City: Itineraries

A Top Day in Melaka City

A day in Melaka is best begun early, in the cramped old streets of Chinatown, before the cars and bikes start nipping at your elbows. I take a stroll along Jl Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street), Jl Hang Lebat (Jonker Steret) and Jl Tokong, always noticing something - a building, a business, a temple feature - I've never seen before.

I sit with a thick, sweet coffee to watch the streets come noisily to life. Soon the whine of motorcycles overwhelms the excitable chatter of swiftlets nesting in the upper floors of derelict buildings (the nests will later be harvested by building owners for the lucrative trade).

Then I cross the bridge over the Sungei Melaka and wander past the firebrick red facades of the Stadhuys and Christ Church, feeling suddenly as if I'm in a small Dutch town. Fending off the trishaw drivers, I'll stroll along Jl Kota, past the Aldy Hotel and the old police station and pay a visit to the People's Museum and its ageing but grotesquely fascinating human beautification exhibit.

There's time to walk through the ancient gate of the A'Famosa fort and mount the steps to St Paul's Church for a view across the city before descending back onto Jl Kota and breaking for lunch at one of the stalls beside the river, or at one of the 'famous chicken rice ball' restaurants. Then I'll let a trishaw driver take me to the Sultanate Palace for a glimpse at the opulent lives of the former Malay royals.

As evening approaches I'll seat myself on the outdoor deck at Harper's and watch the light fade over a beer and a beef rendang, or sit under the tree inside the Coconut House pizzeria, or one of the excellent Teochew restaurants around Chinatown. As the clouds of swifts spiral their way up into the night, I'll browse along the Jl Hang Lebat night market (if it's a weekend), ending up at the Geographer café for a beer and good music to round it all off.

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