23 Jan 2003 Malacca, Malaysia

[Eric's journal]  We had an uneventful journey from Kathmandu to Singapore.  The only excitement was the cab ride to the airport.  It was only 0600 and still dark.  In an attempt to save gas, the cab drivers turn their lights off whenever they think they don't need them. ( How they know when to turn them on again I don't know.) Our flight on Royal Nepal to Bangkok was on time, the food was not very appetizing.  The Bangkok airport is really nice and our Finn Air flight was early into Singapore and the food was quite good. 

We caught the hotel taxi ( only S$7 each) to the hotel and all was well.  The hotel is in Little India and when you walk out the door you can smell all the food and spices.  We spent Tuesday wandering Orchard Road, Little India, Chinatown, and the CBD (Central Business District).   They have added some restaurant areas along the river (Boat Quay and Clark Quay which has a Hooters even.)  We checked with several travel agents on flights to Sumatra or Sabah and they were all a little more than we wanted to pay.

We met Peter Clark for drinks at Harry's Bar at Boat Quay. ( Gorgeous views of the river and parliament across the river.)  Apparently this is where the rogue trader who brought one of the big banks down, used to drink.  A friend of Peter's who he works with was visiting from Melbourne, so he came along with a native who is one of their suppliers, Ian also.  After many beers we went next door and had a fabulous Indian dinner.  Ian, the supplier, treated for everything, including an old Indian woman who read our palms.  All good news and I am going to live to 94 and Emma to 96 and we were going to another country soon.  ( By the way we were dressed we were obviously not expats but backpackers, none of whom stay in Singapore long.)  Earlier in the day the Raffles Hotel wouldn't let us walk in the front door since we were in shorts and sandals.

After talking with Peter and native Ian, we decided to start up the west coast due to the monsoon season.  The next day we bought bus tickets to Malacca, on the Malaysian south-west coast.  The next night we went to Peter's apartment for dinner.  The same gang came along and we got to meet Peter's wife Leonnie and two sons.  They have a fabulously large four bedroom, eighth floor apartment with great breezes and views.  They had a fabulous BBQ then we enjoyed the wonderful evening on the balcony.  It is great being able to sit outside at night in shorts and t-shirt and be very comfortable.

This morning we took the bus to Malacca.  The bus was air-conditioned and had huge amounts of legroom.  They left right on time.  At the Singapore end you have to get out to clear immigration, get back on, drive north across the causeway, then get out on the Malay side with all your luggage and clear customs and immigration.  We made a short stop for lunch then pulled in right on time after a four-and-a-half hour trip.

We randomly picked the Eastern Heritage Guest House out of the Lonely Planet based on its recommended character.  It is only $5.50 a night.  It is in a beautiful old Melaka building built in 1918.  The rooms are basic bed and fan, but very clean.  We have both decided we don't really like the airconditioning as it dries you out.  There is even a little soaking pool on the ground floor, about the size of a hot tub, but cool.

For dinner we went to Capitol Satay, where you cook your own satay in a pot at your table fondue style.  Each stick was only 10 cents.  It was very good as you just picked out whatever you wanted and cooked it.  When you are done, they count the sticks and that's it.  We had a huge dinner for $4.


[Emma's journal]  We caught the bus from Singapore to Malacca.  The trip took around four-and-a-half hours.  Malacca is a strange place.  It seems like an old sleepy town but there is so much traffic!  I can only imagine that all these people have to drive through the town to get somewhere else, as there doesn't seem to be many people around. 

We had a yummy dinner at a place where you choose your Satay sticks and then built into the table is a recess with a pot of satay mix and you cook them yourself.  I never realised that was how Satay was cooked- I always thought that the meat was marinated and then the meat grilled.  We had our whole meal for 15 ringets ($4).