A historical snapshot in Melaka -- August 21-23, 2007

After almost a week in KL, I decided to head down to Melaka, a port city seeped in Malaysian and colonial history. Located halfway between China and India and close to the spice islands of Indonesia, Melaka became the trading hub for merchants from Europe, India and China in the 14th century. It's also considered the birthplace of Islam in Southeast Asia -- Indian merchants brought the religion to the Melaccan rulers, who in turn helped to spread it to Indonesia. The colonial aspirations soon washed up on the shores, with the Portuguese, Dutch and British each taking turns of controlling the city over 300 years.

So it's not surprising that the city is a hodge-podge of architecture with a smidge of everything thrown into the pot. This is a Dutch influenced building.



Wandering through the small city core is the highlight of any trip to Melaka, especially Chinatown where the narrow streets are lined with shophouses with Dutch, Chinese and British flourishes like plasterwork, intricate tiles and Tudor style roofs. It is pretty touristy with plenty of expensive antique stores and Western style cafes, but wander off from the main streets, and you'll be rewarded by glimpses into tiny shops that still make rubber stamps, elderly Chinese men tottering along on their bicycles and families huddled over benches slurping up noodles.



My favourite thing about Melaka, however, is the food! In addition to the usual Chinese, Indian and Malay flavours, the intermarriage of Chinese traders and Malay women has given birth to Nonya cuisine, a succulent fusion of spicy creamy coconut sauces, tamarind, noodles, fish and chicken - yummy!

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Just an added footnote about the "seamless diversity" of KL -- a tourist's first impression can sometimes miss the subtleties. I've been lucky enough to hang out with my friend Sugee in KL, who has been eager to show me all the hidden hotspots of this fun city. She and her friends have also given me more insight on the tensions that do exist between the cultures in Malaysia. Sugee, who is Indian, has many Malay and Chinese friends, but there are definitely issues. Malays resent the Chinese, who overall hold the most wealth in Malaysia, own the businesses and have higher standards of living. In an effort to boost the economic fortunes of Malays, the government has a policy that favours Malay companies for contracts, lowers taxes for Malays, provides different university entrance exams for Malys etc. These practices are deeply resented by the Chinese and Indian populations. But Sugee agrees that there is a high degree of tolerance among the people for differences in religion, cultures etc. And in all of the museums and glossy tourist brochures, the government is very careful to showcase all three cultures as being part of Malaysia.