From the Rainforest to the City...

After recovering from such an exciting day at Taman Negara we packed up and headed out early Saturday (June 23) morning. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than expected to reach Malacca. Traffic in KL was terrible, but it was worth it to see Malacca. As we entered Malacca the first thing we saw were the Straights of Malacca.

I was really excited because the Straights of Malacca is one of the (few things I remember) places we talked about in my Southeast Asian history class at UNC.

After unpacking at our hotel, Hotel Puri we headed out for dinner. We went to a Portugese fesitval for dinner.

We ate at Papa Joe's restaurant which happens to be owned by our tour guide, Eddie's, brother-in-law. (Coincidence, I think not!) It was lots of fun. After enjoying dinner Papa Joes serenaded us and we celebrated Caroline's birthday.

Rivka and Hallie...

Papa Joe...

Happy Birthday Caroline!

After dinner we returned to our hotel and went shopping at the night market behind our hotel. We all spent too much, but had fun bargaining with the locals!

On Sunday we packed up our stuff and left our hotel. For the next few hours Eddie took us on a walking tour of Malacca. We visited a shoe store where they make shoes from hand and also hand bead. An average pair of shoes takes several months to finish.

We also saw shoes that were once worn by women with bound feet.

Then we visited Harmony St. It is named this because on it is a Chinese/Taoist/Buddhist Temple, a Mosque, and a Hindu Temple. We visited all three. At the Chinese/Taoist/Buddhist temple we learned that this was the first temple of its kind built in Malaysia.

The Mosque...

The Muslim cemetary... note the different shape of the statues. The rounded ones are for the men and the angular for the women.

Then we walked to the Hindu temple.

Before we left Malacca we made one more stop. We visited a Christian church established by the Dutch. Inside children were performing.

Then we climbed a nearby hill to see the first Dutch church in Malaysia. It was pretty much in ruins but still an amazing site!

After a great time in Malacca we headed back to Singapore!

Lots of Love,

Sarah :)