Exploring Malacca

I started writing about my trip to Malacca, Malaysia and managed to write four paragraphs, when I decided to delete everything and start from scratch like a frustrated writer ripping out a draft from his typewriter and crumpling it into a ball. I just thought that at the rate I was going, this post will forever sit as a draft and never get published.

So I decided to curtail my usually verbose story-telling and draw the "Top 5" highlights of my trip.

1. TWENTY - Located at 20 (snickers) Jonker Street in Chinatown, the hostel was clean, tastefully furnished, served free breakfast and had free wi-fi access. Not bad for S$20 per night!



2. BUILDINGS AND STREET ALLEYS - I was charmed by the cozy cafes, art galleries, antique shops and Dutch/Portuguese-influenced architecture.



3. JONKER WALK - Quiet and empty during the day, but alive and bustling at night! Street vendors would whip out their folding tables at exactly 6PM and put up odds and ends for sale. The entire road was closed off to vehicles to give way to an evening talent show. Dolled-up kids performed on stage and sang Chinese songs and danced to candy-pop songs like "Barbie Girl." I can't help but sing "C'mon Barbie let's go party. A-a-ahhh-yeah..." all the way back to the hostel.


4. PINEAPPLE TARTS, PINEAPPLE TARTS & MORE PINEAPPLE TARTS! Coming to the "Home of Pineapple Tarts" did very little to help me curb my addiction for these little biscuit saucers of pineapple jam.

And that's the way the cookie crumbles.


5. MUTANT SPECIES BY THE RIVER - I stared confounded at the fish that crawled on land (mudskippers) and the big lizards that swim in the river. Reinforces the fact that toxic waste is a hazard to our marine ecosystems. The inconvenient truth, folks.