A Trip to Melaka - Part 1

Last Saturday Myself and my friend went across Singapore to a Historical place called Melaka .
Founded by Parameswara in 1396 who named his sultanate after the "Melaka" tree, Melaka has provided the stage on which the Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and English played their roles in shaping history.

We packed some tamarind rice and buns for breakfast and left house at around 5:45 A.M . Reached Woodland Checkpoint at around 6:30 AM in Bus no 950 . There wasn't much of rush since the previous day (Friday) was a public holiday . After the Singapore Immigration check again resumed the journey to Johar Bahru. Once the Malaysian Immigration check took a local bus from Johar Bahru (Larkin) bus terminal for 14.50 RM to Melaka . Bus journey was quite comfortable with leg rest and push back seats. It took exactly 3 hours to reach Meleka Central bus station.
Took a tourist map from the tourist information center and boarded a town bus no 17 which was going to Mahkota Parade. Paid 80 cents for the ticket. Unlike Singapore the buses here are Non AC ,that means you get the feel of fresh air. People looked innocent unlike Singapore where most of them looked well off !
The fellow who told us to take this bus,told us to get down when we saw red painted buildings ,we did the same thing . The distinctive red building are definitely an eye catcher.
One of the first thing visible to your eyes are the "Trishaws" (commonly know as Cycle Rickhshaw in India) .
These Trishaws are decorated with artificial flowers which make them ultra colorful. A maximum of two passengers per Trishaw [depending on the space and the people ;-) ] . they charge on hourly basis ,they take you to a particular place (which will be just a few minutes walk) and then wait for you to come back and mind you your clock is still ticking while you are enjoying the historical beauty of that building or place ! Most people might prefer the Trishaw instead of walking in the scorching sunlight.

The first red building we entered was a church namely Christ Church.This church was built by the Dutch in 1753 to commemorate the centenary of their occupation of Melaka. It took 12 years to build this church !!!!! There are people selling painting just at the entrance of the church .

Photography was not allowed inside the church . Next to this is St.Paul's Church , again a red building. There are lot of street vendors sitting selling small souveniors , hats, caps, umbrellas and other interesting things.

To be continued...