Malacca's history was official recorded when the Sultan of Kedah ceded the state (then under his control) to Francis Light of the British East India Company in 1786. In exchange, the Sultan was promised British military protection from the Siamese by the crafty Light who had, in fact, no such backing. When the Siamese invaded, there was no help rendered to the Sultan. He attempted to retake Malacca back in 1790. The attack was unsuccessful and Malacca continued to remain under British control with an additional strip of mainland added in 1800. The Sultan was paid 10,000 Spanish Dollars per annum in return. Through the decades, Malacca flourished as a centre for trade of tea, spices, china and cloth. It remained under British rule until it became part of Malaysia in 1957 during Independence Day.
MALACCA
RIVER
Melaka River was once dubbed the ‘Venice of the East’ by European seafarers as it was a prominent port of entry for traders from Europe and Asia during the late 16th century. Spanning a total distance of 10km, it is also believed to be where Malacca was founded by Sumatran Prince Parameswara, who built his palace along the east side of the riverbank (at the foot of St. Paul’s Hill) in the 1400s. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction primarily because of the 45-minute River Cruise, which offers tranquil views of colonial buildings, antiquated shophouses, local settlements and ancient bridges as well as modern decorations and local art displays within Malacca. Read on to discover some of Melaka River’s unique sightseeing opportunities.
RIVER OF BRIDGE
The Melaka River winds its way from Dutch Square and goes past Tan Boon Seng Bridge. During the Portuguese invasion of Malacca, theyseized this bridge and cut off communications between the two sides of the river, effectively dividing Malacca into two and leading to Malacca’s defeat.There are a few other bridges along the Melaka River worth mentioning. Besides the Tan Boon Seng Bridge, there is the ‘Ghost Bridge of Malacca’ (a pedestrianbridge which links Kampung Pantai to Kampung Jawa) and the Old Market Bridge (which links Kampung Hulu to Jalan Kee Ann and the old Central Market). It usedto be a picturesque scene of fishing boats berthed along the riverbanks here, but it is now mostly rows of Chinese restaurants. Fun fact: one of theserestaurants was featured in the Hollywood blockbuster Entrapment, starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones.
CHAN BOON CHENG BRIDGE
Also on the Melaka River is the historical Chan Boon Cheng Bridge. It used to be a concrete structure until major renovations in 1963 led to its current steel façade. In the early 20th century, it linked the old quarter of Chinatown (then known as Kampung Pantai) on the west side of the riverbank to the new quarter of Chinatown (via Jalan Bunga Raya) on the east side. The bridge is also known for its gruesome past. During the Japanese occupation, Japanese soldiers placed the severed heads of their victims at the foot of the bridge as a not-so-gentle reminder for locals to toe the line.
JONKER STREET
Jonker Street – the centre street of Chinatown – was once renowned for its antique shops. However over the years it has turned to clothing and crafts outlets as well as restaurants. The best part of Jonker Street is the night market on Fridays and Saturdays that sells everything from tasty treats to cheap keepsakes.
JONKER WALK NIGHT MARKET
It is a commonly acknowledged fact that Malacca's Jonker Walk Night Market is the best in the country. Well organised with a wide array of stalls, polite and friendly hawkers, ubiquitous bargains as well as live music coursing throughout the area, Jonker Walk comes to life in full colour with a lively street party-like atmosphere. As the night market takes place every Friday and Saturday night, the handful of bars along this avenue does a roaring business with tables and chairs spilling out onto the five-foot walkways. Visitors are spoiled for choice when it comes to delicious food; from piping hot grilled meat on skewers to Chinese delicacies like bak chang (sticky rice stuffed with meat and wrapped in bamboo leaves), dim sum, and popiah (fresh spring roll), visitors can easily browse through the many stalls and live performances in Jonker Walk Night Market.
Opening Hours: Friday & Saturday: 18:00 – 00:00
Location: Jonker Street
BABA NYONYA HERITAGE MUSEUM
The Baba-Nyonya Heritage Museum is a collection of three beautifully restored houses arranged to resemble a conventional 19th-century Baba-Nyonya residence. Excellent examples of Chinese-Palladian style, these townhouses, built in 1896, were transformed into a traditional Peranakan museum in later years; connected by a common covered footway, the museum features hand-painted tiles, elaborately carved teakwood outer swing doors and a sturdier internal door which provides extra security. Framed by Greco-Roman columns, two red lanterns, one bearing a household name and the other messages of good luck, hang on either side of the entrance. The best parts of this tour are the guides who regal guests with Baba Nyonya tales of yore with noticeable Peranakan wit during the informative 45-minute tours.
Opening Hours:10 am - 12.30 pm & 2 pm - 4.30 pm (Monday & Saturday)
Address: 48-50 Jalan Tun Cheng Lock 75200 Melaka
Tel: +606 283 1723
AYER KEROH ATTRACTIONS
Established by Parameswara in the 1390’s, Malacca is Malaysia’s historical pride and joy. Under his rule, it thrived, emerging as a successful international port so esteemed that Portuguese writer Tome Pires once said ‘Whoever is Lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice’. This port lured Javanese, Indian, Arab and Chinese traders and soon caught the interest of expansionist Europeans. As time went on Malacca gained its freedom – along with the rest of Malaysia – and nowadays boasts beautiful architecture and good fare. Ayer Keroh – located on Malacca’s outskirts – is a sleepy backwater with scanty activity options and is simply a visitor’s complex of hotels and trivial attractions. Although it has been publicised as a key Malaccan tourist site, since it is home to a hotchpotch of attractions such as the Melaka Zoo and the Butterfly & Reptile Sanctuary, this area is mostly rural. There’s not much dining, nightlife and shopping but the few parks here are must-see sightseeing attractions.
Butterfly & Reptile Sanctuary is a tourist attraction in Ayer Keroh, about 15km northeast of Malacca town. Also known as Taman Rama Rama, it is home to a collection of animals ranging from beautiful butterflies to snakes, lizards, crocodiles, koi fish and even a pair of gorgeous golden leopards. Spread across an 11ha jungle area, the complex is part secondary jungle and part landscaped park. The well-maintained sanctuary was opened in 1991 and is divided into five sections: the Koi River Valley, Butterfly Garden, Reptile Aviary, Wild Photo Lane and Nature’s Art Centre. First up is the walk-through Butterfly Garden, the Butterfly & Reptile Sanctuary’s premier attraction. It is a place where hundreds of butterflies, simply bursting with colours, fly freely. The garden has more than 20 different species of butterflies, including the Black and White Helen, Malayan Birdwing, and the Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing (Malaysia’s National Butterfly, named after Sir James Brooke, the ‘Raja’ (King) of Sarawak). Also be sure to visit the Reptile Aviary where snakes such as boas, pythons, vipers and cobras can be found at the Butterfly & Reptile Sanctuary. Check out the giant Burmese python and the 20ft reticulated python; non-snake lovers had better watch out for the long-nose whip snakes (with their slender twig-like bodies and green scales) camouflaged in the leaves of trees in this aviary. Just past the lizards exhibit you can see a small closed-off section of the park where crocodiles live: they look pretty lazy and it seems like the only movements you see are when they move their heads. Also in this section is a cage with a pair of golden leopards. They are a gorgeous duo and feeding time is obviously a sight to see.
The best way to cool down on a hot and sticky day in Malacca is to do some splashing around at the spanking-new Melaka Wonderland Theme Park & Resort. Built in Ayer Keroh – Malacca’s tourist attraction-laden quarter – the highlights of this multi zone park are its high-speed water slides and thrill rides. Surrounded by 360 hectares of natural recreational forest, this brand-new park features a whopping two million litres of water. All in all this water theme park features 16 exciting attractions including the Lazy Cum Crazy River, the 1 Big Wave pool, the Adventure Island, Anaconda Twist, The Pendulum as well as a multitude of other attractions. The park is so close to the Malacca city centre that staying over in Ayer Keroh isn’t necessary; but if you do choose to stay, there are plenty of affordable accommodation choices available – in fact Melaka Wonderland will soon boast a theme park hotel. This water park is essentially another one of Malacca’s great draws – take a break from a day of sightseeing and spend a day of wet fun in the sun. Featuring numerous adventure rides and water slides including the Tornado Chaser – where you are sent rotating down a giant ‘bowl’ – and the Kamikaze Racer – a high-speed thrill ride on which you can race head-first and side-to-side down six lanes.
Malacca Planetarium Adventure Science Centre, aka Melaka Planetarium, is a learning centre dedicated to the exciting world of astronomy and science. Opened in 2009, the planetarium is right beside the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC), approximately 20 minutes from the Ayer Keroh toll plaza. The three-storey, Islamic-inspired complex houses multiple exhibition areas together with a cafeteria, a library and also Malaysia’s largest dome theatre for periodical movie screenings. Aimed to spread awareness and cultivate an interest in space science amongst children the Malacca Planetarium offers an insight of the amazing Milky Way, with attractions such as the solar system alley (depicting information about the sun and surrounding planets), and cosmic alley (light boxes with information on deep space objects like black holes and galaxies). For those who would like a hands-on experience, the planetarium also has space flight simulators for those astronaut-wannabes, and replicas of both the Malaysian satellite and the Hubble space telescope for those who would like a closer inspection of this coveted exploration equipment. The 2-D projection screens deserves a mention too; the history of rocket science and how it has advanced to developing technologies of missiles and space exploration is relayed, with details on key persons and important events throughout the movie. The galaxy getaway is a noteworthy part of Malacca Planetarium, with info kiosks equipped with recorded sounds of space received by radio telescope. It might be a little eerie listening to these sounds at first, but it really does make you aware of the vast universe we’re all a part of! The second floor of Malacca Planetarium is dedicated to its state-of-the-art full dome 3-D space theatre, with a range of 3-D films for visitors of all ages to enjoy. With a seating capacity of 200 and show-times as frequent as nine times on a weekend, visitors are encouraged to enrich their experience through these educational documentaries and movies, which has a running time of less than an hour. Other facilities in Malacca Planetarium include a library where visitors can browse through space-related books and news, a cafeteria serving thirst quenchers and local favourites, and an aerospace souvenir kiosk for those interested in purchasing astronomical gift items such as telescopes. The space centre also provides facilitators for those who would like a tour with narration, and also special programmes for primary and secondary school students. Both are subject to availability, so call and book ahead if you’re interested. Malacca Planetarium Adventure Science Centre.
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 09:15 – 18:00
Address: Kompleks MITC, Hang Tuah Jaya, Ayer Keroh, Malacca
Tel: +606 232 2424
Price Range: Adult RM10; students RM8; senior citizen and children under seven years old
TANJUNG KLING ACTIVITIES
The Everly Resort Hotel is now the only Tanjung Kling seafront facility with windsurfing, kayaking, banana-boats, scuba diving lessons, water skiing, deep sea fishing and island hopping trips. The water is clear and the sands are clean but there’s not much space to lie down for a good tanning session.
Address: Everly Resort Hotel 10 Km, Jalan Tanjung Kling, 76400
Tel: +606 281 7388