Melaka/Malacca

Melaka has a varied history which is apparent in the architecture styles seen throughout town. There are predominantly Dutch, Portuguese, and Chinese influences and it makes for very interesting wanderings. There's not exactly loads to do in Melaka; perhaps the most interesting sightseeing that I did involved the People's Museum. For the most part, the museum was actually pretty blah, but the third floor contained the "Beauty Museum" which was all about self-mutilation (piercing, tattooing, neck coils, foot binding, that kind of thing) in the name of beauty around the world. Two negatives that the museum had going against it were that 1) the photos were very old copies and of fairly poor quality, and 2) the A/C wasn't working so it was broiling in there. If it hadn't been for those two things, I'm certain I would have read every single word and spent hours taking it all in.

So why did I stay for so long in Melaka - also spelled Malacca, in case you were wondering - when there wasn't much more to do than wander around, talk to cool people, watch DVDs, and eat duck (seriously, it was the best duck ever and I ate it four out of six days!)? Well, I found out the day I arrived that May 1st was Labor Day and was told that getting a bus around that time could be difficult. I figured I'd just leave a day or so after that, but then I was having such a chill time that I decided to stay longer. Then I started looking through an Indonesian guidebook to begin the planning process there and realized that I was going to need more time there than I thought initially. Ultimately I decided that I was going to skip Pulau Tioman (where I'd wanted to do some diving) and Singapore (where I'd only planned to spend two days or so anyway) altogether.

This brings me to the change of plans I mentioned the other day. Hey, guess what? I'm in Indonesia! I took a bus this afternoon from Melaka to KL and then flew to Medan (on an AirAsia flight that I just booked yesterday for $41). It ended up being an expensive day because I missed the bus that would've taken me directly to the airport and instead had to take a taxi once I got to KL, at a cost of RM72 instead of RM22, a difference of $15. Then, I had to check my backpack for the first time ever on this journey and that cost me an extra $10. Ah well, it happens sometimes, I suppose. I'm staying in Medan at a place called Zakia Hotel which, quite honestly, is pretty much crap, but I have my own bathroom for the first time in ages and I get free coffee in the morning. Besides, I'm leaving tomorrow for Bukit Lawang anyway and will only be using this room for 10 hours or so.

Btw, I'm back to being a solo traveler. Rowan left Melaka early yesterday morning and headed to Bali. There's a chance I'll run into him again, but for now I'm on my own.