After sorting things out in KL I went for a few days to Melaka. A town with a lot of history, located on both sides of the Melaka river and close to the Strait of Melaka. Due to this strategic location the town was influenced by many cultures: The old Sultanate of Melaka, centuries of colonization by Portuguese, Dutch, British, and the development of the Straits Chinese culture. After the Japanese occupation during Word War II the independence of Malaysia was declared 1956 in Melaka.

My base for exploring the town was the Jalan-Jalan Guesthouse with it’s incredible helpful Sam. Thanks Sam for everything! The town has a lot of good cafes, I spent quite some time in the “13 States’ Coffee”, where you can get a coffee from coffee beans of all thirteen states of Malaysia. And Melaka offers excellent food. The best Tandori chicken ever at the Pak Putra restaurant. Mhmm!

The second day I went off by bike. Awesome! Could explore some parts of the city a bit further from the tourist hot spot of China town. A lot of hidden backyards, little restaurants and old houses.

During this bike trip I also met the team of the Shadobus. Isabelle & Nicolas (together with their kids and friends who join them during the way) are traveling the world from Singapore back to Europe. In an old public transport bus from Paris!! Wow! That’s just awesome! In Melaka, Emmanuelle & Rainer (and their kids) were on board and I was asked to join them for a beer. Which I did :-) Isabelle, Emmanuelle, Nicolas, Rainer: Thanks for the great time! Isa & Nico: I am still admiring your idea and deeply impressed by your courage! Wish you and your awesome kids the time of your life but am sure, that you will have it! Would love to see you again on the road or even join you for a while (if you are willing to take a German on board who did not manage to learn French in school ;-) @Nico: Thanks for the “un jeune Allemand” :-) Folks: Check out their blog (it comes with an auto translate)!

I ended this great day with a Chinese tea tasting at the Zheng He Tea House. Jion not only introduced me to the art of a Chinese tea ceremony but also told me a lot about Malayan and Chinese culture. Thanks Jion for all your explanations and for serving me delicious tea! Spent a few hours at the Tea House which seems to be a local meeting point. A group of Taiwanese monks invited me to taste some Durian and I could tell Shintaro Makino, the publisher of the magazine “Chari Chari Melaka“, that he does an awesome job!

Inspired greetings!
Michael