Sunday, January 3, 2016

Malacca

Hi pallies! I'm back. Hope y'all  had a great Christmas and a wonderful start to the new year.
We spent 2016 in Malacca (Melaka in Malay), a state located in the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia. It was a last minute decision as we all wanted a short weekend getaway before school reopens on January 4th. It had been quite a while since our last family vacation. Now that Josh is in college, his semester breaks and Rodney's school term breaks are no longer concurrent.

A little info about Malacca to share.

The story of Malacca a.k.a "The Historic City of Malaysia" begins with the legendary tale of a Sumatran prince named Parameswara who was out hunting one day and while resting under a tree, witnessed one of his dogs cornering a mousedeer. The mousedeer in its defence attacked the dog and even forced it into a river. So taken up by the courage of the wee creature, the prince decided on the spot to found a city on the ground he was sitting on. Hence, Malacca was born. Many claimed that the prince took this name from the 'Melaka' tree that was shading him. The year was 1400.

Parameswara established the Sultanate Of Malacca and the kingdom flourished under 8 sultans until it fell into the hands of the Portugese in 1511, followed by the Dutch in 1641, and then handed over to the British in 1795. Malacca went briefly under the rule of the Japanese in 1942-1945 during World War II.  In 1957,  Malaysia (known as Malaya then) gained its independence from the British.

The ruins of the A Famosa Portuguese fort, an iconic landmark of Malacca
Me and Josh. Excuse the sloppy dressing! I had to untuck my shirt and unbutton my jeans after stuffing myself with Satay Celup! Burp!
The Stadthuys
Malacca's most unmistakable landmark. This red town hall dates back to 1650 and is believed to be the oldest Dutch building in the East. The building was erected after Malacca was captured by the Dutch in 1641, and is a reproduction of the former Stadhuis (town hall) of the Frisian town of Hoorn in the Netherlands. Today it serves as a museum complex.
The Statue of St. Francis Xavier
Notice the missing right hand. In 1952, a statue of the Jesuit priest from Spain was erected in front of the ruins of St Paul's church in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of his sojourn in Malacca. A day after the statue was consecrated, a large casuarina tree fell on it, breaking off its right arm. Incidentally, the right forearm of St. Francis Xavier was detached in 1614 as a relic!

Satay Celup
No trip to Malacca is complete if you haven't tried their Satay Celup. Celup in Malay translates as "dunk" so Satay Celup is basically skewered seafood. meat or vegetables that are dunked in a pot of boiling peanut sauce. Think Malaysian fondue!
And you can't say you've been to Malacca if you missed out their chicken rice balls!
The rice balls are just rice shaped into ping-pong sized balls but they are more flavourful than ordinary rice and have a sticky texture, kinda like sushi.

We had a great time in Malacca but the boys and I would really have preferred a beach vacation.  Yep, I think I am going to add that to my 2016 list.

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday
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12 comments:

  1. bettyJanuary 3, 2016 at 10:05 AM

    Looked like a nice place for a getaway :) The food alone looked absolutely delicious!

    Happy New Year!

    betty

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  2. LeslieJanuary 3, 2016 at 10:32 AM

    The food looks tasty. Wow, to be surrounded by all that history, I think that's interesting. Happy new year!

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  3. SimoneJanuary 3, 2016 at 8:53 PM

    College???? Oh my goodness!!! Has it been that long? I need to be back more often! How are you?

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  4. Hena TayebJanuary 5, 2016 at 11:19 AM

    Looks like a fun getaway.. thanks for sharing the history of state too

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  5. An Apel a DayJanuary 6, 2016 at 6:50 AM

    I want to go there. It sounds so neat. I love the photos of the ruins!

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  6. BlogorattiJanuary 7, 2016 at 6:44 AM

    Looks like a wonderful trip, warm greetings and best wishes!

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  7. aureliaeugeniaJanuary 9, 2016 at 9:03 AM

    Thanks for sharring this beautiful experience with us! I wish i could visit those plcaes as well! Beautiful pair,by the way ! hugs

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  8. beautybabyandmeJanuary 10, 2016 at 4:36 AM

    Wow such an interesting post! Looks like a lovely break away! #KCACOLS

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  9. UnknownJanuary 10, 2016 at 7:16 AM

    Wow - what a fantastic weekend get away! Love the photos - very interesting. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year! #KCACOLS

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  10. Mommy's Little PrincessesJanuary 10, 2016 at 7:32 AM

    Malacca looks and sounds like an interesting place to visit. I'm so glad you all had such a lovely time there exploring and learning all the history behind it!The food looks good too. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday. Xx #KCACOLS

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  11. Mary (cactus catz)June 26, 2018 at 6:06 PM

    I've been to Malacca once. It's an amazing place with lots of history -- that mix of Dutch history plus the Malay, Chinese and India. So many different kinds of architecture there. I loved it.

    I took a lot of pictures the first day, thank goodness. The second day my camera went on the fritz. I was not a happy camper but went sightseeing anyways. I should look for the filmstrips and see if there is anyway to get them scanned.

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  12. Mary (cactus catz)June 26, 2018 at 6:10 PM

    I forgot about the Portuguese, British and Japanese also taking turns. I think I remembered the Dutch because the red buildings stood out in my mind. The Chinese and India stood out too because I took pictures of the temples. They were very brightly colored compared to the temples I had seen in Japan. (I taught English in Japan and when I was leaving Japan, I did a hopover to Singapore and took the bus up to Malaysia. I went to Malacca and also an island up north. Geez, can't remember the island name. It was gorgeous. This was all decades ago.

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