Southern Region – Page 5 – Simply cycling around

Melaka, visit with Abdou and Bilel

As I said previously we are now visiting the city of Melaka. Yesterday I planned to visit this museum (Sultanate Palace Museum) but I went out too late and it was closed. Finally, because I’m staying here one more night and Abdou and Bilel want me to be their guide for the day. Well, I visited only few places until now and I don’t know if there is much more. There is a lot of museums but not all of them are interesting from what I’ve heard. At the end of the day, we got nearly to the same places that I visited yesterday except the submarine which is too far by walk.

Melaka, Abdou and Bilel

Hello, as usual, I’m still late on my blog. This evening I met two guys from Tunisia. Abdou and Bilel. They speak French. As soon as they knew I we could speak the same language they did not want to speak english anymore. Well, that’s a while I’ve met some French speaking people so this is okay for this time :-) When they realised I’m cycling around they decided to offer me a drink and we went out to find a place. I might stay one more night finally so we could visit Melaka tomorrow together.

Melaka, submarine visit

Today, I’ve decided to visit a special museum, a submarine. I’ve never had the occasion to see how it looks inside so I’ve been cycling those 7km from Melaka city centre and got here. The entrance is 3MYR ($1) which is very cheap. There is no guided tour unfortunately but for the price we cannot complain :-)

Melaka, second visit

Today from 4pm, when the weather is not that hot, I’ve decided to have another go cycling in the city of Melaka (or Malacca). Melaka is a world heritage city since the 9th July 2009 and has a characterial city centre. It divides by the river of the same name (sungai Melaka). The most evident thing about this place is the multicultural side and the several architecture you can find all combined together. Maybe I miss it very much I don’t know but I feel I was in Disneyland again in some part of the city. Especially with those taxi-bicycle that have took over the place.

Melaka, visit and eating around

Since I came in Melaka, I didn’t take many pictures around. For lunch and dinner I’m always going out because there is no kitchen in the backpacker where I stay. The food is very cheap here so I can keep under 10$ for now. Later, when I will start travelling, I will try to stay under 6$ budget like in Indonesia. Maybe I will have to cook one meal per day. For now, between my blog sessions I’m going out at different time per day, to get some “fresh” air and have something to eat. Most of the time, I’m front of my laptop. I won’t leave Melaka before my blog is completely updated and this one is my last post!

Dumai (10km) > ferry express (~120km, 1h20) > Malacca (5km)

I’ve been telling that story for a while now: “I’m going to Dumai to catch a ferry to Malacca, Malaysia”. I’ve learned how to say it in Indonesian: “Saya mau pergi Dumai dan ferry di Malacca, Malaysia”. Today is the day, I got there :-) This morning we did a photoshoot with the family, friends and neighbours. The man I met yesterday, his wife and their son guided me through to city. Firstly we went to the place where to purchase the ferry ticket (300.000 IDR about $30 AUD) and then to the ferry station. I don’t know the address as I was following the guy through the city on his scooter. Few minutes later I was going towards Malacca at a pretty fast speed. The trip last around 1 hour and 20 minutes. When arrived I pass through the immigration. It was much faster than I thought it would be! That’s cool! Then I’ve cycle to my accommodation where I will stay few days and especially work on my blog. I took some time to have a short visit of this new city.