LittleSandyBeach

On Saturday morning our first stop in Malacca was to see the maritime museum that is housed within a replica of Flor do Mar, a Portuguese ship that participated in many decisive events in the Indian Ocean between 1502 and 1511.

There were lots of interesting artefacts inside to see including swords, original navigation devices and many different coins used in trading.

Just across the road and included in the ticket was the Royal Malaysian Navy Museum. Its exhibits includes medals of honour, training programs, naval uniforms and equipment.

Outside they also had a large naval vessel on display and lots of different types of guns that have previously been on various other ships in the Malaysian Navy.

On the same road was yet another museum, this one being The Museum of Royal Malaysian Customs Department. This was free and one of the best museums we’ve been to. The museum itself is housed in a building built in the 1890’s by the British to store imported goods.

Inside you learn about the history of the customs department in Malaysia and how over the years they’ve had to adapt to new criminal behaviour. The most interesting part was seeing all the items that they have confiscated. These varied from animal skins, fireworks and many different vehicles.

We then strolled to the city centre where the Dutch Square is. It’s famous for its iconic red buildings and many surrounding landmarks. Malacca clocktower is here and is over 134 years old and also Queen Victoria’s fountain.

Also next to the square is Christ Church. This is a Dutch-built Church built in 1753, making it the oldest functioning Protestant Church in Malaysia.

Just around the corner was also another church called The Church of St. Francis Xavier which was built in a gothic revival style. Saint Francis visited Malacca in the 1545 and established a presence there before moving on.

With it being midday it started getting extremely hot so it was time to get inside! On the walk back we went through a small alley called Art Street to see some of the paintings on the buildings. Here’s a few of our favourites…

In the evening we went to the historic Jonker Street that is famous for its vibrant weekend night market. It started in the 17th century and is named after Dutch Nobles (“Jonkers”) who resided there.

After battling through the crowds along the road we came across a statue of Gan Boon Leong who is known as the father of body building in Malaysia and was also a politician before his death in 2022.

The next day we walked to the Malaysian Prison Museum which is located in the old British colonial prison called HM Bandar Hilir Prison. It’s the second oldest prison in Malaysia.

Once inside we explored many different areas of the prison including the kitchens, cells, washrooms, execution room and staff quarters. It was massive and lots of information on the history of the prison.

We also got to see lots of artwork done by prisoners. Outside we went around the exercise yard, washrooms and also got to see inside the workshop where prisoners made furniture.

Afterwards, as it was nearby we went up to St John’s Fort. Originally it was a Portuguese Chapel but was reconstructed into a fort by the Dutch. Interestingly the canons face inland as during the time they didn’t believe they would be attacked from the sea.

In the evening we went for a walk down the Malacca River past all the colourful buildings and saw lots of sightseeing river cruises. After a couple of kilometres we stumbled across a Vintage Night Market selling second hand clothes as cheap as 10RM (£1.83).

Yesterday in the morning we visited The Proclamation Of Independence Memorial. It shows the journey of Malaysia from Malay Sultanate to their independence.

Located on the hilltop in the centre of Malacca is The Church of Saint Paul. It was built from 1566-1590 making it the oldest European building east of India.

We loved Malacca and its history but today it was time to leave for Johor Bahru. We got a very empty bus at 12pm and arrived 3.5 hours later. We’re here just for two nights before heading across the border to Singapore!