Waking up rather early for a swan boat ride on the Taiping Lake Gardens, we all were greeted with disappointment that it was closed. Heading down the green North-South expressway, E1 to Kuala Lumpur, we visited my aunt who lives in Petaling Jaya. At PJ, they have really good chasew bows, and many other pastries at shops. Kuala Lumpur is a dense city, needing one hour to get from north to south in little traffic. An annoying thing about Kuala Lumpur is all of the tolls. Pretty much each expressway is tolled, and most of the highways.
Melaka is a UNESCO heritage city, and was dependent on the ups and downs of colonial powers. Overtaken in port, agriculture, and tourism by nearby Singapore and Penang, Melaka used to be a dying and failing city. However, tourism has really helped turn this place around. Tour buses line many streets. The Eye on Malaysia is also in Melaka, as well as a lot of museums.
After a lengthy sprint from Taiping, the drive finally ended in a surprisingly busy and traffic filled one way town. Old colonial buildings such as churches met our pleasant Holiday Inn.
Dinner was at a very clean hawker center just to the right of the main brick road heading East. This was the first time on the trip that I had satay, and it certainly did not disappoint. Some travel just to go to a hotel that is a mirror of home. Others for food. Or others just for the plain experience of a different, unique town, like Melaka.
No comments:
Post a Comment