Day 5: Singapore to Melaka

-We woke up at 7:15am to catch the MRT to Lavender. There we had to ask around to eventually find the "Golden" bus company. The ride was about 3.5 hours (not the suggested 4 to 5). We stopped at both the Singapore and Malaysian immigration points. Changing buses in Malaysia to head to Melaka. At the Singapore immigration point Marco and me were pulled aside along with the one other white guy on our bus for a 'random' passport check. 

- We spent the bus ride sleeping and reading. Once we arrived we tried to take a bus into town, which turned out to be total chaos. We switched buses twice and everyone just jammed in. Eventually we took a taxi with the other white guy, who turned out to be a German named David.

-We checked in to the Oriental Riverside Hostel (again in Chinatown). The owner was super nice and spent 20 minutes talking to us about what we should do while in Melaka. We settled into our room overlooking the river and then set off.

The Oriental Riverside Hostel on the right:

-We ate lunch at a local haunt named Chop Hung Wah, which is known for their chicken rice balls. Apparently they prepare all the food in the morning and close once it's all finished, which is usually around 2 or 3pm. It was pretty yummy. We then walked around a bit, stopping to look at the Dutch Square and an old Dutch fort.

Bikes used to bring tourists around. They're all covered in bright flowers:

Dutch Square:

Marco at the old Dutch fort:

-The river cruise is one of the big attractions here so we went to do that. It was really nice to see the city/town by water. We saw this huge lizard swimming in the river, which I did not like.

Lizard swimming:

Marco on the cruise, with angry man in background:

The river:

-We eventually ran into David again at a little cafe where we were having a drink. He joined us and we ended up spending the rest of the day together.

-Together we went to look at the temples including Cheng Hoon Teng Temple and Guanyin Temple. We didn't head into the Muslim mosques because it was prayer time. We then walked down Jonker Street, or Jalan Hang Jebat. It's the big street in old Melaka with lots of little stores and restaurants. We went to the Geographer's Cafe, which is pretty big among tourists and backpackers alike.

St. Xavier Francis' Church:

The Mosque:

A statue on the Jonker Walk:

One of the Buddhist temples:

-For dinner we went to Malaysia 13 State Coffee's. The boys had a spicy chicken thing and I had sesame chicken. It was super yummy.

-We made plans to meet up with David in Kuala Lumpur and then went back to the hostel to sleep!