PLANET MOORES: Melaka

AKA Melacca, an important port city to traders, pirates, settlers and colonizers of many ethnicities for many centuries, now a UNESCO world heritage and popular tourist site.

At right, a water wheel replica of the type used in the 15th and 16th centuries. It reminded me of those gorgeous, melodious ones in Hama, Syria :-(.

This one is just across the river from our hotel.

Here is T shortly after arrival, consulting the map. I plan the trip, he gets us there and everywhere. This time, with help from Naza, our Malaysian car (pitcured).

First stop, the Menara Tamong Sari, a 250 foot tall revolving tower, which you can ride--whoooosh---up for a view of the city.

Views from above:

in the center, a reconstructed ship in the maritime museum

We hit several museums. We were interested to see the Maritime Museum, housed partly in a reconstruction of a Portuguese caravel ship that did the spice etc. run in the 1500s. But it was disappointing that the reconstruction showed nothing of how the interior was configured--no depiction of cargo, crew's quarters, location of the ship's wheel, etc.

More interesting was the museum on Cheng Ho (AKA Zheng He, Sam Poh), the previously mentioned Muslim Chinese admiral eunuch that T thinks I have a "thing" for. Well, he certainly was an interesting person. Selected by a Ming Dynasty Emperor to travel the world, giving people gifts and establishing good relations (what a concept !), he made seven voyages. Reputedly (in this part of the world), he discovered the Americas 87 years before Christopher Columbus, among other feats. He traveled in a fleet of 280 vessels (and crew of 27,000), which communicated with each other by flags, lights, carrier pigeons and, in time of war, drums. Here is a representation of the fleet, and your intrepid travelers posing in front.

We learned that the Dutch taxed buildings in Melacca based on their width. Hence, a large number of narrow and very long buildings, including the one in which the Cheng Ho museum is housed. It is a beautiful, historic building, established by Zheng He as a place for some of his entourage to base themselves and stock his ships when he passed through.

On a visit to Africa he scored a giraffe which he brought back to China as a gift for the emperor...

Here he is, our 7 foot hero, in a diorama depicting him bringing gifts to some Melaccan prince.

And here, my other hero, enjoying a new love: iced Milo

We pass on a favorite form of local transport: the highly decorated trishaw. Many of them have boomboxes and blare conflicting tunes as they wheel by each other.