Melaka Town Square

It costs MYR 1 to get from Melaka Sentral to town. After a few minutes of travelling, the driver started shouting “Chinatown! Chinatown!” I didn’t realize that it was my stop since I was expecting a different place. After they stopped to pick up another passenger, I quickly and sheepishly got off the bus, taking care not to look at the driver. So here I was again at Melaka. Somehow it feels a lot different from the last time I was here. Back then, it was sort of a group trip and we stayed at a hotel on the other side of the historic area, right beside a mall. This time around, it was totally different, I was on my own, but the town itself feels very different.

How different? Well, for starters, there seemed to be hordes of tourists here in the town square, where most of the tour groups start. There were tourists from all over, but most notably, from Singapore, China and of course Malaysia. There were a lof of these flag-toting tour groups where they practically make the town square their starting point, much like I do.

The town square itself is an attractive little square with done in the typical European small town layout. Melaka was the site of several occupation by foreign forces such as the British, Portuguese and the Dutch. As with any decent European square, major establishments usually surround the square. In this case, the Christ Church of Melaka and the government house used by the Dutch. These buildings were colored an attractive shade of brick red, a color most of the nearby building have taken on.

The town sqaure also has a small fountain where most of the tourists sit down and take photos of each other. Admittedly, I would say this really quite a picturesque place, but only if you can get ride of the numerous tourists all around. Maybe if I wake up early enough they won’t be there yet. Well, that is for another time. I can use this time to re-familiarize myself with the place again.

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