Our fifth grade takes an overnight to Malacca (aka. Malaka) each year, a culminating excursion to close out their cultures unit….a trip like this must have the principal in attendance!!!!

Malacca is a city of about 185,000 people about an hour and a half drive south of Kuala Lumpur, situated right on the Straits of Malacca. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sight since 2008. It is a definitely a city crafted by the fusion of multiple cultures.

Quick history…Malacca was establish around 1262 by Parameswara, a local Shah, and developed it into an international port, known for trading porcelain and silk. The Chinese landed around 1403 and there was relative peace for about a century. Malacca rivaled any port in the world and was a key cog in the spice trade. In 1509 the Portuguese arrived and ruled Malacca for 130 years. In 1641 the Dutch took control until 1795 when the British took over. Melacca was under British control until WWII when the Japanese took control of the Malay Peninsula. This rule lasted three years, returned to British rule in 1945. Finally in 1956, independence was won for Malaysia. Today you can find remnants of all the ruling cultures throughout the city.

The old part of the city is amazing…you feel you go back in time. Narrow, narrow one-way streets. You really feel the Dutch influence…on many of the door steps were tile from Holland. Many of the homes were built when the Chinese controlled the city. Places of worship seem to be on every block. Houses used to be taxed based on street footage, so the buildings are thin, long and tall. In front of Christ Church is the congregation of peddle bikes. Story has it that at one time all the bikes looked alike. The bikers would win over customers by calling out and using their personality. One biker decided to adorn his trike with flowers…gaudy plastic flowers on the handlebars, around the customer seating area, on the spokes. He quickly became the “go-to” cart for tourists coming to town. Didn’t take long for the others to do the same and soon there was a competition to see who could have the most decorated bike. Today these colorful bikes carry tourist all over town. At night they all light up and play music as loud as possible…rock, Abba, Beach Boys…and the people love it.

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We visited many places of worship and it was so nice to have students of every religion in our group. At the Mosque, four of our Muslim students showed everyone the rituals of prayer…they stood by a pool of water, washed their eyes to wash away anything bad they saw, washed their ears to wash away anything bad they heard, and so on. At the Hindu Temple, several of our students from India and Pakistan showed their worship practices…the same at the Buddhist Temple and the Christian churches…such an education.

The Malacca River runs right through town. Reminiscent of the San Antonio River Walk, Same as in San Antonio, barges ferry people up and down the River. Shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels crowd together along the banks. The only difference…the Malacca River is home to Monitor Lizards!!! We saw several on our cruise.

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Fun trip, our kids were spectacular…so well behaved, polite and inquisitive. They had to find evidence of what happens when cultures meet. This was the perfect place to explore that concept.

I shall return, next time with Heidi…and instead of staying at the very budget Baba House (who went out of their way to accommodate all our kids) we will find a spot with a nice spa for Heidi. Quite the city, Malacca !!!