After successfully retrieving my bike in Singapore, it

was time to move into Southeast Asia.  Our first stop

was Melaka - an old Malaysian city that has suffered

through Portuguese, Dutch, British, and Japanese rule

before finally gaining independence in 1957.

Diana took the bus from Singapore to Melaka, and I

rode the 150 miles on the bike.  There are two bridges

out of Singapore - one in the north and one in the

west.  The north causeway is the most heavily used,

but several taxi drivers had warned me that it gets

very busy and crowded.  They suggested that I take the

western causeway at Tuas instead.  I was leery that

they might not know how to handle my carnet at the

smaller crossing, but I needn't have worried.

From Singapore I rode the 20 kms to the Tuas causeway.

 Once there they stamped my passport and my carnet in

about 10 minutes.  After that I rode across the

causeway into Malaysia.  Somewhere at Singapore

customs I think I was supposed to use my Autopass card

(that I had made a special trip to purchase!), but I

didn't see where to use it so I just crossed into

Malaysia.  No one shouted or waved at me, or shot me,

so I guess it wasn't too serious to skip the Autopass

:-)  I had it in my pocket just in case.

Once in Malaysia I was immediately on very nice toll

roads.  Even better, motorcycles don't have to pay the

tolls!  Each toll booth has a convenient path for

motorcycles to go right around the booth.  I like

this!  The roads also have little marked motorcycle

parking spots under the bridges for motorcycles to

pull into when it rains.  Malaysia appears to be a

very motorcycle-friendly country - my kind of place!

I soon discovered why they have the spots under the

bridges - it rains frequently :-)  As I rode the 2

hours to Melaka I passed through several rain showers

- some light and some harder.  But the temperatures

were so warm that I didn't mind getting wet.  I just

zipped up my jacket and kept riding.  Soon enough I

was through the shower and my jeans and jacket were

drying out.

The countryside is covered in lush tropical forests -

the hillsides are covered with banana and other

large-leafed trees.  I saw lots of trucks hauling

Durian and other exotic fruits.  The air smells of the sickly-sweet Durian.  It was all beautiful and strange.

As I got closer to Melaka this pastoral paradise

changed.  Too soon I was riding through crazy city

traffic.  Malaysia has thousands of shrieking mopeds,

and they buzz around you on all sides.  They pass on

the left, on the right, on the shoulder, across the

centerline.  All of this is disconcerting, but the car

drivers expect it and are watching for it.

Unfortunately, the car drivers also expected me to

drive like that, and they continually crowded me to

the edges.  It became clear that when in Malaysia I

would have to ride like a Malaysian to stay safe.  I

quickly got the hang of riding on the shoulders, going

straight to the head of the queue at red lights,

passing anywhere - in summary, breaking every traffic

law I had ever learned.   All in the name of safety,

you understand :-)

Once in downtown Melaka I found the hotel at which

Diana and I had agreed to meet.  It was the middle of

the afternoon, and it was very hot and humid, so I

hung out at a cafe drinking ice tea until Diana's bus

arrived.  Our hotel was in an old building in the

middle of Chinatown.  The old Dutch buildings from the

17th century and the narrow streets give the area lots

of character and it was a convenient location to

explore the city on foot.

Over the next days we explored the various colonial

centers of the city.  First the Portuguese fort and

museum, then the Dutch buildings, and finally the

Malay museum.  

Another nice surprise about Malaysia are the prices.

Both Australia and Singapore had been quite expensive,

but everything is much cheaper in Malaysia.  I'm

paying about $1.25US per gallon of gas, much better

than the $5+ I was paying in Australia.  We ate meals

in Melaka for $5 per person, including beer.  Our very

nice hotel room was about $40 for two people.

Everything else was similarly inexpensive.  Our US

dollars were going a lot further here than in

Australia and Singapore.

Like in Singapore, we had arrived in Melaka on the eve

of another national holiday - the King's birthday this

time.  It seemed like everyone was out celebrating the

holiday, and the Friday and Saturday markets in

Chinatown were packed with people strolling, listening

to music, and eating.  Interestingly, there were very

few other caucasians to be seen anywhere, but lots of

Chinese tourists mixed with the local Malaysians.

Melaka is quite an interesting city and worth spending

a few days.  We found it's best to explore in the

mornings before it gets too hot.  Then find somewhere

cool in the afternoon, before heading out again in the

evening.  And wherever you go, be prepared to dodge

those buzzing mopeds!

Next, on to KL.

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