randomwisdom.com

Just got back from Malacca, which sounds like the name of a creature from Star Wars but is actually a small city in Malaysia.

Speaking of odd names, I have a pop quiz for you. NO CHEATING WITH THE INTERNETS.

"Ringgit" is:
a) A type of monkey which lives in southeast Asia
b) A popular carnival game in Thailand
c) The national currency of Malaysia
d) A city in Indonesia

OK, now that's out of the way, and I can talk about the trip itself.

I found out about Malacca by meeting a girl at Redang beach last week who lives there. She invited me to come see her town. My graceful hosts later informed me that it's a popular tourist destination with lots of local stuff to see. My interest was piqued, I had a guide, and I was ready to go. So I did.

Malacca is a pretty compact town, and you can see most of its sights just by walking around. The big things to see are the old Dutch and Portuguese buildings. The area was settled by Europeans in the 1600s, and they built several Western-style buildings, married the locals, and created a type of Portuguese-Malay fusion food called "Nyonya". One of the most notable is a kind of coconut based soup and noodle curry called "Baba Laksa". The area also has many other Chinese-style dishes that are only found there, or have their own Malacca twist to them. Between the buildings and the food, the town has a very distinct style.

The other thing I noticed about Malacca is that the drivers are SCARY. In the U.S. and also in Japan, every intersection has either a stoplight, a set of stop signs, or at the very least a couple yield signs. Not so in Malaysia. Also, those pesky lines on the road are just decoration. They don't indicate lanes or stop points or anything really. Crosswalks? Ha. You have to wait for a break in traffic, jaywalk, and take your life in your own hands.