The Unforgettable Travel Accounts: Malacca: The must-see historical sites

Day 2

We had our breakfast at our Aldy Hotel Stadthuys, which was included in our stay. They have a few breakfast sets to choose from, ranging from local Nasi Lemak, Roti Prata to American breakfast with toast bread, egg and sausages. The breakfast was good and the portion was just nice for us. The service of the staff was also great, as they constantly refill our hot tea and coffee. After the breakfast, we were ready for the day.

St. Paul's Church

Our first stop is the St. Paul's Church, located on top of the St. Paul's Hill just in front of our hotel.

View of Aldy Hotel Stadthuys enroute to St. Paul's Church

View of Maritime Museum in the shape a ship, the Flora de Lamar

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The church was originally built by the Portuguese in 1521, which makes it the oldest church in South East Asia. Given its historical value, it is considered as a must-visit attraction in Malacca today. What visitors could see today is only the 4 walls, as the roof of the church had long collapsed.

Interior of St. Paul's Church

Introduction to the St. Paul's Church

There were many old Portuguese tombstones in the church too, which were discovered in the last excavation around the vicinity and later fixed to the church walls.

Tombstones attached along the wall

One could also see the statue of St. Francis Xavier in front of the church, who established a school in the church in 1548. Other than the church itself, the summit of St. Paul's Hill also serves as a good spot to enjoy the view of the Straits of Malacca and the historical city.

malacca st. paul's church st. francis xavier

Statue of St. Francis Xavier

View of Straits of Malacca from St. Paul's Hill

Stairways towards Porta de Santiago

Porta de Santiago

After the church visit, we made our way down the stairs on the eastern side, which led us to the Porta de Santiago (also known as A Famosa). It is a small gate house and the only remaining part of the fortress that used to surround the St. Paul's Hill. It was built by the Portuguese in 1512, making it one of the oldest surviving colonial architectural remains in South East Asia. During the British colonial period, the fortress was almost entirely demolished, only to be stopped by Sir Stamford Raffles and Lord Minto, saving the small gate house that we see today. Other than the gate house, we could also see several replicas of the old fortress cannons around it.

Porta de Santiago

Introduction to Porta de Santiago

Today, Porta de Santiago and the St. Paul's Church are very popular wedding photography sites in Malacca.

Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum

From Porta de Santiago, we took a short walk to the nearby Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum. The structure of the museum is entirely made of wood and is a replica of the actual palace for the ruler of the Malacca Sultanate that existed before the arrival of the Portuguese.

Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum

The museum has 3 storey, and it features the history and cultural heritage of the Malacca Sultanate, the royal court, exhibits of various accessories, costumes, weapons, and musical instruments used by the royal members.

Models depicting the famous legend on the founding of the Malacca Sultanate by Parameswara, which a mouse deer kicked his hunting dog into the river

Scene of a state assembly

Exhibits of jewelleries used by the royal members

Exhibits on the Javanese traders

There's a park in front of the museum, which visitors could enjoy the greenery and flowers.

Lunch at A&W in Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall

After the long morning tour, we went to the nearby Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall to have our lunch at A&W fast food restaurant. Everyone was looking forward to the meal, as most of us had not eaten A&W for a long time, since it is not available in Singapore. We ordered the all-time favourites like Chicken Coney, Curly Fries, Root Beer Float and Waffle with Ice-cream.

A&W Mascot

A&W Meal

Maritime Museum

We continued our tour in the afternoon to the Maritime Museum located by the Malacca River. The museum is in a shape of a 34m tall and 8m wide ship, a replica of the Portuguese ship known as Flora de Lamar, which visitors in Malacca could not have missed it.

Maritime Museum

The museum focus on the maritime history of Malacca, dating from the Malacca Sultanate to the colonial periods of the Portuguese, Dutch and British. The museum also exhibits the various goods traded in the region, such as porcelain, silk, textiles and spices etc, as well as various models of ships that used to trade along the Straits of Malacca. To our disappointment when we arrived at the museum, it was closed for renovation. We could only take photos of the "ship" from outside, before we head to our next attraction.

Malacca River Cruise

The Malacca River Cruise ticketing and departure point is just a short walk from the Maritime Museum. We bought the cruise tickets and waited for a while before we board the boat, which could accommodate a maximum of 40 passengers. The boat ride last about 45 min, starting from the Maritime Museum and then upstream to the Spice Garden before turning back to the start point. The whole journey is around 5.5km long, passing by the several historical buildings, shop houses converted restaurants and cafes, mangroves, and more modern buildings further upstream of the river.

Giant Water Wheel

Christ Church seen from the river cruise

Murals of Zheng He and trading scenes during the Malacca Sultanate

A small theme park by the river

Dutch Square

After the river cruise, we made our way to the Dutch Square for some photo taking, which is the most picturesque landmark in Malacca. The surrounding buildings are all uniquely painted in red and primarily built during the Dutch colonial period as their government administrative centre. The famous infrastructures consist of the Christ Church, The Stadthuys, Clock Tower and the fountain.

Christ Church

The Stadthuys at the background

Clock Tower

Fountain

After the photo taking, part of the group returned to the hotel for rest, while the younger ones continued with another round of shopping at Jonker Street .

Dinner at Tang Shifu in Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall

Our last meal of the day is with the Tang Shifu (汤师父) located in the Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall. Tang Shifu is a popular restaurant chain in Malaysia, which specialise in Chinese soups and cuisines. We ordered different types of soups, such as their Souper Tang Signature Soup, Ginseng Chicken Soup, Scholar Excellence Soup, along with other dishes like Claypot Beancurd, Braised Pork Belly, Stired Fried French Bean etc.