Malacca (state)

Malacca is administratively divided into three districts: Alor Gajah, Central Malacca and Jasin. Malacca city is the state capital and is located in Central Malacca. The other two districts are mostly rural.

• 🌍 Malacca City — the capital city
• 🌍 Ayer Keroh — the administrative centre
• 🌍 Alor Gajah
• 🌍 Jasin

• A'Famosa Resort — theme park resort complete with golf course and safari park located near Simpang Ampat
• Pantai Kundor — nearest beach to Malacca city
• Tanjung Bidara — probably the best beach in the state
• Pulau Besar — resort island, now somewhat dilapidated, off the coast south of Malacca city

Languages spoken in Malacca are Malay, English, and Mandarin, as well as various Chinese dialects (with Hokkien or the Fujian dialect dominating). Unique to Malacca is Baba Malay, a Malay-based creole with strong Hokkien infuences, spoken by the Peranakan or Baba-Nyonya community, and Cristao or Kristang, a Portuguese-based creole, still spoken by the Portuguese Eurasian community.

Several bus companies with mostly old and rickety buses operate the local bus network in the state. Travellers will not really need to use them unless they want to go to the airport, catch a train in Tampin or go for a swim in Pantai Kundor or Tanjung Bidara.

Most local buses operate from Melaka Sentral bus terminal in Malacca. However, there are also irregular buses which serve rural villages from towns like Alor Gajah, Jasin, Lubuk China, Masjid Tanah and Merlimau.

Bus companies are most easily identified by the colour of their buses. Although some have route numbers, destinations are usually displayed clearly at the front of the bus.

• Kenderaan Aziz (red and white): Jasin, Merlimau and Muar (connections to towns in Johor).
• Batang Bus (red and white): Batu Berendam airport, Batang Melaka, Durian Tunggal, Machap, Selandar and Tebong.
• Malacca Omnibus Service (MOS) (Yellow and red): Asahan, Jasin, Merlimau, Muar, Nyalas and Tangkak (for connections to Gunung Ledang, Muar and Segamat in Johor).
• Patt Hup Transport (Blue and yellow): Pengkalan Kempas (for connections to Port Dickson and Seremban, Negeri Sembilan), Kuala Linggi (for connections to Port Dickson), Masjid Tanah, Tanjung Bidara, and Pantai Kundor.
  • For Tanjung Bidara: Take any Kuala, Kuala Linggi, Masjid Tanah or Pengkalan Kempas bus and get off at Masjid Tanah. Change onto a Tanjung Bidara/Kem Terendak bus.
• Salira (Light blue and yellow): Tampin (for connections to Seremban and Gemas, Negeri Sembilan) via Ayer Keroh and Durian Tunggal.
• Tai Lye (Dark blue, red and white): Tampin (for connections to Seremban and Gemas) via Alor Gajah.
• Tuahbas (Yellow and dark blue): Batu Berendam airport, Merlimau.

Traditional Malacca Malay houses can be seen especially in the Merlimau area about 20 km south of Malacca on the coastal road to Muar and Johor. A unique feature of the Malacca Malay village house is its concrete and attractively-tiled front stairway. Most Malays are very house proud and you can see the effort put into up-keeping and gardening.

The Portuguese Settlement in Malacca is occupied by descendants from the Dutch colonial days. Annually, during the weeks preceding Christmas Day, the settlement is brightly decorated for Christmas. Streets and homes are brightly decorated with colourful lightings and ornaments.

During Chinese New Year which normally falls in the month of January or February, the Chinese community will decorate their homes with brightly lit red lanterns and ornaments. These can be especially seen in Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street), Jalan Hang Tuah (Jonker Street) and Jalan Bunga Raya.

• 🌍 Macau Gallery (Peringgit). Gallery about Macau housed in a historical 2-story British bungalow. Free. (updated May 2017)

Visit Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street) where you will see traditional houses dating back to the 17th century. These long and narrow houses were homes of rich families in Malacca. Today, they are mostly shop houses.

Jonker Walk in Jalan Hang Tuah (Jonker Street) is a night market that features products and foods associated with the local Chinese and Peranakan communities. Jonker Walk is only available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 6.00pm onwards.

Some interesting places to see are the Zoo, and the Museum district where there is a particularly good (if small) history museum. If one wants to see a taste of modern Malacca, there is a rather modern shopping mall full of Straits Chinese.

During Chinese New Year festival, these old streets (Heeren Street, Jonker Street, etc) are brightly lit with red lanterns.

The Portuguese Settlement in Malacca is occupied by descendents from the Dutch colonial days.

Peranakan or Baba-Nyonya (Straits Chinese) cuisines are popular among tourists. Most of the Peranakan eateries are located in Malacca Raya and Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street). Baba-Nyonya cuisines are mostly sweet and spicy. Some will serve Durian Cendol, a sweet traditional desert made from palm sugar and durian.

For eating options outside Malacca, many head to two popular seafood eating areas, namely Umbai and Pengkalan Balak. These places only come alive in the evening.

Umbai is located about 11 km south of Malacca on the coastal road to Muar and Johor. If coming from Malacca, turn right when you see the signboard "Jeti Pulau Besar Pernu" just before Umbai town. A row of stalls selling seafood cooked Malay-style located at the end of the road. Catch a Merlimau- or Muar-bound bus from Melaka Sentral and tell the conductor to let you off at "Medan ikan bakar".

Pengkalan Balak is located about 35 km north of Malacca on the road to Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. It is located just next to Tanjung Bidara, Malacca's best stretch of beach. Getting is quite complicated - involving a drive to Masjid Tanah and then to Pengkalan Balak - and almost impossible by public transport.

Malacca is a very safe place with a low crime rate. However, you have to watch out for pickpockets in crowded areas and bag snatchers on motorbikes by the roadside.

Always carry your identification papers (passport) with you because there are random checks by the police for illegal immigrants.

• Kuala Lumpur, 1.5 to 2 hours away from Malacca
• Negeri Sembilan, 1 hour away from Malacca