Day Trip to Malaysia

It's the weekend, and I took Saturday to take a day trip across the border to the state of Melaka in the country of Malaysia. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula. The state of Melaka is predominantly Muslim (66%). The population of Melaka is 57% Malay, 32% Chinese (including Peranakan), and smaller groups of Indian, Kristang, and Dutch Eurasian.

We took a charter bus from Singapore to the city of Melaka. You have to go through customs leaving Singapore, and then again entering Malaysia, and similarly on the way back you have to separately check-out of one country before the check-in stop. Once across the border we had a quick breakfast stop (ate some hot noodles, dim sum, and hot tea) before getting to Melaka for our lunch stop. Along the way we saw all the Palm trees that are farmed to produce palm oil. It took about 3.5 hours to get there. Lunch was tasty Nonya cuisine, from the Peranakans (ethnic/cultural blend of Chinese and Malay).

Then, we walked down Jonker Street, popular for its shopping! I enjoyed browsing the shops, the interesting street food (see the picture of the candy-man chipping away pieces of candy), and had a refreshing star fruit juice at the Geographer's Cafe. Then, it was back on the bus to head back to Singapore, stopping for dinner before crossing the border for another big family-style meal.