A Stroll Through Historical Malacca

Customers are welcomed by an English-speaking driver-cum-guide (supplements apply for a private guide) who warmly greets you at your downtown Kuala Lumpur hotel. We may encounter some traffic in the morning, but within no time, your driver will head southbound towards Malacca as he/she will explain of what may come while you enjoy the view of the local side of the country. Depending on traffic conditions, the drive will take approximately 1.5 hours before we reach Malaysia’s former port and trading post along the shores of the Malacca Strait. One of the most recognized sites in Malacca is the Dutch Square with its characteristic, pink-coloured Stadthuys, a reminder of the Dutch colonial influences, and one of the main reasons Malacca received UNESCO protection in 2008.

The nearby Red Church with the still-functioning clock tower and the Queen Victoria Fountain offer plenty of photography moments to keep visual mementoes of this day out before we continue to see the Cheng Hoon Teng, the oldest functioning Chinese temple in the whole country. Founded in 1645, this spiritual centre practices the three doctrinal systems, namely Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.

The days when the Portuguese ruled the sceptre over Malacca are visually still present at the Porta de Santiago, the fate to the in 1511-constructed fortress La Formosa with the ruins of the St. Paul’s Church as the spiritual centre for sea merchants and spice traders from Portugal. The church is well-known as one of the more famous settlers - St. Francis Xavier