Malacca, Malaysia 3-24-10

A 2 hour bus ride to Malacca from the port of Port Klang was interesting for sure. Early on, we passed condos that if someone asked you where you were, you might have said Orlando. It looked like new development in Florida. The we reached an area that was nothing but what a regular person would call palm trees. They were. However, these palm trees produce the palm oil that the people in Malaysia use for many purposes.
When we arrived in Malacca, we went to the oldest part of town to tour an old museum of a house that was owned by a wealthy. Very interesting. These people lived a wonderful life. They had huge houses, even though their front doors were tiny. The reason the doors were tiny was that back then, you had to pay taxes on your house by how large your front door was. They built narrow homes with many floors with very small openings on the front door. The built in security system was ingenious. The master bedroom was located right above the front door. Back then, there were chamber pots in the bedroom. The Peranakans built their homes with a 4x4 inch hole in the floor of the master bedroom. If someone was at their door trying to break in, they would open the 4x4 inch hole and if they did not know who was standing there, they would dump what they had in their chamber pots onto the heads of the intruders!! No cameras needed! The intruders left...maybe a little smelly!
We were able to tour the town on a walking tour and saw the oldest church, or the ruins of, in southeast Asia. It actually was where St. Francis, attended mass regularly when he was in Malaysia and when he died this was his burial place until they dug him up and moved him to Goa, India where he lays at rest today.
HOT! These people get no relief from the sun or the heat of any kind. No spring and no fall. Just hot. The kind of hot like you have in August in Alabama in the summer with no rain in sight and no hope for any! The kind of hot that hats and umbrellas make it tolerable for a little bit longer, but not really. The kind of hot that makes the average white family from Alabama burn in less than 30 minutes poolside! True story sadly.
Glad we went. Glad we survived the long day. It was a day of long bus rides and long walks in the heat.
Learned a lot. Had a great LONG day. Pictures to be posted.