An early start today as we are going to Malacca in Malasia and it is a long journey. There are 6 of us on this trip and besides ourselves are 2 young girls, one Chinese and one French and a couple who live in California but originate from Manila in the Philippines. We were on and off the mini bus like yoyos while crossing the border, first leaving Singapore and then arriving in Malasia but having picked up our guide we were on our way. I was amazed at how green it all was and fascinated by the plantations of oil palms from which they produce palm oil. Malasia is the second biggest producer of palm oil in the world. The other trees which were much in evidence were the rubber trees, these are tapped twice a day and a little cup is attached to the side of the trunk into which the sap drips.
We arrived in Malacca and made our way to the Equatorial Hotel where we were to dine before embarking on our walking tour of the town. Lunch was splendid and we were soon on our way.
The temperature in Malasia is always high as is the humidity which reaches 95%. Today was no exception with a temperature of about 35 deg and very high humidity. As you can imagine we were soon soaked and were glad of the respite which a bit of shade brought. We wandered though the small side streets where people were selling and producing their wares in tiny openings and learnt about the history of Malacca. Prior to independence Malaysia has been governed by the Dutch, the Portuguese and the British and this is evident in the medieval charm, picturesque buildings and narrow streets. Francis Xavier, the founding father of Christianity in Malasia was originally buried here, his remains are now in Goa and his right arm in Rome. To reach his burial place and the remains of the church we had to climb a hill and then steps, this in itself was not too bad but with the humidity we were all very hot when we eventually reached the other side so it was cold drinks all round.
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