Today we were on the move to Melaka, 2 hours south of Kuala Lumpur. Our bus tickets cost £2 each and the bus was very comfortable! We got to the station early and waited in the modern waiting area for our bus. They go every half hour to Melaka so there weren't a lot of people getting on, which makes a nice change from Greyhound Australia!

When we arrived in Melaka, we had to figure out where to get the local bus to Chinatown - we asked at information, but still ended up in the wrong place! Luckily a local man pointed us in the right direction. We got chatting to another backpacker who was waiting for the same bus. He was from Sweden, but we didn't learn his name. We spent the bus journey telling him about our travels, and advising him to go to NZ rather than Australia (as he can only fit one in!). We got off the bus in Chinatown, along with about 8 other backpackers - we took up half of the bus! It was raining heavily by now so we sheltered near some shops with our Swedish friend and a German guy who'd joined us. The German guy had one small backpack of hand luggage size and that's all! I wish we'd been able to pack that light! The other 2 didn't have anywhere booked, so were off to find somewhere, whereas we had our directions to the place we'd booked. We were paying £3 each a night for a 10-bed dorm in a small guesthouse which had some really good reviews - they all mentioned a guy called Alan who works there and highly praised him.

We eventually made it to the guesthouse through a gap in the rain and were greeted by Alan, a cockney who was a bit older than us (we were never to find out his real age…or real name!). He made us feel welcome immediately, and showed us around the place, complete with toilets and showers outside in the garden! It was a lovely, friendly place and we felt immediately at home. We left our bags at our chosen beds (all single beds - no bunkbeds!) and went to sit in the reception/lounge area. There was an old Chinese man watching TV who got talking to us. He asked me if I was writing a love letter (I was wiring the diary), and I said no he's right next to me, pointing to Dave. He then said, pretending to be me writing, 'You're so near…yet so far!', and had us in stitches! We soon found out that he is a street performer and plays his violin at the night food market every weekend in Melaka, and at KL Sentral station every Thursday and Friday. I immediately remembered a really bad violin player we'd heard in KL Sentral yesterday…I hope it's not him…

We spent the afternoon sat in the lounge area chatting to Alan and some of the other guests including Arianne from Canada, Justin from Japan, Calum from Scotland and Yanky from Malaysia. Alan had told us about a cheap place to buy beer and took Dave there so we could stock up. An old man called Mr Lee sells cans from his house to help support him and his disabled son - it's a bit of a backpacker legend as it's the cheapest place to buy beer and everyone who stays at our guesthouse goes there!

We were very excited about the night food market which takes place every Friday-Sunday nights. So at about 7pm, us, Arianne, Calum and Justin headed out to find some traditional food. Our first stop was for chicken and rice balls, which were nice but not what we expected - we thought the chicken would be mixed in with the rice but it was separate. Arianne was keen to try Laska, a traditional dish she'd read about in a guide book, so next we headed to a stall serving that. We were each asked how spicy we wanted it; Arianne said less spicy, Calum said spicy, and we both said normal…when it came, it was kind of like a broth with fish and vegetables I, and our 'normal' versions were VERY spicy! We'd all said we didn't want a drink but soon changed our minds! We were offered sour plum juice with lemon so all ordered that…when it came, we all drank thirstily, only to discover it tasted disgusting. To me, it tasted like sea water - not pleasant, but the food was so spicy I drank it all, holding my nose! We all tried our best but I don't think any of us managed to eat half of the Laska. We felt a bit bad when we paid and left, especially when Arianne was asked if she wanted to take her drink in a doggy bag as she'd hardly touched it - she just politely said no thankyou!

Just around the corner there was a treat in store for us - a huge stage for karaoke singers, all Malaysian, and all very serious performers. The stage is a permanent feature, complete with a massive poster of Wayne Rooney advertising 'Mister Potato' aka Pringles! We stood and watched some of the performers, but unfortunately we didn't recognise any of the songs!

Next for us was a frozen, blended kiwi fruit drink which was lovely and refreshing after our Laska! We then came across a stall offering fruit on a stick dipped in chocolate or caramel. We got chocolate covered grapes and Arianne got mixed fruit with caramel - our grapes were delicious! By now we were all full so wandered back through the rest of the stalls and then back to the guesthouse. On the way, we came across the old Chinese man from the hostel playing his violin, and we realised it WAS him that we saw in KL Sentral yesterday. And he still didn't sound very good - oh dear!

We spent the rest of the night drinking beers and chatting with the others, before going to bed at about 1am. So far, we really like Melaka and Jalan-Jalan Guesthouse!