Well our train ride from Singapore in 2nd class was excellent. More leg room than I;ve ever had on a train before and the air conditioning was good. All that was for under a tenner!!! The train was a little rocky but pretty smooth and we didn't go more than about 40mph. Then after a while we came to a halt and loads of the men seemed to be getting off and walking down the track. It was obvious something was going on but we didn't have a clue what. THe old lady near us was trying to do symbols but none of us knew what a bent index finger meant! She had been staring at me and Brett the whole way though just fascination and couldn't take her eyes off us when we spoke. ANyway evcentually we realised we'd hit someone on the track. People weren't worried and there was a general sense of amusement on board! Then the people that worked on the train walked by so we asked them what had happened and they said "we knocked someone down!' Well after another half hr we got underway again. Not sure exactly what happened whether it was suicide or not but we were in the middle of nowhere so not sure why someone would be on the track. It was amazing how non-fussed everyone was by it. We rolled into Tampin nearly 2 hrs late and nobody batted an eyelid and we got a taxi to our Inn. Well what luxury! Air conditioning that enables me to even have a thin blacket and an en-suite all for 6 pounds!!! THe man was really helpful at reception too. The roomw as massive with a tv! Melacca was really interesting.

It was a really good history of Portuguese, Dutch, British, Arabic and Malay rule and the food is delicous andsd so so cheap. We paid about 80p for a meal and had freshly squeezed juice for about 15p. We stayed in Chinatown and there are loads on antique places which are really interesting. We went to laods of temples and had a look at a mosque. It was hot and the sun stronger than Singapore but less humid so a lot better. Chinatown was very Chinese and we saw the oldest temple in Malaysia. We also went to a shoe makers for bound feet. The Chinese women that were already wealthy but wanted to marry someone rich used to bind their feet. I;'d heard of it and thought they would be about size 1 or something but they are TINY. We saw pictures where the toe grow under the foot. The shoes are literally the size of a 1 yr olds and they found it painful to walk and had to hold on to thinkgs as they had no balance. ANywya this shoe shop is the only one to still make teh shoes and there are still some old Chinese women about to buy their shoes frpom there as in was outlawed about 70 yrs ago. ANyway I was fascinated and got a pair of these tiny shoes!!!!! They cost 8 pound and the man reckoned he is the only person anywhere to make them. Well they aren't made in China cos it's illegal and I'm not sure if I beleieve him but they are certainly very rare. I feel they are an investment for the future, who knows what they will be worth when all the old Chinese ladies have died and no one needs the shoes. I might keep them though cos I think it's a piece of history. Well I managed to go on a bit of a (very cheap) spending spree and got chopsticks and an antique Chinese jewellry box for 6 pounds which is really nice. I may have to ditch or post home a few bits of clothes but it's worth it for my new shoes and box!!!!!! We saw the light and sound show and the contrast between MALAYSIA and Singapore is immense but I definitly prefer Malaysia. We saw the Church of St Paul and laods of other historical buildings and went into a museum about Cheng Ho which was really interesting. It seems he found Australia before Ltn Cook! Anyway I am really really glad we went to Melacca as I think it's an authentic Malay city rather than the other more developed areas we'll see. Plus I can't get over the cheapness!!!!!