December 16th - 17th

Off to Melaka today (Malaysia's third smallest state which is also listed as a UNESCO world heritage site). Caught a bus out of KL and arrived about 1.30pm, grabbed lunch and then caught another bus into the main centre.

Found our hostel no problem but it took is a while to get in as the owner was not answering the door - this guy was so laid back he was practically horizontal. We had to wait another hour to get into our 'room' as he was actually fixing it up……I watched as he walked passed me with a power drill to fix one of the cupboards! Sooooo, urm, I use the term 'room' loosely - was more like a balcony that had been made into a room with some makeshift walls and a corrugated iron roof.Nice holey mosquito net was the finishing touch - Paul thought it all had a rather rustic charm, not quite sure he found the outside squat toilet and shower room all too appealing. Still, what did we expect for £7 a night.

We spent the next day and a half just exploring the town really. We hired bikes and had a cycle round - we'd done most of the centre in a few hours as the place is so small. Saw some old churches, temples and explored the little Chinese quarter. It's quite a little melting pot of a city as it was once busy port ruled by the Portuguese the Dutch and then the British - so that are a whole range of different influences.

Spent one evening at a local acoustic night and then went to the cinema the next - it's so much cheaper out here, was like £5 for the both of us! Again, we managed to see some impressive storms on account of it being monsoon season.

Off to Singapore tomorrow.