I Like Melaka.

When you've got the chance to hop on a bus and drive to another country, you take it. I think it's where I grew up that created this fascination to being able to drive to another country. I mean, sure, you could grab 30 hours worth of music and jaunt down to Mexico or go straight north for a few hours and make it to Canada from my home state; but for some reasons, Mexico and Canada doesn't seem as foreign as it would seem if you packed a basket full of bread and cheese for a picnic in neighboring Germany or France. So before I'd even left for Singapore in November, I knew I'd need to drive up to Malaysia. I just had to. 

That day came the weekend over Chinese New Year; I had day off work so my Latvian friend Laura and I got up bright and early to bus over to Melaka. Once we'd passed the Singapore border (a short bridge over the ocean, gone through customs, etc)  we left the glitzy high rise behind and entered into and into the oceans and oceans of palm trees which was Malaysia. A rest stop gave me a first taste of Malaysia which made me love it instantly; pineapple for around $0.20. The jungle soon transformed into the city, though not in the sense of Singapore.. Streets were fringed with run down homes, derelict yet painted in shades of bright turquoise and corals, tiny shops poked between foliage, selling bowls of noodles and cigarettes — it vaguely reminded me of India. The bus hub was busy and there was a fight for a cab. I knew I'd been in Singapore too long when I lined up for "my turn" at the taxi queue. In Singapore, you can't really hail a cab off the street — you find a taxi queue, and wait your turn in a very orderly fashion. Sometimes, there's even a type of official who ushers in the taxis and makes everything run quite smoothly. In Malaysia, you had to elbow your way past people and grab your driver first hand. But we got to our hostel A-OK and were eager to get out exploring the minute we dropped off our bags at the hostel. 

10/10 would recommend this hostel. 

Stop one was the oldest Chinese temple in Malaysia, where a sweet lady insisted we empty the bin of mandarin oranges into our bags; we obliged, of course. The dragon painted doorways and burning incense brought a wave of China nostalgia; I miss those temples. I quietly snapped a few pictures, watching a few locals worship and pray — it's always been something I've felt a little uncomfortable with, being able to create a place of worship like a tourist spot since no one seems to stop by my LDS chapel to pose in front and post onto Snapchat. But I digress. 

The river cruise was a suggestion made by our helpful hostel staff and we took them up on the offer — the boat ride gently guided us down a river that cut through fabulous mural walls, splashed with geometric patterns, depictions of dim sum and vivid faces — I really like wall murals, so yes, I really like Melaka. The cruise ended  just at sunset and the small city was thrown into darkness, which made things only that more fun. The crowds really came out, throes of people swarmed around these hilarious lit up rickshaws I couldn't stop photographing. Plush toys were zip-tied to create a backrest to the seats which were strung up with vibrant LED lights, complete with obnoxiously loud soundtracks that pumped out a beat you could hear for miles. I was partial to the Pokemon/Pikachu model. 

Not pictured: Frozen, Hello Kitty, and other Pokemon versions. 

The sea of people pushed us towards Jonker street; an alley we'd passed earlier in the day but wouldn't be able to recognize now. Tables lined the streets, piled high with vendors shouting out their wares. Oh, and the buzz of a hand mixer being shoved into an entire watermelon. Yep, you could buy a whole watermelon that had a small hole cut out of the top: a hand mixer had swirled the contents into a slushy juice you could just shove a straw into and drink away. It was fabulous. We squeezed our way through the insanely busy street, oogling at cheap electronics, knickknacks, old rusted coins, ornate tins, gadgets worthy of American Informercials and the food. 

We ate loads, sharing Taiwan Burgers (octopus sandwiched into 2 pancake like buns), rows of quail eggs lined up on skewers and dipped liberally in spicy sambal, fish ball dim sum, plastic containers of sushi, fried dumplings placed in translucent bags and stabbed with mega-toothpicks and coconut ice cream. I was stuffed, but couldn't resist the ice cream. It was scooped into a tiny pot, covered with Oreo crumbs and topped with a mint leaf. It was too cute to not eat. 

Asia, I love how cute your food is. 

Exhausted from all the eating and navigating the insane crowds that come with a good food street, it was time for a shower in our rad hostel — I didn't really appreciate it beforehand but I loved the exposed copper pipes and minimal design. I'm never too tired to appreciate things like exposed copper pipes. Despite the noise still blaring from the main road, I crashed — fully intent on getting a good night's rest before diving into another day in Melaka.