It was not my (Harris) first visit to Malacca, and it was surely won’t be the last. We visited Malacca recently, famously known as one of Malaysia’s UNESCO Heritage City in Banda Hilir, Melaka (Malacca in English), Malaysia.
Situated on the Malacca Straits between Sumatra (Indonesia) and Peninsular Malaysia (south-west coast of Malaysia), it was one of the major trading ports in the region back then.
Malaysians could simply agree that Malacca is like a little sister to Penang (located further north up the straits) sharing the same Chinese dialect (Hokkien), being also a major trading port and had lots in common from colonization by the British, Portuguese & Dutch.
Our visit was in November, it was almost at the beginning of the monsoon (rainy) season, but we were lucky that it hadn’t rain much during our stay.
It was sunny, some days were overcast with clouds and some light showers overnight – temperatures ranged 32degs daytime and 26degs after dark, but it was humid 80%+ most of the time.
Our hotel exceeded expectations!
We started hunting for hotels and AirBnB’s about 3-4 months in advance to avoid disappointments because Malacca could be a nightmare with lodging when there’s a public holiday, school holidays or any special state-events.
Usually I would do a day-trip and won’t bother checking-in to a hotel as most visits were just stopovers before back heading to Kuala Lumpur for work.
This time round, we found a hotel situated 5-10 minutes walk to the Red Church or town center called Rucksack Inn Premium Melaka.
The hotel features 8-10 free car parking spaces outside the property, a swimming pool, free breakfast, Netflix, free drinking water (dispenser) & 24-hours access via a RFID card.
I simply loved the free parking spaces as they are MYR5.00/day if I were to park in a council-marked space, plus you’ll have to download the council mobile-app to pay for parking – too much hassle!
But, I don’t have that much budget to burn on accomodation 🙁
This hotel also have hostel or dormitory rooms or bunk beds at a more economical rate if you’d like to have a longer stay or running on a skinny budget.
The main reason why we booked a private room was because we have lots of luggage and valuables with us that we prefer a room to ourselves. Plus, this was our first-stop after getting off a long haul flight, so a good night’s rest was essential to us.
Have a look on Booking.com or AirBnb website if the Rucksack Premium Inn Melaka has any availability.
Avoid visiting between Mondays to Thursdays!
We arrived on a late Saturday night, not much going on after 11pm. It was great because there were lots of parking spaces! But, in my mind, I was getting worried that this town was DEAD!
We started Sunday with a late-ish free-breakfast and headed straight to A Famosa – the old fort built by the Portuguese and continued to Jonker Walk -famous for food and shopping. Hey, it was only 5 mins walk from our hotel!
Voila! The whole town just came to life! There were lots of people on the streets, taking pictures, dining out on terraces, doing their touristy things – that was a relief!
There are lots of events between Friday and Sunday. One you should never miss is the Jonker Street Night Market (Pasar Malam) that starts around 6pm and closes at 11pm. You could find food, souvenirs and things to see -you won’t regret it!
We stayed until Tuesday afternoon before leaving for Kuala Lumpur. By then, the town was back to sleep. It was business as usual for the locals with very few tourists in sight.
So, never visit Malacca (Banda Hilir area) between Monday & Thursday, it will be disappointing!
We walked the whole Malacca, literally.
Consu & myself, we prefer to walk when exploring a town or city. That way, we could see more and take our time to absorb the atmosphere.
During our stay in Malacca, we did about 28,000 to 30,000 steps -equivalent to 20-25kms over 3 days in Banda Hilir. Get yourself a pair of good walking shoes when visiting and sunglasses when it gets sunny.
Take your time to make a pitstop for a fresh coconut drink around town. Feel free to ask for some ice cubes to cool down the drink, it’ll definitely rejuvenate your body.
How’s the food in Malacca? Any good?
If you’ve never had Malaccan or Malaysian food before, it would a memorable experience. Don’t worry about having stomach aches or food poisoning here because the food safety standards are strict.
When in Malacca, we had to get one of their traditional dish, the Baba & Nyonya Laksa. Baba refers to the Chinese-Malay/Indonesian men and Nyonya for the women. This dish originated from a mix of cultures giving it a flavourful taste.
Consu had Nyonya Laksa, it’s rice noodles (laksa) in a curry like broth with shrimp, fried-wonton, and slices of cucumber.
Mine was a Baba Laksa which was vermicelli (rice) noodles in curry with coconut-milk, fish balls, fried-wonton, shrimp & slices of cucumber.
Here, take a closer look!
If you are from Europe or USA, this dish would be spicy for you. But, you could always ask for a nice cool drink to counter the spiciness.
The Jonker 88 restaurant almost always had long lines, so be early and avoid the 1-3pm lunch-time queues! The interior of this restaurant is authentically vintage 1950s, no air conditioning and it can get a little stuffy.
How long should you stay in Malacca town?
3 days 2 nights …is plenty!
I think if you have all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday, that’s more than enough to explore the town centre (Banda Hilir).
We preferred to explore after 5pm as it’s a lot cooler -ambient temperature wise and that’s when the nightlife starts.
The Malacca town has lots of quirky things to see and places to visit as it is a historic and culturally diverse city.
Don’t expect to see lots of night-clubs, bar hopping, stag or hen parties or ‘red-light-district’ scenes here as it is not part of the culture. It is a family-friendly destination and it’s neither Phuket nor Benidorm.
But, if you’d like to grab a nice cool beer or cocktails, there are some bar that open at night by the river where Consu had her picture taken above.
Give me a cheat-sheet for Malacca, please!
Oh yeah, why not.
Here are some places we’ve visited & food we’ve had that might interest you.
Dishes (Food) to Try
Baba & Nyonya Laksa — Yes, spicy, but worth the suffering! – Jonker 88
Cendol — Coconut milk dessert with glutinous rice flour thingy – Jonker 88 or Cendol Jam Besar
Coconut Shake — Coconut blended with ice cream into a smoothie – Coconut Shake
Buah Melaka or Onde-Onde — Green coloured sticky rice flour coated with coconut shavings with palm sugar inside
Asam Pedas — a spicy and sour fish (or seafood) stew cooked with tamarind, chilies and herbs. Often eaten with rice; a good pick if you like bold, tangy flavours.
Chicken Rice Balls — a local twist on Hainanese chicken rice: the rice is shaped into balls and served with poached chicken, often with a chili-soy/garlic dip and light broth. A classic comfort meal in Malacca.
Putu Piring — a steamed rice-cake snack, often filled with sweet palm-sugar (gula melaka). Great for a quick bite or as a light dessert.
Otak‑Otak — seasoned fish paste (or seafood) wrapped in banana leaves and grilled — aromatic and a lovely snack or starter.
Asam Pedas — a spicy and sour fish (or seafood) stew cooked with tamarind, chilies and herbs. Often eaten with rice; a good pick if you like bold, tangy flavours.
You could find most of them (without a link) from around Jonker Street or the night market.
Places to Visit
There are many places to visit in Malacca town centre, but here are the highlights that would be worth your while.
- A Famosa (Porta de Santiago) – which also connected to St. Paul’s Hill/Church. FREE Entry
- Dutch Square (The Red Square) – which also includes Stadthuys & Christ Church Melaka (yes, it’s an active church). Stadthuys closed on Mondays, MYR20/pax to enter (MYR10 for Malaysians)
- Malacca Sultanate Museum – closed on Mondays, MYR20/pax to enter (MYR10 for Malaysians)
- Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum – closed on Tuesdays, MYR25/pax to enter
- Jonker Street – In the daytime, there are lots to see – buildings, murals, nostalgic streets, souvenir shops, fusion snacks and much more. Bring your sunglasses, a hat, bottle of water, face towel, some cash and an open-enthusiastic mind for an adventure.
- Jonker Street Night Market – FREE Entry, but spare cash to buy food/souvenirs. REMEMBER – the Night Markets are only operating Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays.
- Melaka River Walk – FREE Entry, it’s just a walk along the river with colourful lights, murals and people watching or buy some street food from the night market, then have a little picnic.
- Sunday Flea Market – Opens 6am-12noon usually sells art, collectibles, statues and used items. It’s like a treasure hunt walking this flea market.
- Pahlawan Walk Market – Looking for local made snacks, souvenirs and goodies? Look no further, it won’t get any cheaper than here. The shops open daily 9am-10pm but it gets busier on Fridays to Sundays.
- Uptown Pahlawan Walk (Night Market) – The stalls opens 6pm – 12 midnight, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays. You’ll find lots of street food and some souvenirs here. It’s a typical pasar malam (night market)
- Mahkota Parade – Looking for a pharmacy, supermarket, cinema or just looking for an air conditioned space? This mall has most of the things your modern life needs. Yes, they have fast food too. Across the main road is Dataran Pahlawan Mall which have more shops & a cinema.
- Menara Taming Sari (Observation Tower) – It’s a rotating observation tower that ascends to 80m height above the township offering a birdseye view. We didn’t do this POI, but the entry was about MYR25/pax.
- HahaHusky – As the name suggests, it’s a Husky dog cafe. We walked past this shop but didn’t enter. If you’re a dog lover, this might interest you.