Whose Malacca?

The tour bus consisted of English styled tourists. They were from England (duh), Australian via Scotland, and others. There was this couple from France, I believe, a lady from Korea and another lady from Canada living in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia who sat beside me. I think she worked in publishing of some sorts. The standout were these two Anglo-Indian ladies from Burma, living in Australia. They complained about the tour guide being a little hurried and him carrying this MFIIC (Mother F***in Indian in Charge) attitude. I have to say that they were a bit slow as well as I on the tour. The rest of the gang followed along and sympathized with the man's vicissitudes with his boss who was constantly called to see if he was going to beat the KL's 6 o'clock traffic. He didn't.

After a long bus ride, we stopped at this area of a Chinese deity shrine. They sold crafts outside. Nearby, there was a grave for Chinese Muslims and some distance away, a Chinese burial shrine for worshippers of Chinese deities. Adjacent from the site was a memorial for Chinese soldiers during the Japanese occupation from 1942-1945. As the bus was moving, I noticed houses on these wooden stilts. Malays and Chinese intertwined with each culturally, religiously, and biologically is the impression I got from the guide.

The tour proceeded to this fort called St. John's. Along the way, there were churches built by Portuguese and the Dutch. It was interesting what the occupying groups did to the previous occupants shrines. The Dutch preserved a lot of the Chinese buildings except the mosques. That was true of the Portuguese. Both groups built churches. Portuguese, Catholic. Dutch, Protestant. Both "burned the evidence" of Muslim presence but for British intervention not all has been lost. They preserved the mosques before them and allowed new new ones to be built was during their occupation. Likewise, they preserved Portuguese and the Dutch ones. But they converted one for an Anglican church and another for a military fort.

I got lost on the tour when I had to go the bathroom really bad after St. John's. They were going to leave without me but I ended up coming across them. It was impossible to see everything, there was too much to cover even the guide said that this was a cliff note version of the tour but he was very knowledgeable but rushed. Luckily, we ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant but this one didn't serve egg rolls and they took a long time to bring the food. Those two ladies played a role in this one. I got to know them better. Both are teachers who left Burma after independence. They both mentioned that the country got worse after independence with corruption and discrimination. Both yearned for the return of British rule.

I loved looking at the ocean shore because it looked so clear on this hot day. The bus parked itself in the middle of Malacca town. This area is where you saw all three groups live and do business. You saw Malay, Chinese, and Indian stores in old plastered yellowish buildings. About a few steps away in front of me, I noticed this church which the sign read Tamil Methodist Church, 1908. Yet, the guide didn't take us there. Instead, we moved a few yards ahead to this district where there were Buddhist temples, a Hindu temple and a Indian mosque . I don't remember any other Christian temples because I explored that area pretty well. Heck, got me a lottery ticket for one ringet. But not a single word from the guide. I mentioned it to the Canadian lady, she was pleasantly surprised and wanted to take a picture of the place. Never brought mine.

After touring the streets with the weather about 90 degrees, we left about 4 p.m. to try to beat traffic but like I said before, he didn't beat the traffic. When we got back, it was about 7 p.m. They got to the K.L city limits around 5:30 but not enough lanes to handle that kind of traffic and it started to rain. When the bus got back to the station, I was one few guys on the bus because everyone else was dropped off at their respective hotels. His boss came and started to read the riot act but I agree with the guide through a nod that it wasn't his fault. I was happy with everything else but bothered by his censorship concerning Tamil Methodist Church. Time to do the research.