Route to India 
Thus, we found the Melace, port city on the history, marked by successive "przyjacielskimi acquisitions" by (respectively) the Portuguese, Dutch and English. In short, this story is as follows: port Melace was doing very well, so I became a tasty morsel for colonizers. The first took it, the Portuguese and their wladstwa port slightly declined. Wishing to get rid of the intruders, the Malays have asked for help the Dutch, who have taken over command of the port. The fall of the port continue to do. At the end of August came the British, who decided to finish the job, blew up most of the fortresses and other buildings of defense, and took up ... cultivation of tea.
Strait, which lies on Melaka, is still the shortest way from the Pacific to India, the port still works, but Melaka is no longer a powerful trading city it once was. At present, seem to derive mainly from the mass gains I backpackers visitors, mostly local. During the weekend street fair glorious Jonkers Walk in Chinatown it is difficult not to squeeze paving elbows its way. Described as one of the prettiest and most charming cities in Malaysia, Melaka became the scene for one of najglupiej spent days of my trip!
But let's start from the beginning: being in Kuala Lumpur, tired of terrible heat, we convinced one another, with 18 ringgit for admission to the butterfly park is too heavy burden on our budget. In Melace, as we read in the brochure acquired the tourist office, is one of the most beautiful parks in the world of butterflies, and admission costs only 5 ringgit! Thus, the second day in Melace, we went to the park butterfly ... Day should start with the breakfast, so we walked the day before upatrzonej nice riverside restaurant, which turned out to be August closed. So we turned back and marched the other way, looking for another upatrzonej restaurant serving renowned dim sum around an inch [Chinese dumplings with various fillings] and giant pao [yeast Kluch filled]. This place operates fortunately, dim sum, yes, it was very tasty, but not resolved by pao its reputation. With only a 45-minute delay with respect to the intended plan, we got the bus running to the bus station. Bus, as it turned out, which travels a circular route, so we saw on the way in. Melaka, including the Portuguese district lying on its outskirts. After another 45 minutes we were already at the station, and here the scene started to happen Dante! Instructed by the ladies of the Desk found a number 19 bus that was supposed to Prove us to the park butterflies. After about fifteen minutes you usher appeared and dispelled our illusions: this bus to the park will take us, as the tour ends about 3 km before. We can move the 3 km, or catch another bus (and here we stopped you understand). So we left and we went in search of proper bus. All clues pointed out, however the bus line 19! Tried to wait for another bus, who supposedly went to the park butterflies, but after half an hour of waiting gave up and decided to take the bull by the horns (a few hours later it turned out that there actually driving down ...). We took the next car number 19, whose driver acknowledged that the park takes you no butterflies, but maybe We blow up at a park called Mini Malaysia (Malaysian miniatures of famous buildings.) That was what happened. Turns out we got to the edge of the express route ... Still full of optimism, we set off along the edge in the hope that we manage to catch a foot (in the north was a child's toy!). After fifteen minutes (and the sun beat down as much as the engine was supposed ...) became one of the nice man who offered to take us, but it was not park on the road, so after a while again found ourselves at the edge of the expressway, before a commanding turn another way expressway. So we went on, jumping over railings, to the butterfly park, which seemed to us to be a mirage ... Subsequent attempts to capture the rate've just negotiation (bezskutecznymi. ..) with two taxi drivers, of whom one had not the faintest idea where we want to reach, but he urged, we would still try, for 20 ringgit. Finally took pity on us Chinese family, which already sought butterflies to the park! So finally we reached the park and the mythical we learned on the spot, with a ticket for foreigners costs 10 ringgit. Well, now we could not give up, though it was clear to us that the sum of expenses associated with getting to Taman Rama-Rama is approaching very dangerously to 18 ringgit, quotas, which in KL, we found it overpriced! Nothing that we paid, we entered, butterflies were beautiful, but the garden was rather a garden ... I do not know if it spent 5 minutes ... Behind him, while there were quite depressing mini-zoo, with unhappy pets kept in very dull conditions. What pognalismy sooner the exits, the way Trying to rescue a little otter, which are able to communicate to us that without our help, it fails to recover freedom, unfortunately, the grid wires were too thick: (After leaving the park, it turned out that we are on the first road expressway, or jumping over barriers and walk through the flyover were completely unnecessary ... after a while stopped car in front of us, who took us to the bus stop, on which we left three hours earlier. After another two hours we were back in Melace in moods rather grave ...
Fortunately, we found Melace two places, which greatly improved our mood: sensational Indian restaurants serving lunch this is a set (yes, the banana leaf!):
and multiplex (ticket prices from 6 ringgit, or 5.40 bn), where we saw Peter Jackson's latest film "The Lovely Bones ". I could not buy the latter, I believe, in the course of this trip massage, and this time was too little, and it already lacked strength to reach the Chinese district, and it finally came time to send home another parcel of gifts and souvenirs, and there was not enough funds ... Thankfully, in a shopping center in Melace be able to try out different massaging devices! :)
What irritates the most Melace? Local variation on a rickshaw, called triksza. They are colorful and with the pain and do not mind, until they are in place. A nightmare begins when you trikszarz has caught "loser", who for 40 ringgit per hour it is possible to novel small streets of Melaka. Why nightmare? Now, those innocent-looking vehicles are equipped with powerful speakers, from which the fluid roars mistakenly called in some circles music. I suspect that the extra charge you can opt out of this additional "points" ...
One of the dozens (really!) museums, located in Melace, the Maritime Museum, housed in the reconstructed vessel Portuguese. Must also wanted to visit Beautiful museum, documenting the repentant in different cultures' ideals of beauty and cruel practice, designed to achieve them: stop tying, cutting of teeth, lips and ears, stretching, etc.
most photographed monument in Melaka, Stadhys by night in my opinion looks more charming than a day. It is possible that mainly because if it is not stuck by the crowds of amateur photography ... Below.
Here ends the relationship of Melaka. Tomorrow we head across country to the next port, from which we will sail to the island of Tioman!
