MELAKA & GEORGE TOWN, WORLD HERITAGE CITIES

As a Malaysian, I’m glad and proud that we are known internationally for the beauty and uniqueness of the country ethnics or natives and multi racial society. We have been living in this peaceful nation for years. The air transport has made it easy for me and my family to travel all over the country to treasure its wonder. I’ve visited the two cities known as The World Heritage, Melaka - Melaka and George Town - Penang have been inscribed on 7th July 2008 by UNESCO in Quebec, Canada. These historic cities are renowed for their multicultural heritage. In 2008, I’ve visited Penang with my parents. Landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, we then travel by car to Penang which takes approximately 6 hours journey. We’ve stayed at Bayview Hotel in George Town. We didn’t really have plans for our trip but we managed to visit a few attractive places the next day of our stay.



Melaka & Georgetown, World Heritage Cities



First day in the morning, we make our drive through the city of George Town. It’s amazing that we still can see old buildings located in the city. Those buildings are maintained and operating as government or business offices such as banks, custom and other offices were built in 1837 and 1907. Our next stop was at Fort Cornwallis, the largest standing fort in Malaysia built in 1786 by Captain Sir Francis Light.  



Captain Sir Francis Light Statue



 

Chapel at Fort Conwallis built in 1799




Diamond Jubilee Building

 

  

Custom Building in Old Town



We've made our way up to Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill), the oldest hill station in Malaysia. A funicular railway running up the 821-metre high hill can be found here. It was built by the British between 1906 and 1923 at a cost of 1.5 million Straits Dollars, in order for British officers to travel up the hill for convalescence or relaxation and enjoy the cooler air. We use a cable car to reach the top hill. It's an interesting journey eventhough the sunny weather has changed to rainy day and kept us stranded for an hour at the top.



Cable Car

 

We visit a Buddhist temple named Kek Lok Si situated at suburb Georgetown later in the evening. The temple has begun in 1890 and during our visit, the statue of Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin was still under construction. It’s the biggest bronze statue I’ve ever seen. There are others statues found at the temple area. Besides the monastery, a seven-storey pagoda of 10,000 Buddha images displays the essence of an eclectic mix of Chinese, Thai and Burmese architecture known as The Ban Po Thar Pagoda.



Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin



Dragon Zodiac at Garden Hill Top





Buddha Statue at Garden Hill Top

 

We then make our way to Wat Chaiyamangalaram , a Thai temple built in 1845 by a Buddhist monk from Thailand. I was surprised with the 33 metre long gold plated reclining budha inside the temple. There are 12 other idols that stand behind it.

Wat Chaiyamangalaram, Thai Buddhist Temple, Penang



The world 3^rd longest Reclining Buddha

Late evening, we manage to drive to the Penang Butterfly Farm. It’s the World 1^st  Tropical Live Butterfly Sanctuary. Besides that, it is also the nature’s park and museum of Asian artefacts. It’s so disappointing that we can’t get in due to site under construction and our late arrival. So, we make our way back to the hotel and leave the city the next day.





Penang Butterfly Farm, The World 1^st Tropical Live Butterfly & Insect Sanctuary

Another year later in 2009, I’ve made another vacation trip to Peninsular Malaysia. My sister, cousin and I drove to Melaka. The journey from Negeri Sembilan is approximately an hour. We stayed at Mahkota Hotel Melaka, a city-styled resort for two nights. It is adjacent to two main shopping and entertainment complexes knowned as Mahkota Parade and Dataran Pahlawan.

Our first visit is The Stadthuys which also known as ‘Red Building’ built in 1650, oldest Dutch building in the East. Next to it is the Christ Church building painted in red. It’s so interesting to look at the colorful trishaw and we have a ride for a tour within the Dutch Square. There are a few historical building built around the area; Christ Church by Dutch in 1941, St. Francis Xavier Church – Portuguese church by French priest in 1856 (a twin-spired neo-gothic structure), the A’ Famosa fortress by Portuguese in 1511. Apart from knowing a little bit of our country history, it’s merrier with the trishaw ride at the square. Jonker Street is another interesting and exciting visit too. Several oldest houses can be found here. Artifacts or stuffs from colonial rule such as British, Dutch & Portuguese are being sold here. Not forgetting the food at this bazaar. People do not care for the hot sunny weather to have a tasteful ‘cendol’ which I think is the best and nicest within the country.

     

St. Francis Xavier Church

   

Christ Church

  

Francis Xavier Statue - Pioneering Catholic Missionery temporarily buried at St. Paul's Church before moved to Goa

  

Tombstones at St. Paul Church

  

A' Famosa - A fortress by Portuguese in 1511

 

The Malay Islamic World Museum

  

The oldest typwriter I've ever seen

 

Antiques

 

Would you queue like this for desert? Yes I would because the desert are tasteful & delicious.

  

The best 'cendol' (mango/sea coconut) – desert

Even the walk has taken only a day to watch the historical Melaka, it has been a meaningful and memorable site seing. We should always remember that we do live in a beautiful historical country. If we care to travel the world, do make it happen within our country because it's an amazing nation which can be explored either by land or air.