28 » OpenRoad Driver
River boats carry visitors up and down the Malacca River , resplendent with local wildlife and Malacca ’ s origins .
Brilliant scarlet and purple bougainvillea drapes crumbling walls ; pots of herbs sit on stone steps ; washing pegged on clotheslines dances madly in offshore breezes . Women and children wave from weathered verandas .
Two-metre-long Asian water monitors swim under shady porches ; others bask on sunny doorsteps . One pokes out its lengthy tongue , testing the salty air . The local guide Amir , mentions how folks jokingly name these lanky lizards after celebrities . And lungfish skittering over muddy shallows on four leg-like fins furnish further amusement .
Our tour ends in front of new developments . Low walls separate walkways lined with blossoming shrubs and overhead lighting . Brightly painted heritage-style buildings boast red-tiled roofs and wide balconies .
Beyond the wharf , spectacular rosy-red buildings surround Dutch Square . Their thick walls were constructed of local , iron-rich laterite blocks and plaster . Red
paint was later applied to cover original whitewash , hiding recurrent rust stains .
The area reflects almost two centuries of occupation . Governors and officers were first housed in the townhall , Stadhuys . British colonialists repurposed the adjacent Dutch Reformed Church into an Anglican Christ Church , adding its belltower , weathercock and three-arched portico shading the entrance . Inside , handcrafted pews await parishioners ; beams carved from single trees support high ceilings ; gravestones and granite slabs pave floors .
We watch fellow sightseers riding in whimsically decorated trishaws . Decked out in gold jewellery and brocaded silk , a bride and groom celebrate their marriage with a spin around Old Town . “ Called Kings of the Road ,” Amir grins , “ those drivers pedal passengers around these streets for just a few ringgits .”
Near the river , we board a replicated Flor de la Mar and learn port history . A map pinpoints Malacca near the entrance to Malacca Straits . Recognizing its favourable location , an exiled prince established his Sultanate here , circa 1400 . Trading in spices , silks , and perfumes , gold , and tea , his port boomed . Its prosperity attracted European interest … and aggression .
Flor de la Mar led seventeen other Portuguese galleons to capture and loot Malacca in 1511 . A Sultanate ally then assisted the Dutch in seizing the city in 1641 . Following their long profitable rule , they signed a British treaty in 1824 , swapping Malacca to secure Java and Sumatra .
Our walk continues south , revealing solemn reminders of Old Town ’ s tumultuous history . Five hundred years ago , a Portuguese sea captain built St . Paul ’ s atop a nearby knoll . Beside this now roofless ruin , a marble statue of missionary St . Francis Xavier gazes across the Straits toward Sumatra . Below , headstones of Dutch nobility lean against a cemetery ’ s rock walls . A pathway winds downward to remnants of A Famosa , a once mighty Portuguese fortress , and Porta de Santiago , its gateway .