First off, there are two spellings for the town, Melaka and Malacca. I saw both on souvenir T-shirts so I am assuming both are correct (what more accurate source of information could there be than the souvenir T-shirt?). I favor the Melaka spelling as there is something very Western European about two consecutive Cs, and Melaka is easier for me to remember. Our amazing tour guide Francis took us to many of the historical sites in the historic district of Melaka. But first, I have to gush about the hotel we stayed at, Hotel Puri.
Fun fact, Melaka has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Which means that the whole town has historical significance and is to be preserved. Hotel Puri is no exception. Francis told us that hotel is actually a living museum. I can honestly say that he is correct.
These chairs and tables may look like something from Pottery Barn but they are actually made of 100% iron. Something that brought me much amusement as I watched many of the students try to drag them to other tables.
The frescoes were amazing.
Everywhere you looked there was antique furniture. There was an entire set of this marble-inlaid hardwood furniture in the lobby.
In keeping with tradition, the hotel had a spirit house tucked away in a corner of the courtyard.
After ogling the hotel for a half an hour, it was time to start our guided tour on the nearby streets. First up, the shops near the hotel. Those who are prone to squeamishness may want to skip over the caption for the photo below (just pretend they are dolls shoes...).
The streets around the hotel had many practicing artisans. One of the most stunning was the shoemaker. The most striking pieces were the shoes. Not only did he make classical (and normal sized) beaded shoes but he also still made shoes for women with bound feet. Don't worry, those were only for historical purposes. I had always seen photographs of Chinese women with bound feet, but it wasn't until I saw just how tiny the shoes were, less than 4 inches long, that it really hit me how cripples those women must have been. To his credit, Francis was brutally honest about how severe the damage was to the women and why they had it done. Hard to run away from home if your feet don't work properly. Anyways, the rest of the tour had a much happier tone. Next up, a Buddhist/Taoist temple, a mosque and a Hindu temple.
Above is the Buddhist/Taoist temple. I call it that because I sincerely cannot remember which religion it is or if it is both. Next was the mosque. Unfortunately it was under repair so we could not go in, but it did have this stunning tile work on the front of the building.
Last was the Hindu Temple. Sadly, it too was closed, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos. I hope you also enjoy the happy cows.
We wondered past many more temples on our tour. One of the most common features were the temple guardians, the so-called Foo Dogs. These were two of my favorites.
I had never given much notice to Foo Dogs before, but Francis asked if we knew which one was male and which was female. I always thought that they were identical, but upon closer inspection I noticed that one was holding a ball (the bottom one) and one was holding a cub (the top one, you have to trust me on this as the cub is blocked by the giant pile of incense). The female is the one with the cub and is on the left, the male is the one with ball, and often a coin, and is on the right when facing the entrance to the building.
Finally, the streets around the hotel also had random street art. Some of it was poignant, some of it was funny, some of it was just plain bizarre.
That is it for my street tour by Hotel Puri. Next post I'll talk about the historic sights of Melaka. Don't worry I'm taking plenty of photos of Thailand too!
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