After two weeks in Kuala Lumpur we took a bus south to the historic port city of Malacca. Ruled over the centuries by Malaysian sultans, then the Portuguese, then the Dutch, then the British, before returning to the Malaysians, the city is a great mix of cultures.

Malacca is a popular weekend getaway and fills up with Singaporeans and other Malaysians every Friday to Monday. We arrived on a Friday night and settled in with the crowds at the busy night market. During the week, we had a lot of the place to ourselves.

Like Singapore, there is a strong Peranakan cultural influence. Instead of using the term Peranakan in Malacca they often use ‘baba-nyonya’. Baba is the word for man or father and Nyonya is the word for woman or mother. A lot of restaurants in Malacca serve ‘Nyonya’ cuisine, which is a mix of Chinese, Malay, and Indian ingredients.

Here’s some of what we saw during our first few days in Malacca.

 Click here to view these on a map