Melaka by night

Melaka's evenings are very pleasant.

A drop of air temperature by a few degrees is as a prize after a hot day. You can get an interesting picture with a little imagination how people had lived in Chinatown a century ago.
Of course the streets were much more crowded than today, in each house lived large multi-generation family with servants and babysitters.

A smell of rotten seaweed mixed with wastewater from sewers creates a natural scent of tropical city. In times when no one travels by a ship anymore, hordes of tourists replace travelers on river boats.

Evening impression from Penang.

Business as usual on Chulia street in old George Town.

Even more foreigners than in other months. They listen to carols.

A perfect escape from the cold weather countries.

A few veterans of South Asian trails hidden behind tables at Reggae Club.

Malaysian Tamils. Faces of Malaysia.

Tamils make up the most colorful ethnic group in Malaysia.

The Tamil merchants arrived Malaya 1500 years ago. One of the oldest Tamil inscription from 8th century has been found in Malaysian's Ligor. The text refers to the trade relationship between the Tamil country and Malaya.

Tamil became the common language of commerce in Malaysia before 18th century. Today the Tamil city dwellers speak mostly Malay or English

Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia

Petaling place is crowded with locals as well as tourists during day hours end evening time.

What all these people are looking for ? Cheap DVD's ? Pirated Louis Vuitton's bags ?

Yes. Petaling Street is the best place to shop for counterfeit branded products in Kuala Lumpur.

Everything except chinese food is here a fake. I think even good looking fruit contains rich choice of chemical compound. Dmitri Mendeleev could live and work here:)

The second highlight of Jalan Petaling must be local sauna air. It is a magnet attracting all folk.
Bustling Petaling street under new blue roof is hot and humid.

Don't forget knickers and kerchief before you enter Petaling Street. You will miss air conditioners.

Protestant Cemetery in Georgetown. Malaysia

Protestant Cemetery was the first Christian Cemetery open in 1789. The latest recorded burial took place in 1892. The cemetery is located in the middle of George Town along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah.

The cemetery cointains graves of some important people living on Penang Island. The bulletin board near the entrance indicates some names.

There are tombs of governors and people from famous families like Quintin Dick Thompson, brother-in-law of Sir Stamford Raffles and Thomas Leonowens, husband of Anna Leonowens ( the King & I ).

The most prominent person interred here was founder of Penang Captain Francis Light.

Francis Light died from malaria and was entomed in 1794.

His grave was restored in 1994 by the Penang Heritage Trust.

Kuala Lumpur Monorail Train. Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur's transport system is working pretty good. The highlight is monorail.

Although only one line exists in Malaysian capital city, it is worth to take a ride.

The Kuala Lumpur monorail line has 11 station and 8 km length.

The line was opened in 2003. The monorail carries more than 30.000 passengers daily.

Monorail was constructed in Malaysia by Scomi Rail. Since January 2009 Scomi Rail has taken a part in a new Mumbai Monorail project.

The KL monorail carriages are capable to carry up to 150 passengers.

St. Francis Xavier Church in Malacca. Malaysia

St. Francis Xavier Church was built in 1849 by a French priest and commemorated "Apostle of the East".

Apostle of the East was Jesuit devoted much of his life to missions in foreign countries. He was born in 1506 in Spain as Francis de Jaso y Azpilicueta .

Francis Xavier ( as we know him ) left Europe in 1541. He arrived Portuguese Malacca 4 years later, after his stay in Africa and Goa.

I found two momuments of Francis Xavier in Malacca. It looks he is still the most popular European person in Malaysia.

He was the man of Inquisition. He propagated to use force by conversion.

St. Francis Xavier Church is very alive on Sundays.

There is a strong community of the Kristang in Malacca.

The Kristang are a creole ethnic group of people of mixed Portuguese and Malacca descent.

People originated from marriages between and local native women and Portuguese men during the age of Portuguese explorations on Malay Peninsula.