When you arrive by air in Thailand, you are granted a
30 day visa at no charge. Since we were staying for 4 months (actually 125
days), we purchased two 60 day visas before we left Canada. The first visa was
activated on arrival, but to activate the second, we had to leave the country
and then re enter. To accommodate the visa limit and our departure date, our
decision was to leave Thailand Jan 26 and return until Feb 3: this gave us two
59 day blocks in Thailand.
Where to go? Our answer was Melaka, Malaysia. We had
never been to Melaka. It is easily accessible via Air Asia through Kuala
Lumpur, and the town itself is interesting. In 2008 it was designated a
WorldHeritage Site because of its multicultural history and significance as a major
trading port from the 15
th to 18
th century.
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| Trishaw, ready for hire |
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| Trishaws, like fireflies at night |
It was a good choice and worth the visit. The historic
centre is small, easy to walk, and filled with museums, churches and temples as
well as a thriving China town. Chinese New Year was Jan 31 – year of the horse
– so we were there for the festivities and decorations and the streets were
filled with families enjoying the holiday.
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| Entrance to Jonkers St, China Town Melaka |
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| Small Chinese Temple |
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| Huge Joss (incense) sticks decorate a temple entrance |