Day 3: Ilocos Trip - Laoag to Pagudpod - Paoay Church

Paoay Church

 This Paoay church just gives me an ancient feel.  Being made from huge bricks, and having a certain special architecture to it. 

Publisher: Shy - Monday, July 16, 2012

Melaka: UNESCO Heritage

Red Buildings in Melaka town.

Stadthuys- the Red Buildings in Melaka

Stadthuys is located at the center of the city.  Surrounding this are drivers which will take you to different tourist sites, but will charge you around RM100 for their service - a bit expensive for backpackers.  Besides it's not really practical since you could spend the entire day walking around and already covering the important areas in Melaka.

First thing you could do is probably what tourists like us do: take pictures.  The buildings are interestingly different since these are painted red.  It's said to be the oldest Dutch building in the east and is a reproduction of Frisian towns of Hoorn in Netherlands that existed in 1420 to 1796.

Me checking some articles in a jonker near stadhuys.

There are a lot of things to see in the Stadthuys or town hall.  There's a grand fountain smacked in the middle of it.  I've read in reviews that you could take pictures of yourself with a big snake for RM10.  But when we went there, there wasn't any.  So we headed to the museum.  They charge RM5 for adults and RM3 for children.

In the museum, you'll get to see different articles which are remains of the Baba Nonya culture.  There are clothes, jars, swords, housewares and the likes.

I observed that the designs aren't much different from the Philippine's designs particularly with the Muslim culture.  Come to think of it, Muslims probably have a general artistic taste that are alike in many countries.

For a visitor like me, it's best to submerge yourself to the culture in Melaka by visiting Stadthuys first.  This will give you a great degree of understanding and appreciation of the other areas and spots which you will visit next.

Check out our Malaysia Adventure Series:

How to spend 8 Days in Malaysia: Itinerary and Expenses

How are you Mr. Immigration, Sir?

Kuala Lumpur

Party with Street Roda at Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

Melaka

Melaka: UNESCO Heritage

Romantic Melaka River Cruise

Cyclamens Cottage: Home Away from Home - Where we Stayed

St. Paul Church: Stunning Sunset Spot

Publisher: Shy - Monday, May 21, 2012