Returning to land
We had to get up at 6:30am as we had to catch the ferry back to Mersing (mainland) at around half 7. From there, we’d be catching a bus to Malacca, a large city on the western side of Malaysia. The pair of us got packed and had a small breakfast on the way to the harbour, and it’s fair to say there were a lot of people – in the same boat as us (sorry I had to). This time, we were below deck; it was weird having no windows, it felt like we were in storage.
Fortunately, I managed to sleep for most of the journey which helps with any potential threat of seasickness. The downside was that I had next to no leg room whatsoever; can’t have everything I suppose! What also helped, was the fact the sea/boat was a lot calmer, not so much rocking around all over the place. It also took less time, which is always a bonus. At around 9:30am, we disembarked the boat in Mersing, the same port town as before. I also had a roti and milo shake at the same place we ate a few days ago when we were here. Roti is so simple, yet so satisfying.
Waiting on a bus
After having a small meal of roti, we decided to make our way to the bus station, where we’d be departing for Malacca. It was only a 10-minute walk away, so it was easy enough, despite the heat ramping up, even during the morning. We got to the ticket booth and acquired our tickets for the bus to Malacca. The bus didn’t leave until 1:30pm, so we had a bit of a wait on our hands. In scenarios like this, playing cards come in handy like nothing else. We just play the same games of rummy or black jack for hours on end.
The bus to Malacca arrived and left on time, pretty much. The bus journey was around 6 hours long, which isn’t the worst I’ve had. For the first half of the ride I fell asleep, as per usual. I was mostly zoning out for the second half of the bus ride, so all in all it was a quick trip. When we arrived in Malacca and got off the bus, there was a McDonalds at the bus terminal. We thought it’d be rude not to check it out, as a ritual and all. You’re always in safe hands with McDonalds.
Jonker night market
It was dark when we arrived in Malacca, and we got a Grab to our hostel. The hostel was a tad difficult to find, but it’s in a decent spot. Our hostel was called La Vie En Rose Melaka; it was a small and basic hostel, but the host was a nice guy from Lebanon who makes free breakfast in the morning. It was also very cheap, which of course is a win in my book (and wallet). We were told of a night market nearby which consisted of an entire long street full of odds and ends.
So, during the evening, we went for a walk down the Jonker night market street, and it was buzzing. This may have been because it was Chinese New Year recently, and there’s a sizable population of Chinese folks in Malaysia. The streets were packed with people and stalls, loads of weird and wonderful gimmicks and foods. It was probably the best night market I’d been to, and what I’d imagined it would be like. The pair of us had some wonderful food, but didn’t really buy anything on the street. We’d only recently got rid of loads of things, we didn’t want to start hoarding stuff again.
After a couple of hours on the street, we returned to our hostel. It was quite humid in Malacca (more so than other places we’d been), so a shower was desperately in order. Once I’d cooled down, I turned in for the night, which was a sweaty one.
