We visited the cruise port of Malacca, Malaysia while sailing round-trip from Singapore on Holland America Line’s 14-Day Asian Holiday cruise on the ms Volendam.
Located only 150 miles north of Singapore, Malacca was our first port of call on the cruise, and it was a tender port.
As our ship was delayed departing Singapore the night before, we were slightly delayed in getting into Malacca the next morning. While we arrived after our 7 am scheduled time, the immigration officials were also delayed, so it wasn’t until 8:30 am we were on the tenders, taking us into the river channel near the historic old town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The ship used local tenders in addition to its own tender boats (shown in the photo above) to speed our arrival into the dock. Once we arrived in Malacca about 8:45 am, we found the city to be quite sleepy, without much of the usual throng of taxi drivers and tour sellers.
We set off walking. The city of Malacca is a contrast of very old historic buildings and brand new high rises and condo buildings.
Our first priority was to find an ATM to obtain Malaysia currency as we would have four Malaysian ports on our cruise. One Malaysian ringgit is equal to about $.28 US dollars. (My quick currency conversion cheat – divide the ringgit cost by 4, and round up.)
The city was very hot and humid, and overcast with some rain showers. We found an ATM after walking about 15 minutes, in what turned out to be a very modern hospital.
Ringgits in hand, we headed into a beautiful hotel attached to a shopping mall. We were in search of Wi-Fi and coffee, and wanted to take a look at Google maps.
The coffee shop in the mall didn’t open until 10 am, but the lobby of the the Hattens hotel was a gorgeous place to hang out, cool off, and people watch until the coffee shop opened.
The coffee was killer; worth the wait. Plus, the wi-fi was complimentary to customers, so we could look at maps online and get our bearings.
We had done a little advance research on Malacca, learning that it is a melting pot of the different cultures that have ruled the area throughout its history. (See 16 Fun Facts About Malacca, Malaysia.)
The city was founded by Parameswara, the last king of Singapura who ruled from 1389 to 1398, and then fled after an invasion in 1398. He found a good port strategically located narrowest point of the Malacca Straits, where he established Malacca in 1402. The Portuguese captured Malacca in 1511, and then the Dutch defeated the Portuguese and ruled Malacca from 1641 to 1798. Under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, the Dutch ceded Malacca to the British in in exchange for Bencoolen on Sumatra.
We hoped to see the Christ Church from 1753 that reflects its original Dutch architecture, and houses a replica of “The Last Supper,” as well as other parts of the historic old town and the Malaccan Museums Complex.
While leaving the mall, we were admiring the name and the logo of the Fat Boy’s Burger Bar when we learned how friendly the locals were. The workers insisted that they should take our photo by the artwork.
As we headed out to walk to the sites, the skies opened and a downpour occurred.
Suddenly, we couldn’t get excited about walking around in the rain.
We caught a taxi back to the dock where the tenders were dropping people off and taking others back to the ship.
We took this “yellow-submarine-looking” tender back to the ship.
Our bottom line on Malacca, Malaysia:
- If you want to see and understand the historic sites, take a shore excursion or a local tour.
- Hope for better weather than we experienced.
- Realize it is a somewhat sleepy, yet-to-be-overdeveloped cruise port. (That’s not all bad.)
Have you visited Malacca, Malaysia? Here are some reference materials if you are planning a visit:
City Maps Malacca Malaysia
Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur & Melaka
You may want to check out these other posts about our trip to Singapore and cruise on Holland America’s Volendam:
- A Look Inside Ocean-view Stateroom 2641 on Holland America’s Volendam
- A Post-Dry Dock Look Around Holland America’s Volendam Cruise Ship
- Early Morning Views from Singapore
- A Return Visit to the Conrad Centennial Hotel in Singapore
- A Flight Problem but We Got to Singapore via United First Class
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