In the second part of his journey in Melaka, writer William Chai details his experience discovering the historical city through a river cruise ride along the Melaka River, the only river journey in the country that takes you back through 600 years of history.
Set adrift along historical treasure troves
Besides the normal tour of the city of Melaka along the streets, another way to discover the city is by means of the Melaka River Cruise along the Melaka River.
During my recent trip to Melaka, I had the opportunity to experience the Melaka River Cruise before the sunset, so that we could have a clearer view of the surroundings along the journey. I was told that the night scene along the river is also fascinating, but we would see less of the buildings, especially some of the historical heritage structures.
For those who can afford the time, it is recommended to take the cruise both during the day and also during the night. The surroundings of the river are brightly lit during the night, from the riverbanks, walkways along the waterfronts, bridges and the buildings along the river. Thus, Sungai Melaka is also called the “River of Light”.
We boarded the cruise at the Jetty Taman Rempah. There were many cruise vessels embarked there. The cruise service began at 9 am and ended at 11 pm. daily, with trips every half hour. I was told that there were some 30 cruise boats of different categories , sizes and facilities. Some are air-conditioned.
Local visitors are charged RM25 per adult and RM15 for children (age 2 to 12). Foreign tourists are charged RM30 and RM25, respectively, for the 45-minute trip.
The cruise took visitors on a round-trip covering 9 km. is another way of exploring the historical city of Melaka, viewing some of the heritage buildings and stunning landmarks of the city that date back to the 19th Century.
The Melaka River, which flows through the middle of Melaka City toward the Strait of Melaka, was once an important trading route during the Melaka Sultanate in the 15th Century. The cruise has become a main attraction now that the river has been cleaned up and the historical and modern buildings along the banks have been restored and spruced up.
Some of the iconic buildings that we can see during the river cruise include the Red Building (Stadhuys), Church of St. Francis Xavier, Eye on Melaka (ferris wheel), The Maritime Museum (in the form of a restored Portuguese ship), Middleburg Bastion (fortress), Kampung Morten (the oldest Malay village in Malaysia), Panggung Bangsawan and more.
We also saw a huge monitor lizard (Biawak) resting under the mangrove tree along the river side during the journey.
The cruise passed by six century-old heritage bridges that span across the river. Some of these bridges, which were damaged during WWII or due to the passage of time, were repaired or restored many years ago, to preserve their function and heritage value as well as form parts of the tourist attractions.
There are colourful murals on the theme of history and culture being painted on some of the old buildings.
The old and some new high-rise buildings with their reflections on the water surface of the Melaka River on a clear sunny afternoon formed a beautiful scene as the cruise boat travelled along.
Concrete walkways are constructed along both sides of the river banks. On the north bank, the old commercial buildings, with their backs facing the river, are now having the back parts of the shops converted into riverside cafés, bars, eateries, and hotels. Visitors can sit down by the chairs and tables in the open space, to enjoy their food and drinks while admiring the river scenery and sunsets.
There are several packages of character services available in which cruise users could hire the cruise for private functions.
The “Everlasting Love” package, which includes cruise dinner for two, celebration cake, table decoration, musical ambiance, couple photo, rose flowers, wines and so on, costs from RM750 (Emerald package), RM1,200 (Gold Package) to RM2,000 (Diamond) package, for a 2 hour 30 minute cruise journey.Other packages are the VIP Package, Dining on the Cruise Package, and Pit-stop Package.
Floating Mosque
In the evening, we also visited the Melaka Straits Mosque (using a tour bus), a relatively new mosque in this historical city, which was opened on November 24, 2006. It is located at Jalan Baiduri, Taman Pulau Melaka ( a man-made island), on the coast of the Straits of Melaka, which is the longest and busiest straits in the world.
The mosque, which is built on stilts in the water, looks like a floating mosque during high tide. It is a combination of Middle-East and Malay architecture. The building, with attractive glass motifs at its entryways and windows, is brightly lit with colourful lights in the evening. It stands out prominently against the backdrop of the setting sun.
We had our photo taken in front of the signboard, which reads “The Straits of Melaka, The Longest and Busiest Straits in the World,” to sum up our visit to Melaka.
