Last day in Melaka

After our 'eat pray love' bycicle experience yesterday and another ridiculously early muslim prayer wake up call we decided to have a relaxing lazy day today so we have not really done much. We got up late and went for a Roti and a coffee. Crossing over the street for breakfast/brunch there was hundreds of pigeons on the path so we had a bit of a stand off with them until we decided to walk around them. The locals were laughing but there were loads and anyone who knows Chelsea knows her feelings on giant groups of birds. It feels exceptionally hot today and rather than being cloudy and humid it has been really sunny.

We then tried to go to the Chinese tea house but it was closed. We really want to try one so we are going to have a look around Penang and see if there is one there in china town. As that was our only plan of the day we went for a walk around Little India. We really like Little India in Melaka. It is very vibrant with shops selling saris, spices, jewellery and Indian food. Everywhere is decorated with fresh flowers threaded onto strings and indian music blasts loudly from open shops. The shops are open fronted and packed full, often spilling out and taking over the footpaths. The clothes and saris that are on show are beautiful, all brightly coloured and embellished.

After a walk in the sun around Little India we sat by the river for an hour under an umbrella and watched the tourist boats go up and down with a sprite. It was really nice and peaceful away from the traffic and people.

We decided then to go back to the guest house and do our washing in preparation for Kuala Lumpur as we will more than likely be in a dorm room again. We didn't have to hand wash our clothes in a sink with a giant hole this time though. We splashed out and used the washer and dryer for 10 ringitt (£2). Only one of Liams tshirts shrank haha... Its a little bit too tight to wear now. We also confirmed our new year accomodation today. We will be staying at the rainbow guest house on Langkawi for a week which we are really looking forward to.

Tonght we went out to eat a restaurant called Capitol Satay, which we have been trying to visit for the last 3 nights. There is usually a huge queue outside of people waiting to get in but we managed to get there just after it opened and got a table straight away. It is a strange restaurant as you sit at a table with a boiling pot of spicy satay sauce that is heated up via a gas bottle under the table. You then use this boiling sauce to cook your own food that you select from a large fridge. There is a large selection of food, all skewered, most of which we did not recognise as there were no signs. You are provided with a tray to go and select what you want to eat, we chose first the things we recognised, chicken, wontons, prawns and chillis. After that we guesed at a few things that looked nice, the only problem being as we did not know what it was until you bit into it we did not know how long to cook it for. Heres hoping we dont end up with food posioning as we will only have ourselves to blame. At the end they simply count how many skewers you have left and charge you . It is 90 cent (less than 20p) a skewer.

Just as we left Capitol there was a huge thunderstorm and we got soaked. We called into our coffee house for a final goodbye Melaka drink and had a milkshake each. The coffee shop is called 13 states of coffee and does all sorts of speciality coffees from the different states of Malaysia. As it was raining it was really busy so were forced to sit inside but the inside of the shop is really lovely. It has an indoor courtyard which is very chilled out and the walls are filled with interesting decorations and art (apart from the big close up of posh and becks they randomly had up).

We have both enjoyed Melaka so much. It is quite touristy but we like how shabby and small it is, full of crumbling architecture and antique shops. The night market at the weekend was a real treat and the food here has been amazing. In the morning we will be getting the bus to Kuala Lumpur and staying for 4 nights. Not sure if we will enjoy going back to a major city after such a relaxing stay in Melaka but we are excited to see what it is like.