Two Nights in Malacca

The more I travel, the more I enjoy exploring the “off the beaten path” places. Sometimes, the tourist hotspots are disappointing, like Bali and Bora Bora, and often too crowded. So when we visited Malacca, Malaysia, a place we knew next to nothing about, we were pleasantly surprised. We spent two nights in Malacca, admiring the historic buildings and eating excellent food.

Why Two Nights in Malacca

From Puteri Harbour, we made plans to visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s modern capital inland city. Since the best way to travel was via bus or train, we decided to break up the trip with a stop in Malacca (also spelt Melaka) on the way. (Since I am writing this in English, I am using the English spelling. I have been told that either is correct and they are interchangeable.) We saw a lot but two nights in Malacca may not have been enough.

Chinatown in Malacca
Entrance to Malacca’s Chinatown

About Malacca

Malacca City is part of a World Heritage Site, combined with Penang to the north, and has a rich history as a maritime port. The charming city is intersected by the narrow Malacca river which is lined with pathways for use by cyclists and pedestrians.

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Two Weeks in Vietnam Itinerary

Two weeks is never enough but we jammed  a lot into our Vietnam itinerary. We took three interior flights and multiple grab rides, and it was worth it. Hopefully, one day we can get back and spend another two weeks in Vietnam, or longer. I couldn’t get enough of this busy and beautiful country.

Last Minute Booking

Our trip to Vietnam was one of our most spontaneous ever, even more last minute than Japan. Fortunately, it was easier and more affordable to book tours and visit popular sights in Vietnam. We chose Vietnam because it’s close to Indonesia and we know we will not be going there by boat.

Ha Long Bay karsts, Vietnam
The limestone karst islands are part of what make Ha Long Bay so beautiful – and popular

Rainy season in Indonesia was wearing us down, and we needed to renew our visas again. But, we had to find somewhere safe to leave our boat and Domino for two weeks. For our first trip to Vietnam, we didn’t want to go for any less time. Fortunately, we managed to find both a mooring and a wonderful cat sitter in Gili Asahan, Lombok. Within a few days we were in Vietnam.

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Eastern Indonesia Highlights

Indonesia has been an adventure. After two years in New Zealand and Australia, it’s been a fun change visiting a new country where we don’t speak the language. And sprawling Indonesia offers new cultures and languages, or at least dialects, on almost every island. From Darwin, Australia we travelled to Kupang, on the island of Timor. Indonesia is a very big country, and we’ve only visited a small section. While traveling from Timor to Lombok, we encountered amazing animals, met friendly people, and ate delicious food, all part of our Eastern Indonesia highlights.

Our Route in Eastern Indonesia

Unlike our excellent sailing conditions in North and Far North Queensland, we had no wind after Darwin. We motored for the 4 days to Kupang and then for the almost 700 miles from Kupang to Lombok. When the wind wasn’t on our nose, it didn’t last, so we motored the whole way. All of our trips, aside from the first jump upon leaving Kupang, were day trips. We only sailed overnight from Kupang to Sagu Bay because we had no choice, as it was too far to do in daylight.

Calm sea Indonesia
The sea and winds were calm on our “sail” from Darwin to Indonesia
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