MALACCA MAGIC

Who's dreamt of fighting pirates in the straits of Malacca? Here is a story about the town that gives the straits its name. Here is a town that will cast a spell over you as nights are spent on the riverbank and days are spent wandering ancient alleys.

- CHRIS PARRY

IN MY LAST STORY FOR JUST URBANE, I mentioned how saying ‘Singapore’ was so evocative as a destination renowned for its colonial era and modern-day culture and extravagances.

It got me thinking about other places that are evocative just by their name alone. Immediately to the west of Singapore is the Malacca Strait and just to the north of Singapore is Malaysia, where on the west coast you will find a sea-faring history similar to that of Kerala, on the south-western coast of India.

Just like Kochi in Kerala, Malacca on the west coast of Malaysia has a heritage heavily influenced by Dutch, Portuguese, English seafarers and spice traders. From architecture to religion and food, the influence of those who came from the sea creates a tapestry of diversity that is rich and intriguing.

Malacca for me is evocative because of the Malacca Strait, such an important trade route for centuries and still a shipping lane that is one of the busiest in the world. Historically, it was the rise of the maritime empire of Srivijaya that established spice trade routes between India, China, and traders from Arabia and the importance of the Malacca Strait led to the rise in prominence of Singapore as a trading post.

The attraction of so many cargo-carrying ships led pirates to infest the Strait and many battles have taken place to protect the trade routes from pirates with swords in sailing ships and pirates with guns in motorboats.