It is 9.30am and none of the cafes have opened their doors for breakfast yet.
Welcome to Melaka, the sleepy Malaysian coastal city just south of Kuala Lumpur.
Walking through the streets early on a Wednesday morning, the whole place was deserted. We finally found one restaurant which was open - but the chef was yet to show up for his breakfast time shift.
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| Our view from the roof terrace of our guesthouse in Melaka |
Life happens at a much slower pace here than it does anywhere else we have been.
Melaka started life as a small fishing village, but in the 15th century it grew into a huge port and became a regular stopping point for fleets of Chinese ships.
Under the control of Portuguese conquerors who seized the city in 1511, the ports continued to grow in size and international importance. After 140 years the south Malaysian port city changed hands and was controlled by the Dutch before it was finally controlled by the British.
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| ...And the same view in a thunderstorm. It is the end of the rainy season in Malaysia so there is still the occasional tropical downpour |
Under the Brits, trade in Melaka waned as rival ports, such as Singapore, grew in size.
These days a new type of conqueror has taken over the town, in the form of guesthouse owners and restaurateurs who have turned Melaka into one of Malaysia's top tourist destinations. Officially this is a city although the whole place is tiny and can easily be explored on foot.
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| Colonial influence: A fountain built in 1904 in honour of Queen Victoria in Dutch Square which is lined with red buildings |
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| Colonial past: One of the forts used to protect the city from the latest ship of invaders |
Although Malaysia was given full independence in 1957, the colonial influence is still felt in the old town where the Dutch Square is lined with red buildings. In the centre sits a fountain built as a tribute to Britain's Queen Victoria in 1904, four years after her death.
There are loads of tiny museums dotted all over the town. Some of them are very good, others are not. In the customs museum (I know, doesn't sound good) the exhibits included a genuine hole punch used by staff in the 1960s and a bicycle. It was free to get in - and we were quickly heading out.
The narrow streets are idyllic and many of the guesthouses offer excellent views over the river. There is not a single McDonalds, 7 Eleven supermarket or chain store in the old town.
Melaka was given UNESCO World Heritage status five years ago. What exactly this means, I have no idea. However, a quick check on Wikipedia revealed that almost 1,000 sites around the world have been given this "honour". It seems to be so common I'm thinking of applying for World Heritage Status for my bedroom.
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| Kelly-Ann standing by the river |
Anyway, back to the point.
Although Melaka has dozens of hotels and hostels, it isn't overrun with tourists in the same way as we found in parts of Thailand.
The streets are almost deserted any time before 11am - and frankly not much busier after that. Restaurants and cafes open late, close early or shut their doors altogether seemingly at random on different days throughout the week.
One cafe which specialised in fruit juice cocktails was open - but the owner told us she didn't have the fruit to make almost all the drinks on her menu.
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| Customs museum exhibit: A genuine hole punch used by customs officials in the 1960s. It was free to get in, we left quickly |
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| Yes, these WERE real frogs! Two frogs which were the victims of taxidermologists. They are among the banned items which customs officials stopped from going into Malaysia |
She offered us orange juice or a beer and invited us to come back another day once she had got some fruits from the market. This hopeless helplessness would be unthinkable anywhere else in Malaysia.
Anyway, we returned the next day and had our fruit drinks!
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| The city from above. The old Malaka town is the other side of the river from where this picture was taken |
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| Reclaimed land: Some of the new houses and apartments being built in the coastal city |
In years to come Melaka is likely to be transformed as Malaysia makes a more determined effort to attract tourist dollars - to boost the country's international image and bolster their developing economy.
The town itself is growing in size as land is reclaimed from the sea and new houses are built on it. The local shopping centre outside the old town is being massively extended and new hotels are being built on the outskirts.
Singaporeans have bought up a lot of property in the town as holiday homes because the prices are so low.
With their influx expect more development - and maybe somewhere you can get breakfast at 9.30am.
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