Melaka has been compared to Macao, Hoi An and Galle. But I would like to throw in another comparison: Ping Yao. Melaka's contemporary feel is very Chinese. And the hundreds of shops, residences and temples did remind me of the Chinese WH town. It also seems to attract a lot of Chinese tourists (though they might be native to Malaysia or Singapore).

The best-known view of Melaka however is that of "Dutch Square", with its Town Hall (Stadthuys), Clock Tower and Church. They don't look very Dutch to me, probably because they (the Brits, the Malaysians) have repainted them with red paint. No sober Dutch would ever do that.

A couple more Dutch remnants can be found a little uphill, at St. Paul's Church. They are mostly tombstones of 17th-century Dutch citizens.

So what's the verdict on Melaka? In general, it's nice enough. But there's no real highlight here. During my 1.5-day stay, I strolled through town a couple of times and spent half a day on a recommended bike tour to the surrounding countryside.