We woke up at around 11am and hoped that our complimentary breakfast was still available at this time. However, there didn't seem to be a set time for breakfast, which was perfect for us! We had toast and a large selection of jam, as well as bananas, fresh coffee and Boh tea from the Cameron Highlands, which made my day having a proper cup of tea. The only let down was the lack of fresh milk, so we had to make do with creamer. We chilled out for a bit before getting ready and walking to the 'Riverside Kopitiam' restaurant for some ridiculously cheap food. I had a very refreshing lime and plum juice, as I decided I needed to cut down on my coke intake. We walked to the 'Dutch Square' as it was one of the oldest parts of Melaka. The Stadthuys building, dating between 1660 and 1700 used to be a town hall but it has since become a museum. The building was brick-red in colour and had high windows, which was typical of Dutch architecture at the time of construction. Christ Church, built in 1753, was right next door to Stadthuys and was also brick-red in colour. We had a quick look inside the church, where we saw the heavy timber roof beams that were each carved from a single tree. There were a number of elaborate tombstone carvings sunken into the floor, but we couldn't make out what they said due to the differing language. We posed for a couple of photos, along with all of the other tourists, in front of the Victorian marble fountain. The fountain was built in 1904, so it was a newer addition to the square, to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The clock tower in the square was also built later, in 1886, in honour of a rich Chinese merchant. However, it was also painted brick-red, as were all of the buildings along the road leading to the Dutch Square. There were many trishaws hanging around the square, profusely decorated in flashing lights and artificial flowers, waiting for a potential customer. A few even had an inbuilt audio system, so they were blasting out the latest pop tune! We even saw a trishaw creatively transformed to look like a wooden boat. We called in at the 'Tourist Information Centre' and asked for a map, but they cost RM5 so we didn't bother and there was very little other help on offer. We continued walking, following the Sungai Melaka, until we came across the remains of a Portuguese/Dutch fort. One of the first things the Portuguese did when they took over Melaka, in 1511, was to build a massive fort, which encircled the base of 'Bukit St Paul'. The Dutch then added to the fort when they colonised Melaka. There was very little left of the original fort, although a partial reconstruction had been thrown up close to the river. We followed the river further, which led to the 'Melaka Sultanate Watermill' and a little further along was the Portuguese 'Flor de la Mar' replica ship that housed the Maritime Museum. The ship sank off the coast of Melaka while on route to Portugal. We had to remove our shoes to enter the museum, which was a bit surprising as it wasn't a place of worship. However, we were given a carrier bag at the ticket counter so at least there was no chance of them being stolen. The museum highlighted Melaka's importance as a regional and international business centre. It contained model ships and paintings that illustrated how Melaka played a role for traders from all around the world.
 
We continued our heritage trail up to Bukit St . Paul which luckily wasn't too much of a hill to climb in the humidity of the day. We reached the summit where the roofless shell of St. Paul's Church stood. It was built in 1521 by the Portuguese. There were a number of large monumental Dutch tombstones leaning against the interior wall of the church. There was also a white marble statue of Sir Francis Xavier stood at the front of the church and Andrew noticed that his right hand was missing. According to the tale, his body was exhumed for transfer to his final resting place and the Vatican requested his right arm. It was severed from his body and allegedly showed very few signs of decay, even after none months of burial. A large tree then fell on the statue, severing the right arm! However, Andrew thought it was one big coincidence...
 
We walked back down the hill and past Stadthuys towards the Dutch graveyard. It was very overgrown and one huge tombstone slab had moved so that you could see the deep pit in the ground, which was a bit strange. There were actually more British graves than Dutch and they were all white in colour . Our next stop was the Istana Kesultanan but there was a no entry sign on the gate so we turned around and walked back to Old Town Guesthouse for a rest. We later made the long journey across the road to eat at a cheap food stall. We have become so brave, as they didn't even have any English signing! However, they did have a tank full of live frogs ready to be cooked up! We sat and played Scrabble in the communal area drinking Boh tea and eating Oreo's until the daughter of the owner came along and couldn't take her eyes off the Oreo packet. I asked if she wanted one but she said no, whilst still staring at the packet. I gave it another minute or so before asking again and this time she said yes in a flash! She then proceeded to help herself until Andrew sharply got the packet before there were none left! Andrew won Scrabble by a mile, as I could only come up with a three letter word each time. The owner informed us about a Buddhist street parade that was about to take place just at the end of the road, so we had a walk to watch the proceeding. It was quite interesting as each temple had put together a kind of float and they all proceeded down the street along with music, dancing and singing. The children were given sweets and water was splashed on the crowd as a sign of good luck. A lady came to ask if we could pledge to eat vegetarian food for either one meal a day, one week, one month, one year or an entire life! We just agreed that we could but we then had to fill in a pledge card, where we opted for one vegetarian meal a day. She kept one half of the card so I have no idea where that will end up! We walked back to our guesthouse and chilled out in the communal area before bed.