Roaming around a new town can turn up some interesting surprises. Today I stumbled upon the Museum of Enduring Beauty. Malaka is a historical town, but this museum doesn't care much about the historical side of Malaka. Instead, it describes itself as being "a tribute to diversity as expressed through body modifications". If you already have the tatoos and body piercings, here are some more ways to make yourself beautiful you might like.

But, before your beauty tips, let me describe my visit to one of the oldest forts . The historical center of the city, near the Dutch Square, is where I found St. John's HIll. Surrounding the hill are the ruins of the Portuguese fortress. 

A little history for you
The Portuguese started establishing outposts in Macau, China, and India, early in the 16th century. They wanted to have a string of ports for their ships to run routes on between China and Portugal. Melaca was a growing place at the time and the Portuguese saw it as an important port for them. So, in 1511, the Portuguese fleet attacked the armies of Malaca and defeated them.

The Portuguese leader hurriedly built a fort around a hill by the sea, to protect his gains. He used 1500 slaves to build the fort. The fort housed the entire Portuguese administration, hospitals, five churches, stockades and 4 towers. There were ammunition storage towers and residences for the captain and officers quarters. In 1586 the fort was enlarged to include the growing Malaca population .

Then, in 1641, the Dutch took control of the fort from the Portuguese and drove them out of the city. The Dutch rebuilt the fort in 1670 after the seige.

The fort, A'Formosa (St John's HIll), changed hands again when the British took over during the Napoleonic times. The British were to be caretakers of Malaca until the Dutch were able to fully resume control. But, the fort was actually never returned to them. In the early 19th century, the british took full control of Malaca. The British destroyed the fort in 1806, so it could not fall into enemy hands. Only a small part of the fort remains today.

Nearby is St John's Fort. It was at one time a private chapel dedicated to St John the Baptist when the Dutch controlled Malaca.

Now Your Beauty Tips
The Museum of Beauty is a part of the People's Museum. The first two floors display artifacts of the cultures of Malaysia . The 3rd floor is dedicated to the various ways people modify their bodies to achieve what they consider beauty.

Large plates imbedded in the ears or lips are the most bizarre to me. This is practiced in African and Brazilian cultures. There are photos of the body piercings, popular now even in the western, civilized world. Sticks inserted through the nose and lips seem to be popular.

Women go through painful procedures as young girls to have their feet 'bound'. The feet are wrapped in tight material, pulling the toes under the feet and restricting growth of the feet, eventually. This takes place in steps over a period of time. I took photos of some of the small shoes these adult women wear after having the feet bound.

One of the most painful looking to me is the tooth filing. The teeth are filed down to only pointed bones. There are many photos of this. It looks horribly painful to me .

Tattoos of all varieties are on display. This too has become common in western cultures now.

There are photos and descriptions of neck stretching, also. This is where copper rings are added to young girl's necks over a period of time until the neck appears stretched. Actually, the neck does not stretch much, it is the collarbone that is pushed downward. I visited a hill tribe while in Thailand where they practiced neck stretching a few months ago. Removing the rings can apparently cause suffocation.

Often the signs near the photos remind visitors that beauty is seen differently in various parts of the world. They reiterate that all these people have the 'ability to think' just like the rest of us. 

What is body mutilation to me is body modification to them.

So, if you have exhausted your ideas for body piercings and tattoos, here are a few other beauty ideas for you to try!