Melaka/Malacca

Let's not talk about the immigration and border controls. Or the traffic. Instead I'll mention an odd reminiscence. Maybe it was the shape of the streets, or the smell (subconscious), but Melaka reminded me of Nanjing. There are several peculiar things about this: I didn't especially enjoy NJ at the time, but in hindsight it has really been rather stimulating - some of my more vivid and positive memories of China came from there. Melaka is a fraction of the size and has a stronger western influence (having had Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial influence) but something about it or me triggered memories. I'm sure it wasn't just the stairs. Although the stairs would probably be a factor...