Malacca lacca baby...
Our day off! Glorious loveliness! It's amazing how much we look forward to that one day a week that we have totally free. It's pretty sad, because here I am, typing after a full day, and I'm actually home in time to go do a show, but I relish the fact that I don't have to! Not that I'm not loving it - because I am! The audiences are so amazing that it is really bringing a special joy to our performances here. However, a day off is a pretty exciting thing.
Unfortunately I didn't spend the day sleeping in. We've been so keyed up with the show opening and starting showtimes later than we're used to (8:30 curtain rather than 7:30 in Korea or 7 in Japan) that we never get to bed early, so getting up early is never easy. However today I was able, because I had places to go! My good friend Maria has met up with a family here who actually are her are her grandmother's best friend's children. Does that make sense? Any way you say it, this woman Lizanne is being very sweet to us. She's living in KL with her family (her husband is in advertising) and she offered to show us around today. We decided to go to a city on the Western coast a little South of KL, called Malacca.
Malacca is famous because it is an amazing historical place in Malaysia, and because it is a specific hub of cultural blending. Malaysia is a big mix of all the Asian cultures, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Malacca. Not only did Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indian people settle there, but as early as the 1400s the Dutch were coming to visit. Because of this, the architecture is amazing. A lot of buildings are original, and when you walk down the streets it's like another world. You smell a mixture of incense, cooking food, and the incredibly fresh greenery everywhere. The storefronts are charming, some looking Japanese with the curved roofs and dragon decorations, others classically Dutch with European styling, and others looking Moroccan or Indian. It's definitely a tourist destination, but the stores aren't junked up yet. They sell Malaysian crafts, like wooden bowls or hand made wind chimes. The people are friendly but not overpowering, except for the men who drive the three-wheeled rickshaws that are playfully decorated with plastic flowers and blinking Christmas lights.
We drove the two hours there, and our first stop was one of the oldest standing churches in Malaysia. It's from about 1500, and it was the original resting place of St.Francis of Xavier. The church stands alone on a hill that overlooks the whole city. The weather was beautiful, sunny and blue, and there were people lounging on the hill around the ruins of the church. It basically stands like one large brick box, with the ceiling missing. There are tombstones inside in memory of Dutch settlers, sailors, and local people, written in Latin, Malay, Dutch, and English. We walked around the hill outside, meeting local artists and families who wanted to take pictures with our blonde hair, before we headed back in the chapel one more time. Right before we left we stopped to listen to a man playing on his harmonica- this lovely song called "Oh Susannah". Since we were with Dana, who's from Alabama, she stopped to sing with him and get a picture.
After that we walked through the streets for a while, until we came to one of the most famous Malaccan restaurants. It's actually a house that has been converted, and we got to eat in the central courtyard, where the family would hang out to spend quality time. We all ordered the iced lemon tea (a Malaysian favorite that is sooo good on a hot day) and the special, which was a sampling of local foods. After some garlic rice, marinated chicken, chilied greens, curried prawns, and black peppered lamb, we enjoyed my new favorite Malaccan dessert. It's coconut milk that has some kind of barley in it - and it's delicious! We finished lunch and continued exploring the city. We stopped at a local woodworking shop that made the most beautiful furniture, and some souvenirs that I picked up for you! I also picked up my new favorite souvenir. At an antique shop I bought what I first thought was a pendant to wear around your neck. I quickly learned that it was an ancient boy's penis cover! For real, it's like a silver fig leaf. I can't wait to wear it!!! In the end, we visited a few of the temples, mosques, and shrines that dotted the streets. Our last important stop was one of the most amazing parts of the day.
Everyone knows about the old Asian custom of binding feet. It was done mostly in China, and the practice is largely dead today. It was originally performed on almost all middle to upper class women, since the bound feet were considered precious and lucky (the binding would make the feet look like lotus flowers, which are very lucky). However, it made walking and life extremely painful, and so it slowly died out as practicality and common sense won over. When it was popular, the best shoes a bound woman could buy came from specific famous shoemakers who designed especially for the tiny foot. One of these shoemakers was a Chinese man who is from Malacca! He has outfitted some of the famous women of the golden days of China, but unfortunately passed away two years ago. However, his shop still exists in Malacca, and his son carries on his tradition.
We stopped by to meet the famous man and see the shoes, and we got a lot more. We spent almost 45 minutes there, reading articles and seeing pictures of women with the tiny deformed feet. He still has a few customers with bound feet, but told us that they were very old. Now he spends his time making modern shoes or shoes for decoration. We shared some tea and took pictures of me trying to fit into the tiny shoes. By the time we left, we all had a pair of handmade shoes signed by the shoemaker. They're pretty creepy, but I like to think of them as how far we've come. We eventually came home, tired and sweaty and happy. What an amazing day!
Unfortunately I didn't spend the day sleeping in. We've been so keyed up with the show opening and starting showtimes later than we're used to (8:30 curtain rather than 7:30 in Korea or 7 in Japan) that we never get to bed early, so getting up early is never easy. However today I was able, because I had places to go! My good friend Maria has met up with a family here who actually are her are her grandmother's best friend's children. Does that make sense? Any way you say it, this woman Lizanne is being very sweet to us. She's living in KL with her family (her husband is in advertising) and she offered to show us around today. We decided to go to a city on the Western coast a little South of KL, called Malacca.
Malacca is famous because it is an amazing historical place in Malaysia, and because it is a specific hub of cultural blending. Malaysia is a big mix of all the Asian cultures, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Malacca. Not only did Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indian people settle there, but as early as the 1400s the Dutch were coming to visit. Because of this, the architecture is amazing. A lot of buildings are original, and when you walk down the streets it's like another world. You smell a mixture of incense, cooking food, and the incredibly fresh greenery everywhere. The storefronts are charming, some looking Japanese with the curved roofs and dragon decorations, others classically Dutch with European styling, and others looking Moroccan or Indian. It's definitely a tourist destination, but the stores aren't junked up yet. They sell Malaysian crafts, like wooden bowls or hand made wind chimes. The people are friendly but not overpowering, except for the men who drive the three-wheeled rickshaws that are playfully decorated with plastic flowers and blinking Christmas lights.
We drove the two hours there, and our first stop was one of the oldest standing churches in Malaysia. It's from about 1500, and it was the original resting place of St.Francis of Xavier. The church stands alone on a hill that overlooks the whole city. The weather was beautiful, sunny and blue, and there were people lounging on the hill around the ruins of the church. It basically stands like one large brick box, with the ceiling missing. There are tombstones inside in memory of Dutch settlers, sailors, and local people, written in Latin, Malay, Dutch, and English. We walked around the hill outside, meeting local artists and families who wanted to take pictures with our blonde hair, before we headed back in the chapel one more time. Right before we left we stopped to listen to a man playing on his harmonica- this lovely song called "Oh Susannah". Since we were with Dana, who's from Alabama, she stopped to sing with him and get a picture.
After that we walked through the streets for a while, until we came to one of the most famous Malaccan restaurants. It's actually a house that has been converted, and we got to eat in the central courtyard, where the family would hang out to spend quality time. We all ordered the iced lemon tea (a Malaysian favorite that is sooo good on a hot day) and the special, which was a sampling of local foods. After some garlic rice, marinated chicken, chilied greens, curried prawns, and black peppered lamb, we enjoyed my new favorite Malaccan dessert. It's coconut milk that has some kind of barley in it - and it's delicious! We finished lunch and continued exploring the city. We stopped at a local woodworking shop that made the most beautiful furniture, and some souvenirs that I picked up for you! I also picked up my new favorite souvenir. At an antique shop I bought what I first thought was a pendant to wear around your neck. I quickly learned that it was an ancient boy's penis cover! For real, it's like a silver fig leaf. I can't wait to wear it!!! In the end, we visited a few of the temples, mosques, and shrines that dotted the streets. Our last important stop was one of the most amazing parts of the day.
Everyone knows about the old Asian custom of binding feet. It was done mostly in China, and the practice is largely dead today. It was originally performed on almost all middle to upper class women, since the bound feet were considered precious and lucky (the binding would make the feet look like lotus flowers, which are very lucky). However, it made walking and life extremely painful, and so it slowly died out as practicality and common sense won over. When it was popular, the best shoes a bound woman could buy came from specific famous shoemakers who designed especially for the tiny foot. One of these shoemakers was a Chinese man who is from Malacca! He has outfitted some of the famous women of the golden days of China, but unfortunately passed away two years ago. However, his shop still exists in Malacca, and his son carries on his tradition.
We stopped by to meet the famous man and see the shoes, and we got a lot more. We spent almost 45 minutes there, reading articles and seeing pictures of women with the tiny deformed feet. He still has a few customers with bound feet, but told us that they were very old. Now he spends his time making modern shoes or shoes for decoration. We shared some tea and took pictures of me trying to fit into the tiny shoes. By the time we left, we all had a pair of handmade shoes signed by the shoemaker. They're pretty creepy, but I like to think of them as how far we've come. We eventually came home, tired and sweaty and happy. What an amazing day!
posted by Beth at 7:24 PM
3 Comments:
what a neat day you lucky dog!
Wow - you should be an author - fascinating! Thanks... DLADK
I'm so jealous!! But more importantly, I'm SO excited that you're posting all this so I can find out what you're doing. Keep it up babe!
-Ben :)
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