Hand on the throat of Venice

So, next stop Malacca. Well, actually it was KL, but I'll be in and out of KL 5 times this trip so it seems sort of right to bookend the posts rather than repeat the city.

It's funny how, without ever being somewhere, you can form a strong opinion of what it will be like.

The Beijing Weekend, an ex-pat magazine recently ran an article about searching for the 'real' China. In it, the author described his frustration at arriving in China and not finding the true China of his ideas. He included several quotes and anecdotes from others who felt the same. One had gone as far as dragging his poor girlfriend off to a yurt in search of his per-conceived expectations.

Reading the article, I was suitably horrified. Perhaps its coming from Canada, a country with it's own share of cultural stereotypes, eh? A country like China, in the middle of radical economic and social changes could hardly be expected to retain the static images we all have of China...masses of bike riders in Mao suites, carrying little red books...than a visitor to Canada could expect igloos and dogsleds. Not to mention the regional differences. I would no more expect Beijing to be like Xi'an than I would Halifax to be like Winnipeg. A real China is as likely to exist as a real Canada. In fact, it's likely the mixture of cultures, regional variations and change that is the real China.

So, what does this have to do with Malacca? Malacca was one of the great port cities, once upon a time. Written on a wall in a cafe I had coffee was the quote "Whoever is the lord of Malakka has his hand on the throat of Venice.." (although it didn't provide the source. Those of you who are librarian minded can look it up for yourselves - this is costing me money to type.) This means that at one point or another, the Dutch and Portuguese were ruling powers and it was initially founded by the Chinese, leaving a still strong and vibrant Chinese community.

And, I realized, that despite what I've just said, I had a pretty strong image of what I thought would be the 'real' China. I found it in Malacca. Old men and women, wearing flowing cotton shirts and short pants, ride their bicycles through small, crowded and winding streets. There are birdcages hanging outside shops selling Buddhist alters and lucky money. At night, red lanterns light the streets of temples and alters. Without the Cultural Revolution and the re-opening of China, Malacca is exactly what I would have expected to find in China. Overall, it was a very satisfying trip; although, I have to admit that I was surprised to find that I thought China would have so much Portuguese and Dutch architecture.