Malacca

Set in the South Seas, Malacca has a storied history as an ancient trading route for spices that reached as far as India and China. The capital, Malacca City, is about 150 kilometers southeast from Kuala Lumpur and is home to 800,000 people. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site noted for its multicultural mix of Muslims, Buddhists, Burmese and many others hailing from various heritages. Owing to its hodgepodge of cultures, Malacca is well known for its outstanding cuisine and culinary delights. The city's recorded history dates back to 1400 A.D, when Malacca flourished as a Sultanate before it became a part of various European Empires. The European foothold was garnered by Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary who visited Malacca in 1545. (A church sporting his name still exists today). The Dutch pushed out the Portuguese in 1641 and ruled until 1798. The Dutch did not develop Malacca as a trading outpost as Java and Jakarta were their main focus points. They built the Stadhuys (or The Red Building) which was a major signature for them. The Dutch ceded Malacca in 1824, and it was in fact traded for another outpost, Bencoolen, on Sumatra. There was a time when Malacca was a part of the Straits Settlements along with Penang and Singapore. The Japanese army arrived in 1942 and once again control of Malacca changed hands. Much of the world's oil flows through the Malacca Straits, and as such it remains a global point of interest. Because of its strategic location near the capital, Malacca makes a great destination to combine with Kuala Lumpur.