Word: malacca
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Moreover, though Beijing plays up the voyages as a triumphant Chinese adventure, the journeys had a distinctly Muslim character. Zheng practiced Islam, as did Ma Huan, the main chronicler aboard the ships. It's likely they were guided to their many ports of call, such as Malacca, India's Malabar coast and Malindi in Kenya, by Muslim pilots of Arab, Indian or African extraction. "They were essentially following maritime routes that had been in use by people in the Indian Ocean for ages," says Wade. Many academics argue that the popular Arab-Persian tale of the Seven Voyages of Sinbad...
...those visiting Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, Malacca's location - two hours by coach from the Malaysian capital, or 3 1/2 hours across the border from the Lion City - make it a no-brainer overnight excursion (or a long day trip, if you've got the stamina). The charming town is brimming with edifices that nod to a complicated colonial history on the Malacca Strait, while the narrow streets and traditional homes offer a peek into the culture of the Peranakans, or Malay Chinese, who lived there in great numbers. Here are three (of many) must-dos. See websites like melaka.net...
...bean sprouts and soy sauce that are the local specialty, with plenty of other Peranakan dishes besides. Mealtimes are cacophonous, but in a good way. A location just around the corner from the Jalan Hang Jebat shopping street (or Jonker Street, as it's also called in commemoration of Malacca's former Dutch masters) makes it a perfect pit stop...
...safeguard its vast appetite for oil and other natural resources, particularly those drawn from Africa, China has embarked upon a "string of pearls" strategy, building ports and listening posts around the Indian Ocean rim. Beijing's projects span from the Malacca Straits to the Cape of Good Hope and many places in between, including countries that were once in India's sphere of influence. A massive deep-sea port being built by Chinese funds and labor at Hambantota, at the southern tip of Sri Lanka, has in particular riled Indian analysts. With a $1 billion facility also under construction...
...they don't always come. Up to two-thirds of birdhouses fail to attract a self-supporting colony of birds, estimates Kok. "We don't really understand them," he says. "They are wild animals. We find that they like to stay in dark areas. But at one hotel in Malacca they are nesting in bright light." Lucky producers can harvest two to four pounds of nests a month, worth up to $500 per pound ($1,100 per kg). Middlemen are buying up all the nests they can source, usually as quietly as possible. "They come to your doorstep...