DIY Walking Tour of Melaka's Dutch Square

Photo by Joel Lopez.

The historical portion of Melaka lies in parallel with its river. It is a small portion of Melaka City, and an even smaller portion of Melaka, the state. Melaka, according to Malaysia's tourism website, is the heart of the nation. We were in Melaka for its heritage and culture, and taking a DIY walking tour was an easy feat as it is very doable. When we arrived at Layang-Layang Hostel, the attendant gave us a "welcome kit." The welcome kit was a printed map of all the places to eat in Melaka, keys to the hostel, instructions on how to rent their bikes, and tidbit that there is a free walking tour in the city every Thursdays every Thursday at 9AM and 1PM, which will run for at least 3 hours each tour. All you need to do is show up at the tourism office, at the Red Square, before the designated time and sign up for the tour. If you can't avail of the tour, a DIY tour is easy to achieve because the historical portion of the city is not that big but I think a more knowledgeable tour guide would have made our tour fun, interesting, and insightful.