Interesting info...

I was in Melaka a few years back and was actually quite disappoined. Not by the city itself (which has a lot of interesting Dutch colonial buildings and a very good museum) but by the whole hyped-up experience.

I arrived from Singapore (on the bus) early in the afternoon and expected to stay 24 hours before heading back.

The guidebook I had couldn't say enough good things about the Majestic Hotel. 'Colonial charm', 'bygone era', 'sit on the varandah sipping a cold Tiger Beer', etc etc etc. It was a complete dump when I got there, the 'staff' were grumpy and reluctantly got off their butts to show me to a room. I took it but it was pretty disgusting. The mattress was stained and worn out, the bathroom had a family of cockroaches living in it.

The city itself was crawling with tourists and I pretty much saw the interesting Dutch colonial architecture within three or four hours.

I was keen to try out a Nonya restaurant that someone in Singapore had told me about. When I finally found it they told me they don't do tables for one. The restaurant looked empty so I said I'll have a table for two and order for two. They told me to leave.

I later found a nice Thai restaurant by the side of the road near a marina that was being built. I resigned myself to the fact that I probably wasn't going to really enjoy Melaka so I got p!ssed on Singha and caught the first bus back to Singapore the next day.