LAKBAY MALAYSIA : CHRIST CHURCH MELAKA
- Rasty Sanchez
- Nov 13, 2016
- 2 min read
Christ Church Melaka is an 18th century Angelican church in Melaka State, Malaysia. Construction began in 1741 on the centennial of the Dutch occupation, and it was completed in 1753. It is the oldest functioning Protestant church in Malaysia and is considered as the icon of Melaka state.
Honestly, I didn’t know much about Melaka. I had heard about it from my Malaysian friends but I didn’t know what state looked like and what they had in there. All I know is that this place is old and was colonized by the British, That’s all.
It wasn’t easy exploring the place with only limited information in my head. I had no choice but to take taxis going one place to another and It was expensive. So when we passed by this bloody red like village, I decided to get out of the cab and just walk instead.
While walking on the street surrounded by red-colored buildings, I learned that this place was declared as UNESCO world heritage because of its long history. The only bad thing I have noticed was the road in the middle of those beautiful red-colored building serves as the main road for the village and many vehicles like buses and private cars are passing by, making it not so attractive for tourist.
This red-colored colonial buildings lining both sides of Jalan Laksamana leads directly towards Melaka’s Dutch Square where the Christ Church Melaka is located. This Dutch Square was also dubbed as the red square literally because of the buildings’ paint job.
Upon walking on the side of the Christ Church Melaka, I’ve saw a crowd of souvenir sellers. Those colorful stalls were stunningly lining on the side street of the Church.
Just around dutch square there’s Christ Church Melaka, the youth museum and art gallery which was built in 1784 (please be advised that there’s entrance fee here), the tang beng swee clock tower, and the Stadthuys, which the square is sometimes referred to as—its literal meaning, the town hall. And just nearby there’s the bukit st.Paul, A famosa and the famous jonker walk.
One regret I have is not going inside the church. It was Sunday morning and many people-tourist and local alike are paying respect to those people attending the Sunday services.
Transport
Most bus services to and from Melaka and Kuala lumpur leave from TBS or Terminal Bersepadu Selatan. The travel time is about 1 and a half hours – 2 hours depending on a traffic situation.
The first trip leave at 7am and continues till 11pm. There are 2 more bus station in Kuala Lumpur such Putra bus terminal and Hentian Pekeliling just not really sure if they have bus servicing to Melaka.
Christ Church Melaka Address: Gereja Christ, Jalan Gereja, 75000 Melaka, Malaysia Contact Number: +60 17-824 6391
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