We wake up to the sound of the humming tropical rain that will finally stop as we tour the old city. Our guide, Marie, is telling the story of the prince who found this land so welcoming that he named it after the tree where he was resting. From what seems to be the oldest European Dutch building in the Orient, the Town Hall, the Portuguese ruins of the impressive fort A Formosa, to Hindu temples, mosques and Chinese pagodas and churches, Melaka is a concentrate of Asia.

After a trishaw tour, we head for Jonker Street with its array of shops and temples. We drink iced tea from a street vendor and then wander into a Nonya shoemaking shop - one of the oldest traditions on the brink of desperation dates back to when the feet of women were tied to stop their growth. Nowadays, the craftsman makes unique models that are largely praised by local media.

The Nonya and Baba museum records the history and habits of Chinese who settled down in Melaka and married into the local population creating a new culture from the mix of the two. "The resulting food and its particular aromatic taste is the pride of the locals. However, other Chinese arrived later only married within their community and perpetuated Chinese traditions," explains Marie, a Nonya herself. Next door is the well-known Puri Hotel, whose walls are adorned with bird's nest - the hotel is known for offering the highly-praised swallow's nest.

We could have spent a few more days here discovering the hidden streets and exploring the new universities and malls, but we have to head back towards K.L. in order to take a flight for Langkawi, the main island of an archipelago of 99 islands. Here we are met by the fever brought by the biennial Langkawi International Maritime and Aviation Fair (LIMA), one of the major air shows in the world that fills the city's hotels with representatives in business suits from as far as Scotland, like the gentlemen who showed me around through small commercial streets and local vendors.