Melaka, Malaysia is small, artsy town in the southwest of Malaysia. A 4.5 hour bus ride from Singapore (a small chunk of which is spent at immigration), Melaka is an easy weekend trip. I went to Melaka to meet up with my good friend Chizuru, who was passing through Malaysia on her way to India. Chizuru and I somehow both managed to arrive at the Traveller's Lodge in Melaka within half an hour of each other, quite a feat seeing as we both were a bit delayed getting there, and I spent about an extra hour walking around the town just trying to find the hostel. First, for anyone going to Melaka, Chizuru and I definitely recommend staying at the Traveller's Lodge. It's inexpensive, very clean, friendly, and in a good location. Chiz and I actually spent a good deal of time just lounging in our air conditioned room and getting caught up on each other's lives (while enjoying some decadent wine and chocolate). Aside from long chats between friends, we spent most of our time wandering around Melaka's China Town, popping in and out of clothing and crafts shops and art galleries. We both loved the local artists in Melaka, falling particularly hard for the paintings by an artist named Titi, who was as friendly as he was talented. I have to confess that we didn't do much besides talk, shop, and eat. We made a point of sampling some of the local baba nyonya delicacies at Cafe 1511, and went to a really fabulous make-your-own-satay restaurant called Capitol Satay.