A short and sweet cruise - We decided on a day trip to Malacca by road from Kuala Lumpur as part of the package our travel agent had worked out. Onward trip was smooth and took us about two hours (as against four on return due to heavy traffic). The first stop was the river cruise. We departed KL at 9 am and arrived in Malacca around 11 am. Since we had pre-booked the tickets, the check-in was smooth and hassle-free. Purchasing ticket at the counter would entail producing documents as identity proof and could be time-consuming. Please be aware that after ticketing, you are stopped by a photographer and a picture is taken. We were quite happy to pose. But a few minutes later, the photographer offered framed pictures of ours with different backgrounds and sizes, ranging from 20 Ringgits to 80 Ringgits. We declined. After a short wait, we boarded the boat amidst some excitement and expectations. The entire cruise lasted about 40 minutes. We sailed past some historical monuments and dwellings that reflected the local culture and lifestyle. The water though was greenish in colour. A canned commentary in English pointed out and informed us of the buildings on either bank of the river, but the audio quality could have been better. However, the cruise itself was quite pleasant and an experience in itself. After alighting, we drove into town that offered a fascinating insight into local culture, cuisine, lifestyle and markets. The choice of cuisine was quite overwhelming and it was difficult to make a choice. It was fun walking around the town, a portion of which was exclusively for the pedestrians. But you could hire a colourfully decorated tricycle for a small tour. Given the hot and humid weather in the afternoon, walking around was not a welcome option and so we headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch prior to driving back to KL. We returned to Kuala Lumpur around 5.30 pm after wading through heavy highway traffic that slowed us down to a crawl. Later, a friend of ours told us that we should have stayed overnight in Malacca and taken the night cruise besides visiting a few other spots nearby rather than take in a 300Kms roundtrip. Next time, perhaps!