Doors from Malacca 馬六甲大門之旅
Today I want to take you on an alternative tour in Malacca, Malaysia, a Door Tour. I took these photos on my trip there in August 2018. It was a Sunday afternoon, many places were shut so I got this great opportunity to appreciate these buildings, doors and all.
前幾個月到去了馬來西亞的馬六甲。 當天是星期日，有不少商店都關了門。 平時的商店和建築物都是中門大開，但這天卻讓我有機會見到整棟建築物的門面， 尤其各有特色的大門口。 感覺上馬六甲很喜歡天空藍，讓人看見覺得非常舒服。 馬來西亞是多文化和種族 的國家， 中國人喜愛的紅色門面當然有不少。 希望大家喜歡這次馬六甲大門之旅。你最喜歡哪一道門口呢？
The Blues
I don’t know if this is the official city colour, or if people just like this shade of blue in Malacca. Personally I quite like this shade myself. It’s like a sky blue shade, and instantly reminds one of the clear blue sky. That is, if you’re fortunate to be at a place where you can still see the clear blue sky nowadays. In many places in Asia, it’s common to see these criss cross metal gates in front of the door. Their original cold metal look provides a nice contrast to the blue. And when the blue door looks a bit worn out, so does the gate. It’s like they age together.
What do you think of this building? Do you think it looks a bit exposed, or more welcoming without the gate?
Sometimes, the sky blue shade extends to the entire building. The owner here has used the blue to highlight the frame of the front door and window shutters. Instead of throwing a big slab of blue at you, I think this makes it stand out more, and you actually take time to appreciate it.
The Reds
Red is an auspicious and lucky colour for the Chinese. Malaysia has a large Chinese population, so I wasn’t surprised to see many buildings decorated in traditional lucky red. Not all these buildings have a red door, but they do have a red facade. From the decor you can tell immediately they are related to the Chinese community.
All these buildings were located on a road called Jalan Tokong which is just behind the famous Jonker Walk in Malacca. Jalan Tokong is also known as Harmony street and a very interesting road. On this single stretch of road, you can find a buddhist temple, a Taoist temple, a Hindu temple, an Islamist mosque all co-existing peacefully with one another. Perhaps this is a reflection of the multicultural and diversity nature of Malaysia as a whole.
OTHER DOORS
These are the other interesting doors that caught my eye. A bright yellow one, I’m guessing this is some sort of bakery or cafe as there’s a chimney on the side. The shop front was round the corner and there was a sign which read “Pin Pin Hiong”, this translates to fragrant smell in Chinese.
I liked this one as the brown wooden door and gold letters gives a very formal and regal feel. Rather elegant, in my opinion.
Simple yet cool. The door has a subtle two-tone grey and matches perfectly with the metal criss cross front gate. The lettering on the door and the frame is in brown. Together I think they give a cold and strong appearance, quite a contrast to the product they sell.
And finally, a range of doors down a small alley way. This type of dwellings seemed to be quite typical in Malacca, I edited this into a black and white photo to reflect the nostalgic feel in Malacca.
I hope you like the tour of the Doors from Malacca. Which was your favourite one? I would love to know.