Posting from Melaka, Malaysia (map), where we've headed for a few days prior to the departure for Auckland. Finally, a city with some old stuff in it! It's been passed around by a few European powers in the last 500 years (Portugal then Holland then Britain), and was a huge contender in southeast Asian trade until the British tried to move its population to Penang (up north) in the late 1800s. Now it's a peaceful little town, ideal for backpackers and travelers (dirt cheap and oozing with history).