This book serves as an essential guide for those visiting St Paul's Hill at Malacca. It provides the vistor with background information regarding the ancient tombstones and graves found at the hill. It details out the location of the historic graves and includes a transcript of the epitaphs. Also provided are translations Portuguese, Latin and Dutch writings on the tombstones, as well as background information on those who were buried there. The graves on St Paul’s Hill are located in three different areas. The first is located within the ruined church on the top of the hill. The second is located in the area on the outside surrounding the ruined church. Thirdly, there are a number of graves located in the old cemetery at the foot of the hill, known as the Dutch cemetery. Research for this book covers previous publications on the graves at St Paul's Hill, including research done by E. M. Merryweather (1900), Robert Norman (1905) and Alan Harfield (1984). However, this book provides further details on the background of those who were interred at St Paul’s Hill. With this book, the visitor will receive a better insight on the many historical tombstones of those real people who had once lived or visited Malacca and were interred at the hill. It is also an ideal reference book for Malaysian Tourist Guides. It will help Guides to speak more confidently about the historic tombstones at St Paul's Hill.

Tales of the subterranean tunnels under the historic town of Malacca has existed for over a century. There were stories of tunnels that served as the governor’s secret emergency exit from the fortress and a mile long tunnel that once connected the fortress of Malacca to the fort on St. John’s hill, strategically built for the defence of the town. There were also stories of a tunnel under St. Paul’s hill and how people had gone into these tunnels but were never to been seen again because they were eaten alive by a giant mythical serpent who guards the tunnels. What secrets do the tunnels contain and why were people willing to risk their life by descending into the the dark and unknown orifices below Malacca? Is there lost treasure still buried in Malacca? Did the last Sultan of Malacca stash his huge cache of gold after the Portuguese captured Malacca and the secret vault still remains undiscovered till today? Was Malacca Ptolemy’s Golden Chersonese and the Ophir the source of King Solomon’s gold? This book uncovers the layers of history that unfolds Malacca’s most bizarre and amazing legend.

The earliest account of the existence of the were-tiger comes from the Malacca Portuguese records. British Victorian era explorers to Malaya not only recorded stories about the were-tiger but told of several were-tiger villages hidden deep in the jungles of Malaya. These mythical shapeshifters struck fear in rural Malay society as they were able to kill their unsuspecting victims, usually out of vengeance. The Were-Tiger was written by the renowned Malayan colonial Sir Hugh Clifford and it was originally published in 1916. It is a short story of a village’s experience with a migrant Sumatran trader and a supernatural big cat that occurred in Slim, Pahang. Sir Hugh Clifford served as the British Resident at Pahang and later as British High Commissioner in Malaya.

This is not an ordinary guide to Melaka. This book weaves together history, cultures, architecture and cuisine to tell a more multifaceted story of Melaka, once a great trading port fought over by various colonial powers, resulting in a rich heritage that is still salient today, resulting in a multicultural city reflecting its cosmopolitan journey over the centuries. Journey along the old streets of Melaka and past its ruins, where its rich history, reflecting hundreds of years of Asian and European influence, remains alive and evolving to this day.

Written in the perspective of a Malaysian Dutch descendant, it gives a comprehensive and never before narrated story about the history of the Dutch in Malaysia and the Malaysian Dutch community. This book divides the Dutch historical influences in Malaysia into four different eras. Each era is analysed and represented in relation to its respective social environment and political developments. Included are the historical contributions of individuals, such as the Dutch Admirals who attempted to capture Malacca, the Dutch Governors and their administrative ranks who governed the town and the contributions of the Malacca Burghers in shaping Malaysia's history.

“Cycling to Malacca High School for my secondary education, I had to pass by the last remnant of the A Famosa fortress and St Paul’s Hill. Quite often in the afternoons, my classmate and I would go up St Paul’s Hill, to sit under the shade of the trees that were around the ruined church and do some quiet reading and studying … Some weekends, we would go to Pulau Besar, an island off Melaka, steeped in myth and legend, visited by preachers and pilgrims for centuries.” In this short account of the history of Melaka, Devinder Raj weaves in letters, myths and oft-forgotten historical facts to craft an image of his home state during the Melakan sultanate and under the rule of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. Filling in the gaps in history textbooks, and piecing together accounts such as letters from Melaka’s Tamil merchants to the King of Portugal and the proposed British effort to demolish Melaka entirely, Where Eighty-four Languages Were Once Spoken revisits the storied history of a historic city.