The Malacca River in Malay is Sungai Melaka. A trade route in the 15th century, nowadays boats that ply it carry tourists who come from all over Malaysia; and from China, Singapore, Vietnam and other parts of the world even. The river flows from the foothills of a neighbouring state, Negeri Sembilan to the Straits of Malacca. When you walk along the river walkways, drinking in the sights of Malacca's skyline, you'd probably suddenly, catch sight of a twin-spired neo-gothic structure. That's the church built by a French priest, Father Farvé, in 1856, in honour of the Apostle of the East, St. Francis Xavier, a prominent 16th-century Catholic missionary. The church of St.Francis Xavier stands on the site of an old Portuguese church. Historically, the first to invade and colonise Malacca were the Portuguese led by Alfonso de Albuquerque, followed by the Dutch. You could just walk over to the old church to check if it was indeed modelled after the Cathedral of St. Peter in Montpellier in Southern France.
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