I left Ko Lanta on Friday morning and endured a 14 trip into Penang. It was on mini-buses so it wasn't the plushest accomodation and it left me tired and in desperate need of a shower when I arrived. Going through the Malay border was nervewracking. I'm always nervous with immigration peeps, especially the ones that are standing 10 feet away from me with automatic rifles and I get paranoid that my Tylenol PM is going to be illegal and I end up in prison. I know this is a bit ridiculous, but this is my brain after being in a cramped minibus for hours on end.
I was dropped in Georgetown on Penang (Penang is the island) with an Aussie girl, Louise, and we decided to look for a place to stay together since it was getting late and it would be easier to
do this together. I saw the place Annie recommended, but it was full. Darn. We tried this other place since the shopkeeper was waving us down, so we decided to check it out. No single rooms, but would give us each a double room for the same price since he needed the customer. It was a ramshackle old building, with shelf paper used as 'flooring' and warm windowless rooms, but was only $12 ringgit ($4) so what the hell. After checking in, Louise and I were starving, but we hadn't changed our money so Haniff (shopkeeper) was trying to give us ringgit until we got some! We declined and left to get it exchanged. Couldn't find a place, passed all these great smelling food stalls and by the time we returned to the guesthouse, we were starving and tired. Haniff was there when we got back and he invited us to the roof (the bathroom was up here too) and gave us each a cold Carlsberg. Score! We both needed a beer at this point and me, Louise, Haniff, and Shunto from Japan proceeded to have some beers and chat it up. Louise asked him why he was so generous with us, strangers to him, and he replied that "...kindness is most important. It leads to happiness. Money goes away. Happiness stays." Haniff was somewhat spiritual and it was great conversation. Somtimes you can spend a day seeing temples, museums, etc, but a conversation with a local on a roofdeck will teach you more about life than anything. After some beers we told Haniff we were unable to get food because we didn't have any ringgit and he stopped us, left, and returned with naan and the best tandori chicken ever! We dug into this generous gift and went to bed happy and well fed.
The next day I think I walked all over Georgetown and boy, my feet paid the price. Penang was and still is a vital shipping port and there are so many influences on the architecture, food and history, it's almost too many too list. Britich and Dutch coloniel, Chinese, Indian, Javanese, Malay are the major influences. It really was a melting pot of cultures! I started with a walk through Little India and then trekked up to Fort Cornwallis where Sir Francis Light first landed on Penang and started the British settlement. I then went to the Penang Historical Museum for 2 reasons - 1) I like history, and 2) it had air-conditioning. From there I went to the Komtar Tower and got some
great shots from the observation deck on the 60th floor. I ended the day with an attempt to go to the Chung Fatt Tze Mansion but it was closed. I also visited my first mosque and it was really interesting. I had to don a headscarf (had my own that to a last minute scarf purchase at H&M before I left) which only made me hotter. Inside the mosque was much cooler than outside, suprisingly. There were only a hanful of people hanging out as it was yet time for afternoon prayer. I only got a few looks, mostly due to being a Western woman, and it was quite pleasant.One thing I didn't realize was that it was Chinese New Year and we were right next to Chinatown! I planned that right! Malaysia has a huge Chinese population so the celebration was
crazy. It goes on for 2 weeks too. We saw some traditional dancing, dragons, a million red lanterns and ate some interesting food. I had this stuff called rojek and still, to this day, I don't know if I like it or not. It's chocolate mixed with what I think is caramel and a bit of chili and placed on top of fruit, some of which I couldn't identify. There was this small, pink fruit that was VERY sour and I almost swallowed my tongue when I chewed it -it was so tart! We topped of the night with some beers at a backpacker bar. Another friend, Susan from Holland, came up to our table and introduced herself and told us the most terrifying story of what just happened to her. She was at the airport in Penang and was looking for the bus stop (which was 4 km from the airport with no shuttle - huh?) and a man offered to take her to Georgetown since he was going there anyway. She initially declined, but after searching for another 30 minutes she was super stired and decided to take up this guy on his offer. After driving for a while, she got suspicious because they should've been in Georgetown by know, but she wasn't sure since it was her first time there. She mentioned this to the driver and he said he was stopping at his Aunt's to get his laundry and she was like, uh oh. She said she immediately started to protest and told him to please just go to Georgetown since she was tired and he didn't mention this before. She looked around - it was pitch dark except for a small light coming from a small store window. Susan protested again and he told her, "It's dark and you don't know where you are. You can't leave now." She was terrified now and started to scream at the driver to let her out and finally he did and she grabbed her bag and went to the little shop, where they spoke no English, but after some charades, they were able to call her a taxi. When the taxi driver arrived her asked her how in the hell she got all the way there? She explained the story and he then told her she was in the exact opposite direction of Georgetown and that she was very, very, lucky to be alright. Susan was also sorta embarrased at what happened too since she is a seasoned traveler and ought to know better, but she thought, well maybe this one time I'll hitch a ride, save a few bucks, etc. She could have ended up dead and that just confirms that everyone, especially women, need to be extra careful and think clearly, not matter how tired, sick, drunk, etc you are to keep yourself safe. I will never forget this story and how she shook when she told it. We immediately got her a beer sat and shatted for a while afterwards.The next day, I sorted thru a mild hangover and proceeded to the mall to find a SIM card for my phone. Verizon said my new global phone would work in Malaysia, but they lied and now it can't dial or recieve calls. Thanks! Turns out I can't get a SIM card because my phone is locked to my
network so I am without phone until Singapore on Friday. Singapore is one of the most tech savvy places in the world, so if it doesn't work there, then I'm going to.freak.out. After that mall, I went to the Chung Fatt Tze mansion for a really great tour on the man behind the mansion and some local Georgetown history. He was considered the 'Rockefeller of the Far East' and had 8 houses all over SE Asia along with 8 wives. The mansion was so gorgeous, especially when compared to the pics of how it looked before it was repaired 15 years ago.Louise and Susan went to the beach while I was touring around and we went out for drinks and dinner. While at this bar, there were about 20 Australians getting absolutely pissed at another table. One gentleman came over and introduced himself and explained they were all part of the Australian Army and it was the last night of their 2 week leave. Oh God, I see a lot of beers in my future. Some of the guys were just tipsy, but others were obliterated, but they were all amusing to say the least. My guidebook has this paragraph that explains that some of the bars can become really rowdy at night if the Australian fleet iss in town and I think this can be said for the Army as well. A few of the men escorted us up the street before they had to catch the last ferry so I think this was a really nice gesture. I hope they made it back to the barracks in time so they wouldn't be declared AWOL. That would suck.
So that was about it for Penang. I left early yesterday and arrived in Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon. I'm going to take it easy today since I'm a bit dehydrated and my belly is acting up a bit. I'm here for 4 days so there is no need to go all out and try to do everything all at once. I was going to leave you with two Chinese girls singing Bon Jovi, but I accidentally deleted the video. Dammit!
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