May 12, 2013
Heeeeyyyyyyy Scenic Vistas,
Op, Op Op-a Pa-Nang Style!
Heeeeeyyyyyy great museums,
Op, Op Op-a Pa-Nang Style!
Heeeeeyyyyyy hot as ball sacks!
Op, Op Op-a Pa-Nang Style!
I've really enjoyed Pa-Nang. It's a busy, energetic place.
There's all these different neighborhoods: Little India, China Town etc, which
are so specifically filled with folks of that persuasion it's amazing. And they
are right across the road from each other. China Town is full of places to
stay, Chinese temples, hawker carts and food spots. Little India is all pastel
buildings, Bollywood music pumping from bootleg DVD stores, and women in
Sarees. It's awesome.
And the food. HOLY CRAP BALLS is (most) of it reallllllly
good.
From the Nyonya food. To one of the best Indian Kurma's I've
ever had. Oh yeah, if you're a foodie, this is your spot. You can eat at posh
restraunts (which might cost you $15 USD a plate) to stalls on the street that
are $3 USD a plate. Either way, you'll (most) likely get good food. Great food.
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| It may not look like much... but WOW is it good! |
For my last day here I went to the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion,
and had a great tour full of fun stories about the "Rockefeller of the
east". They have cup mosaics, built from pieces of colored china cut into
pieces, that took the artisans 4 years to recreate and cost a 50% of the restoration
budget. But it's one of the few places in the world (other than huge temples in
China) where you can see it.
On to the Panang museum for some history of the area. Then a
sweaty ass walk to Fort Cornwallis. It was so hot by this point I could hardly
function, so I didn't enjoy that to much. But to Air Con in the Indian
restraunt and the orgasmic food made up for it.
Then off by moped to Kek Lok Si Temple. Since the roads here
are so often 1 way and they force you into loops and turns and there isn't very
good signage, it took awhile to get there. Got to see a lot of the city though!
The temple is a pagoda on a hill. There's an enourmous bronze statue behind it.
I barely made it before close, but got up to the top and saw good views.
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| I chose this, not because it really captures the view, but that level of sweat was continuous in Penang. :) |
Then as evening approached and it got cooler, I explored up
this road into the hills... and found a recreation area dam. There were
mountain bikers in full gear. Runners. Walkers. Families. And not trash. And I
thought: this feels like home. Malaysia really must be doing better than a lot
of SE Asian countries, because people have time and money for recreation and
exercise. Ironically, because they have easier physical lives (like us
westerners), they might need the exercise, as I've seen more chubby folks here
than in Indonesia.
I took pics of the views of the city and went swinging on
the swings! Fun! Then walked about 50 feet into the woods on a trail and there
were noises in the trees. Monkeys. A whole group of them. Leaping and swinging
and climbing. So often you see monkey's on tours or on beaches with lots of
people. But to be in the darkening forest with the monkeys as they played and
crashed and ate was sort of surreal. They would look at me occasionally and
climb in my direction, but never got very close.
The Malaysians are super nice and friendly. They're always
helpful when asking about stuff, even if they don't speak much English. Which
brings up the fact that many folks here speak some, but it's not as much as I
was lead to believe. And ironically, sometimes they're speaking so fast and
with this interesting sing=song accent that I have a really hard understanding.
It's funny, because I know they're speaking English, but have no idea what
they're saying. :)
I headed up the incline rail to Panang Hill. 2500 feet elevation
overlooking the city. It was night. The lights were out. I ate up there and
enjoyed the view. I also explored the abandoned amusement park type place. Now,
during the day there would be people there. But at night it was very quiet. And
what amusement area would be complete without Buddhist temple and Mosque.
Back to town to return my moped and... CONCERT TIME!
A stage was set up in the parking lot of this hostel and a
Chinese gal in fancy costumes was singing. The music was recorded and she was
taking requests from the scattered crowd. It was sort of like all request
Karaoke. The audience was mostly Chinese, as it turns out this was a birthday
celebration for the temple across the street. Many of them were older.
A lot just watched, but there was a small group of lively
folks who were dancing it up. This older woman was super fun. She was hunched
over, but she would get up and do this very diliberate 1,2 step with her arms
out. Almost like she was running in realllllly slow motion. She had her thumbs
up and was having a blast... I think. Because her expression never changed. It
was always completely stoic. Only her body language was joyous. Even when I
smiled at her as I was dancing, she didn't change her expression. She was so
cute. Some other travelers were dancing as well. It was great fun.
It didn't
matter that we all spoke different languages, because we all could dance.
CraigO
PS: I nearly
lost this email thanks to internet dropping out and other things. But
fortunately it is mostly in tact. Enjoy!
