Report 6: Penang; you've got time.

"Penang; You've got time," was the name of the trip that we took this past weekend. We wanted a nice relaxing weekend on the beach, and a chance to do a little more site seeing in Malaysia, truely Asia. Se we decided on Penang. Founded in 1786 by Francis Light, Penang, or Georgetown, became the first British trading post in the far east. Light, fluent in the local languages and customs easily persuaded the Sultan of Kedah to cede Pulau Pinang ("Island of the Betel Nut") to the British in exchange for military assistance. Light and men quickly established fort Cornwallis. Named after the famous General that lost the last battle in the American Revolution, the wooden structure was soon replaced by a more permanent stone structure that is still there today. With most of the island a jungle, Light ellegedly filled a canoon full of gold coins and shot it into the surrounding jungle to encourage his men to settle the rest of the island. Also, by allowing imagrants to have whatever land they could clear, Penang became a mixture of Malay, Indian, Sumatrans, and Chinese. This unique mix of culture can still be found in the bustling metropolitan city that now stands in its place. Housing Malaysia’s largest temple and southeast asia’s most comprehensive war museum, modern Penang is a mixture of all kinds of places to visit including resort areas, beaches, temples, national forests, and the colonial Georgetown. Situated on the Northwest coast of Malaysia, Penang is a hidden gem that should not be overlooked.

This story begins on Thursday night as the seven of us embarked on our relaxing vacation. Instead of taking a bus from Singapore to Penang we decided to try crossing th border first and finding a bus on the other side. After a good amount of waiting, some advice from a nice guy about making sure we get a good bus, some confusion at the money exchange place, and a short negotiation with Ron, and an entertaining ten mintues while Julio tried to communicate with little old ladies that they were in his seat (at one time even breaking into Spanish), we were on our way to Penang. We arrived around 6 in the morning and easily found our buses to take us to the beach. We walked onto a sandy beach just as the sun was lighting up the island. As we walked around to find a spot to sit, we were kindly asked it we wanted to do many things. One of those was Jetski. A guy named Gundi said that once I was ready he could hook me up. So after sitting on the beach for most of the morning, I went over and told good old Gundi that me and my roommate Jeff wanted to ride the Jetskis. After some crafty negotiation from Gundi where he told me 50 ringets for half an hour-meaning both Jeff and I pay 50 and we each get 15 minutes, which added together is a half hour for 50 ringets each- I got a better price of 50 ringets for 20 minutes. That’s less than 15 USD to say that I Jetskied in the Indian Ocean, way cool. The other highlight of the beach for me was my lunch. Also known as the greatest meal I have ever had. I walked up the Hawker center and nice lady came out and handed me a menu. I leafed through it until I came to the squid section. Unsure of which one I wanted I did what I usually in these situations and asked her what her best was. She said, quite emphatically, that the sizzling squid was. So I got that. I waited maybe 15 minutes, which in southeast asia is kinda a long time for a meal from a hawker center. But then I saw it. On top of a wooden slab, a cast iron pan heaped with squid, beansprots, and lots of vegetables and lots of other stuff that I don’t know, was floating towards me, carried by an angel. As the plate came to a rest in front of me, I could feel its warm against my face and watched the droplets of spicy sauce sizzle and spatter onto the table. With a gift of another plate full of fried rice and a, “be careful, it is very hot,” I was left alone with this mound of heaven. God bless the squid that gave his life for that meal, surely he was the noblest creature in all the waters of the earth.

Once we got to our hostel, “the malibu café and guesthouse,” we discovered that there was a small problem with our booking. Instead of having three rooms with a double bed in each room for our seven people, we only had two. So it was the three girls in one room, and the four of us guys in the other. Luckily, Rachel had brought a small air mattress, so as Julio slept on the floor on the air mattress, Sascha, Jeff and I slept widthwise on the bed with our feet hanging out over the edge, mine more than anyone’s. Needless to say, I have had better nights sleep in my life and was very happy to come back to NTU and sleep in a bed by myself.

Saturday was spent traveling to as many places outside of Georgetown that we could do. We saw a bunch of temples. Most notable was the sleeping budda, a very big budha that is always sleeping, and Kek Lok Si, that is the largest temple in Malaysia and one of the biggest in all of Southeast Asia. Sadly the road to Kek Lok Si is filled with venders selling mickey mouse t-shirts, watches, knives, mini budha statues, cards, and all sorts of suvineers. It kinda takes away from the place. Luckily there is none of that once you are up in the temple. We also went into Komtar Tower. We went to the 60th floor and had a great view of Georgetown. And at night, absolutely fantastic.

I woke up early on Sunday and enjoyed a full pot of green tea as I read about Luke Skywalker and Han solo traveling to the crystal planet. Fantastic book, but it is almost finished, so I need to get a new one for traveling. Anyway, everyone else got a later start and by the time we had bought our bus tickets for Singapore and ate breakfast it was time to go see as many places in Georgetown as possible in a few hours. I bought some fried dough stuff that tasted like a funnel cake, lunch was Indian food ( I had an egg prata), and then to wash it al down I had some fresh coconut juice. And when I say fresh, I mean the guy cuts open the coconut right in front of you, pours it into a cup and hands it to you, very cool. So anyway, we saw a few buildings, went to a museum, and visited fort Cornwallis. All very cool stuff. After that we split into two groups, one to stay and shop some more, and the other to go see Penagn Hill and get a great view of the whole island. As many of you know about my love for shopping, I decided to hang out in little Indian and picked out a few nice pairs of shoes, four belts, and this shirt that I look stunning in.

The trolley that takes you up Penang is like that found in pittsbugh. It takes 30 minutes to get the whole way up. But once you are there, it is fantastic. You can see the Komtar Tower, and looks like a tiny model. You can see the beach we were at and the bridge that connects the Penang to the mainland. Kek Lok Si looks like an action figure too small for a young child to play with, and the wild hills look even more majestic from above. With a great taste in our mouths, it was time to leave Penang for the pore.

Two things need to be noted about the ride home. Number one, it was the coolest bus ride ever. You know the sound that comes out of your ac in the car when it is on full blast. That was the sound of our aircon on low. We this because the bus driver allowed Sascha to turn the knob in order to prove to him that this was with lowest setting. If it would have been on high, we would have all died of hypothermia. I think Jen lost a foot to frostbite, luckily the six shirts that Jeff had on kept his core warm enough for him to cling to life. The second thing was that three of our travels bought knives in Penang, all for their brothers. Customs did not appreciate this. After thirty minutes of waiting, our friends were finally released. I thought that there was going to be a huge story about they almost got arrested and canned and stuff. But it just took the border people a long time to get the paperwork and stuff. They can pick up the knives in a few days.

But we all got back ok, I barely made it through my class and then took a long nap, in my own bed, by myself. That should be it for Malaysia, unless I go back to do some shopping in later months. Tomorrow I walking on a tree top pathway through a Singaporean National Forest, just like the Ewokes.