Penang and the Penangites

Manda writes:

Today we took in the sights of Georgetown by motorbike. First of all, we stopped at the Clock Tower for a few photos and then on to Fort Cornwallis. This is where Captain Francis Light first set foot on the island in 1786. All that remains nowadays is the outer walls of the fortress and the occasional cannon scattered amongst the battlements. Apart from posing for photos with Abu (one of the workers there) in front of Captain Light's statue, there really wasn't much else to do here.

Manda poses with Abu Bakar, employee at Fort Cornwallis and possibly the most photographed man in Penang.

At the time of construction, no one knew what Francis Light looked like and so his features were modelled on his son, William Light, the (reputed) founder of Adelaide. We'd already seen a statue of Light Junior in Adelaide the last time we passed through town.

From the top of the fort we could see the sea and a good view of the business district of Georgetown further around the bay. We took a stroll to the water's edge and noticed some of the locals fishing while others were practising tai chi in the shade. There was a very relaxed feeling to the place.

We also stopped at the City Hall (which, on this occasion, was covered in scaffolding) and SE Asia's oldest Anglican Church, St George's Church - dating back to 1818.

Having had our fill of heritage sites, we headed up into the hills to see Kek Lok Si Temple (Temple of Supreme Bliss). The complex stands majestically on a hill in Air Itam and accommodates several tiers of temples. With a train connecting the upper and lower levels, there is a fairground feel to the place (it's also been described as a 'Disneyland of Temples', and is still having new additions to the complex). The lower level houses a pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas and the upper level is home to the giant statue of the Goddess of Mercy. The view of Penang from this upper level was superb on a day like today. There were hardly any clouds in the sky and the city looked stunning set against a blue backdrop.

Penang City seen from Kek Lok Si Temple.

The pagoda at Kek Lok Si Temple.

Since we were up in the hills, we took a short drive further up to the Air Itam Dam for more views and cooler temperatures. It can be as much as five degrees cooler up here than down at sea level. We made the most of the breeze before cruising back down the winding slopes.

Rental Bike Woes

The rented bike was progressively playing up (especially going uphill). The gear shifter seemed clunky and by the time we made it back to the bottom, it had stopped working completely. We were out in the countryside with nothing but a non-functioning bike. Fortunately, there was a row of food vendors nearby. It seemed odd that they should be out here with apparently nothing else around. They offered to help and tried to revive the bike but to no avail. It simply refused to come back to life.

In the end we phoned up the bike hire company and told them that the bike had broken down. A local took over the phone conversation and talked to the rental guy in their dialect. I'm not sure which language they were conversing in but I'd say it was probably Hokkien. The Penang people speak many different languages [Chinese (Hokkien, Mandarin and Cantonese), Malay and English] but mainly Hokkien. This local guy performed several checks as directed by the person at the other end of the phone. They came to the conclusion that we had run out of fuel - even though the fuel gauge was showing half full!

We were a bit stuck as we were in the middle of nowhere and there was no petrol station nearby; heck, there was nothing but green fields nearby. The local guy, who'd been helping us so far, then offered to go and buy some for us. Before we could say anything, he'd already hopped on a bike and was off. We ordered some roadside food of spring rolls and fried crabsticks while we waited. Ten minutes later, the guy came back with the petrol. Once filled up, the bike sprang back into life!

How much did the petrol cost? Well, this is the thing ... he could have charged us an arm and a leg for it but he didn't. He said his name was Boon and now that we were friends, we should not pay him for the petrol. He then continued to say, "Enjoy the rest of your holiday!". We both tried hard to give him some money but he just simply refused to take it. In the end, just before I hopped onto the already revved up bike, I thanked Boon once again and quickly slipped the note into his top shirt pocket. I then made a hasty jump on to the back of the bike and we sped off down the open country road, waving our goodbyes, before he could give us back the money. It was like some kind of inverse drive-by motorbike theft. Mission accomplished! Breaking down in the middle of nowhere could have been a bad experience but it was a nice one for us. We got to experience the hospitality and friendliness of the Penang people.

Penang By Night

On the topic of hospitality and friendliness ... in the evening we met up with Li Ping, whom we'd met previously on a city tour of Hanoi in Vietnam. Li Ping and her travel companions (made up of old school friends, colleagues and relatives) had been on holiday together in Vietnam and when we got chatting to them, we found we clicked instantly. Both Li Ping and Ching Yee had asked us to drop them a line when we were in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, respectively, and they'd show us the sights.

The first place Li Ping took us was to Midlands Shopping Centre for a few essential DVD purchases, before heading for some of Penang's famous culinary delights.

Dining is excellent in Penang and the place is well known for its array of Asian food concentrated in such a small area. Li Ping took us to an outdoor eatery along Gurney Drive, where mobile food vendor stalls stretched out with seemingly no end. Indian, Chinese, Malay and Thai stalls were all jostling for trade and judging by all the full dining tables, there is no shortage of trade. All the locals were eating here and that's a very good sign that the food must be up to scratch.

With so much choice it was difficult to make a quick decision but in the end, Ian settled for chicken curry and Li Ping and myself, a Laksa assam. Laksa is a well-known noodle dish that is served in a fish based soup. It was delicious and definitely had a kick to it, especially towards the end once the spices had time to infuse the soup. We also tried a dish called Pasembur, which consisted of seafood, bean curd and a variety of vegetables covered in a sweet spicy sauce. Extra chilis could be added on top of this but we declined the option.

We sat watching an Indian food vendor near our table, cooking, dancing along to Indian music and generally having a good time, while serving his customers. With the pirate CD stall pumping out dance music within close proximity, it gave his Indian music an ethnic-dance vibe. Maybe that was why he was bopping around so much?

We spent the night chatting away; occasionally jumping out of our seats from the sound of loud fireworks going off around us. Apparently, people are celebrating the Muslim festivities that started ten days ago and which go on for around fifteen in total. Li Ping had given us an insight into how the Penangites enjoy themselves and I must admit, I liked it a lot.