Anyway. Lots have happened since then. Some bullet points before I start in the details:
1) I love Penang. It is hot here.
2) Trishaw ride was fun.
3) I love Permata Electronics at the Komtar for saving my camera life
4) I hate Etrade
5) Murphy's Law totally applies here, relating to Item #4
6) Racing has started! 2000m done with some %^$@
Ok. Maybe I should talk about things item per item.
Item #1. Penang is really really nice. In many ways, it really reminds me of Hong Kong. Perhaps its' because it was a British colony up until the 50s, and that there are tons of Chinese signage and businesses here, it really feels super familiar. The sidewalks are paved with the similar jigsaw style bricks, similar feel of apartments and shores and vegetation. And yeah, it is really clean here. For such a hot and humid country, I was expecting more grunge ala Mexico but really there is very very little litter around and everybody seems to be busy on their way. Surprisingly there doesn't seem to be that many tourists here, I only saw a few that doesn't glaringly appear to be a paddler. Oh, and so far I have yet to be bitten by a mosquito, maybe it's too hot? I am so amazed. They eat me like cheese. So far I only saw two mosquitoes and they were both on the shuttle bus (I killed one, yay).
Anyway, should continue writing about my Tuesday here, which was really the only day I walked a ton around by myself. In the morning, I got up at 7:30am, got some breakfast at the hotel (included) and left the hotel premises at about 8:30am. There was lots of traffic where I wanted to walk, so instead I decided to spend RM$10 and hired the first trishaw I saw. The driver's name was Raj Six-fingers, as he proudly showed me the little additional thumb on his right thumb. I told him I wanted to go to the Pinang Perenankan House, he nodded but in some minutes clearly had no idea where I wanted to go, and thought I wanted to go see a church.
I thought we passed the street where it was located, but he stopped and asked a local when i pulled out the guidebook and tried to point out where it is. Apparently, the locals have no concept of where things are on a map in Penang. I suppose they never had to look at a map of their own city, coz well, they just go where they need to go normally. So I described it a little more, and then he went, OH, You mean the Baba Nonya House with antiques in it. And then I said, yeah it says here it is on Lebuh Bishop? And then he was like, er... and then I said, I think that's Church Street? And the he went, OH oh i know where that is. So, streets have two names here. The old British name (Church Street) and official malay name probably given after indepence (1950s) but locals obviously still used the old English names. Eventually, we got there and he apologized for not knowing where I wanted to go. I gave him RM$15 for his troubles, I mean, he worked twice as hard, and it wasn't really his fault I suppose, he still took me around some smaller streets and pointed out landmarks and was a nice guide for the 15min I spent on the trishaw. And I mean, RM$15 is US$5. That guy said his only reading glasses was smashed accidentally, and he will probably get a new one soon, but it cost RM$13. So hopefully my extra RM$15 will add to his speedy acquisition of a new set of glasses.
Anyway, I wanted to go to the Peranakan House because it's across the street from the Penang Heritage Trust, which I thought conduct walking tours of the historical areas. They do, but apparently you have to book in advance and you have to have at least 3 ppl. I only had me. So I supposed I was going to wal karound by myself, which turned out to be just fine. Soon enough, I was pretty clear about which street was where, the boundaries of Little India, etc. Also, Penang is pretty much dead even at 10:30am. It seems like people don't open their shops until past 11am or noon (and then take a 1-3pm lunch break sometimes), and most of the daily shop business seem to extend into the cooler nights instead. Which makes sense I suppose. I was teh *ONLY* tourist walking around this area at this point, and many locals waved and said hi and invited me to sit at their hawker stall for some tea etc. I wasn't going to risk hawker tea on my first day, but it was nice to see people relaxing in their natural habitat so to speak. On my stroll, I visited the Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple on Queen street. This is the first Hindu temple I have ever visited, and it was very interesting. I took off my shoes, walked in and just quietly walked around and observed people practicing their rites and offering many gifts of candles and flowers to the 9 Hindu deities worshipped there.
In that heritage area, there were MANY many Chinese temples. Old clan temples, Goddess of Mercy temples, you name it and multiply by 5 and there you have it. I visited so many of them they all ended up bluring into one big image of incense and idols. At about 10:30am or so I walked back towards the Peranakan Mansion because by this point they are open for visitors. I went in, paid RM$10 and was about to walk around myself until a guide offered to give me a private tour. I suppose he had nothing else to do, so i was like sure! I asked, don't you not offer tours until 11am or so? And then he was like, oh i have some time, there isn't anybody here anyway I can show you around. The advantage of being a solo female traveler I suppose? In any case, I had a good time touring the mansion, it was VERY well restored and they had reasembled many period furniture and antiques and showcased the good life of wealthy Baba Nonyas back in the day. Baba Nonya refers to a community of chinese-malaysians who began as Chinese male seafarers/traders settling in Penang and marrying local Malay women. They have a unique culture that is half Chinese and half Malay, and also partly colonial as well since the wealthy can afford western comforts and they imported many goods from Britain and other European countries. The ladies have their own type of fashion, usually this buttonless blouse (they keep it together with brooches) and sarong, and the most famous being a particular type of beaded slippers they would handmake for themselves (since Nonya ladies were basically confined to their houses).
The house was very nice, but I was most impressed with the private temple right next to the mansion that actually needed very little restoration. It was, simply, beautiful. It was a place of ancestor worship, with old photos and furiture, and an open "air well" like many of the Chinese temples. But unlike other temples, there was no gawdiness. They was no tackiness. There were no people selling you caged birds to free to get good points with them buddhas. It was just an elebarote wooden structure, with nobody else but me and guide, and a sense of tranquility that must have offered refuge to many Nonya ladies back in the day when they could only dream of leaving their confinement. After the tour, I gave the tour guide a RM$1o tip, at first he was really honestly surprised, and said no, but I insisted and said you gave me such a good tour, so he accepted at the end. But I suppose RM$10 goes far in Penang, but still, I mean, that's a US$3 tip, for like a good 30-45min of private tour and explanation of the culture and history of the place.
After that, I decided to check out the Khoo Kongsi which they claimed is the heritage jewel of Penang. It was getting to be about lunch time, and I stopped at a local food court and had some hainan chicken. So in Penang foodcourts, you usually order your food, tell them where you are sitting, and when you sit a waitress type person come by and ask for your drink order. Basically these are permanat hawker stall places organized around a central drink-making area, they also share the dishes and whatnot. These permanant foodcoruts are actually very clean, and the food cooked super fresh. I still did not dare eat or use any ice, just in case you know.
After a little food, and sweating like a pig dipped in water, I walked for a few and found the Khoo Kongsi, which is the clan temple of the Khoo clan. It was absolutely beautiful, more beautiful than a lot of temples I have seen even in mainland China. I wonder if ti's becasue these overseas temples are better preserved, for a lot of such structures in the mainland probably was destroyed or damanged during the various wars, and revolutions, not the least the Cultural Revoluation when anything from the past was seen as bad and many smashed. The Khoo temple was built in the Fujian style, with many elaborate porcelain-decoratated wings on the roof. It is a living structure, in the sense that the Khoo clan is still very active, they just open up their temple for visitors. Opposite the temple there is also a permant opera stage which is used where there are celebrations or festivals. One thing that struck me was that in the 2 side temples, there were big plaques of names of Khoos who have achieved academic excellence. There were big plaques proclamining Khoo So and So, Generation 24, PhD in Engineering at Hong Kong Univesity, or Khoo So and So, Generation 18, PhD in Law in London School of Law or whatever the university is. That was pretty interesting. It is sad to note that all the plaques were male Khoos, because they discard the achievements of female Khoos for well, they belong to the clans of their hubands when they marry. But it's not like they list the achievements of women who married INTO the Khoo clan. Whatever.
Anyway, at this point, I think I wandered a good 30min trying to look for the bus tha twould take me to Air Itam, where the big Kek Lok Si Temple complex is. On the way, I stopped at the internet cafe and wrote that entry back a few days ago. So I am happy to report that I indeed found my way onto the local RAPID bus, and it only cost me RM1.50 (that is US$0.50) to go basically from terminal to terminal to the town of Air Itam about 20min away from Georgetown. There I walked through town, up a path lined with numerous stalls (it reminded me TOTALLY of Stanley market in Hong Kong), and past a few kind of disgusting ponds FILLED with turtles (probably from people releasing turtles to gain good points with them buddhas), and finally up to the big Kek Lok Si complex (in Cantonese that's Gig Lok Jee as in Extreme Happiness Temple).
That temple was very odd indeed. Yes it was huge. Yes it was impressive, but it also was in the middle of raising funds for their GIANORMOUS bronze statue of the Goddess of Mercy, and so everywhere they were selling shit. Everything you could think of, and more. That includes plastic plates printed with images of CG renderings of urm. I dunno, sensual anime style looking astrology images? I mean, they were selling EVERYTHING. It was like a made-in-china kitch store mutliplied by the number of buddhas in that pagodo and then another trillion. On TOP of all those stores, they also had a inclined elevator, theme-park style, that takes you up to the top of the hill to gaze at the GIANORMOUS statue of mercy that is currently being built. They charge you RM$2 per way. The weird thing was, why do they even bother with per way? It's not like I could buy my ticket up there, and then not come down. I acutally looked around up top to see if I could walk down. Nope. You could only use that fancy inclined elevator (think a gondola on rails) both ways, so why bother selling tickets one way? And now you have to maintain two ticket booths, with two people manning it, BOTH sides.
One thing I did buy at the temple, was a bag of fish food costing RM$1. It was about 3pm, the height of the heat of the day there, and I was the only person around the pagoda that was built over a koi poind. And by koi pond, I mean RIDICULOUSLY huge kois. Like, 2feet long and at leaest half a foot wide. I had fun throwing food pellets that smelled suspiciously like cat food at them.
After that I decided I was totally exhausted, and decided to take the U204 back home. Or at least, to the big mall area (the giant ugly tall, almost phallic building in the middle of Penang). Oh, speaking of phallic, for those who know Cantonese, did you know that the Chinese name for Penang is Bun Sing (Bun City), or..... Bun Jou (Bun Province)....... hahahahahahahah yeeeaaahh.. Bun Jou, like UPenn, you know, like, peepee, wang, dong, you get the idea. Yeah UPenn people, the Chinese name for your University sounds exactly like Penis University in Cantonese.
I went to the mall because of that camera charger fiasco. Yeah I forgot my charger and left my uncharged battery in my camera. After asking about 3 places, I thought it was going to be a lost cause. The closest was "oh we have to order that part"... then I found this dingy little place, and the really happy looking guy said, oh, I'll call our storehouse to see if we have any in stock, and after waiting for a few minutes while they looked, the answer was YES! I was like, OMG! And the guy was lifting both his arms too and saying YES! It was fun. The only downside was that I had to wait 20min until they deliver it to the store. I was like, no problem that's the best news I have ever heard. I also happily forked over the RM$90 that they wanted, I mean, I wasn't going ot haggle over this when I obviously was in paradise when I heard that they have my charger. The guy was really happy and excited about it too, it was kind of adorable. Anyway, I got my charger and that was the happy part of the story.
When I got back to the hotel, I called Lucy and Marvin (with my snazy Hotlink simcard in my unlocked nokia) and we went out to an Indian restaurant. Later as we got back to the hotel, the bus trucking most of the BAD team actually arrived at the same time, so I met my roommates Phoi and Judy and we went to bed pretty early since we had to get up quite early to practice.
Anyway, I think that took care of item #1, #2, and #3. Let me take a break and I'll continue in a separate entry.
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