Straight from the Perhentian Islands on one coast, we (Candy, myself, and Quebecer Gen) made our way across the country to Penang, a famed tourist spot on the West Coast. The bus ride was bumpy, the toilet stops infrequent, and, having sent our last night off in true dance-til-you-drop island fashion, the sleep lacking. Despite such varied hurdles we still managed to gawk out the window at touring hills sagging under the weight of such lush forest- I think Malaysian forests may have invented their own shade of luridly brilliant green.
Penang is the second largest city in Malaysia, though where we were based in Georgetown you'd have hardly believed it. The streets are narrow and the architecture distinctly old-school Chinese, though the population is a fantastically varied mix of Chinese, Indian, Malay, and everything in between. The town itself is a visual feast- Penang is famous for its street art, which ranges from delicate ballerinas over arch ways to entire walls taken up by a resting trishaw driver. Cats feature heavily (slightly disconcerting) as do (for the time being) Transformers- we stumbled right into Malaysia's Biggest Transformers Festival, which involved shipping containers painted by a local art school with scenes of Transformers enjoying Penang life, and also a sound and light show with a giant Megatron and Bumblebee towering over the crowd. And crowds there were- we soon fell into the routine of ending up there most nights, sprawled on the grass and sampling a new round of Indian desserts. We never really knew what they were, but their colouring was lurid and their taste... well, mostly just sugary. We would watch the lasers play over the Transformers to the soundtrack of the movie, and offer up critiques on our treats like, 'Well, I like the bright pink one... but the green one is really weird.' 'The texture of the brown spotty one is really strange... but I think I like it?' (No budding dessert connoisseurs amongst us I fear).
As well as Indian desserts, we sampled a pretty impressive range of local fare during our time in Penang- as the title of this post suggests, Penang is really famous for two things- street art and food. Suits me down to the ground! With the fascinating mix of ethnicities comes an accompanying mix of foods- You could feast on Indian for lunch, snack on samosas, fill up on Chinese street food for dessert and then stop by any number of hipster cafes for a novelty night cap- maybe you'd like to visit 'selfie coffee', where they take a photo of you and then print it onto your coffee, or 'love cafe' where everything is served in the shape of a heart? The options are endless. The locals take their reputation seriously, and most restaurants have something in particular they are famous for- they'll be happy to tell you all about it as well. And then direct you to what you should try next!
Coming from two weeks on a small island, the vibrancy of the cultural melting pot in Penang was like a breath of spice-laden fresh air. A favourite activity became waiting until the sun had eased a little (around 5pm) and then taking to the streets, simply to walk around and marvel at the hindu temple around the corner from the Chinese food court which backs onto Little India whose crazy Bollywood music drifts over the nearby Buddhist temple. No breath in there? That's how walking around Penang feels, as your eyes are first drawn one way and then the other, drinking in the mix of cultures and faiths. There aren't many places you can visit with such a concentrated mix of temples/faiths, which is also evident in the people walking around- western tourists blend with pop-culture laden Japanese, fully covered Muslim women walk past Indian women in saris. Each ethnic group has maintained their language- trying to find a dominant language in Penang just won't work for you. At one point, sitting in a Chinese food market, watching a Chinese soap on TV and listening to the couple behind me chatter away in Mandarin, I really felt like I could've been in a city somewhere in China... an experience repeated but with India if you simply crossed the street to Bollywood-pumping Little India. There is still plenty of Malay to be found though, with little local restaurants and cafes hiding all over the place.
This short entry marks the end of this particular Indonesia/Malaysia adventure- I'll leave my computer uploading photos while I really get down to packing... my procrastination skills are still on point but a 5am start tomorrow to get me back to the motherland (briefly) is getting kinda pressing. I'll be spending a week or so in Perth before jetting off to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands for 6 weeks of kite work- a pretty sweet way to get back to the real world. For more photos and stories from my last three months away check out the Indonesia page, and check back for new adventures!
Peace out.
Penang is the second largest city in Malaysia, though where we were based in Georgetown you'd have hardly believed it. The streets are narrow and the architecture distinctly old-school Chinese, though the population is a fantastically varied mix of Chinese, Indian, Malay, and everything in between. The town itself is a visual feast- Penang is famous for its street art, which ranges from delicate ballerinas over arch ways to entire walls taken up by a resting trishaw driver. Cats feature heavily (slightly disconcerting) as do (for the time being) Transformers- we stumbled right into Malaysia's Biggest Transformers Festival, which involved shipping containers painted by a local art school with scenes of Transformers enjoying Penang life, and also a sound and light show with a giant Megatron and Bumblebee towering over the crowd. And crowds there were- we soon fell into the routine of ending up there most nights, sprawled on the grass and sampling a new round of Indian desserts. We never really knew what they were, but their colouring was lurid and their taste... well, mostly just sugary. We would watch the lasers play over the Transformers to the soundtrack of the movie, and offer up critiques on our treats like, 'Well, I like the bright pink one... but the green one is really weird.' 'The texture of the brown spotty one is really strange... but I think I like it?' (No budding dessert connoisseurs amongst us I fear).
As well as Indian desserts, we sampled a pretty impressive range of local fare during our time in Penang- as the title of this post suggests, Penang is really famous for two things- street art and food. Suits me down to the ground! With the fascinating mix of ethnicities comes an accompanying mix of foods- You could feast on Indian for lunch, snack on samosas, fill up on Chinese street food for dessert and then stop by any number of hipster cafes for a novelty night cap- maybe you'd like to visit 'selfie coffee', where they take a photo of you and then print it onto your coffee, or 'love cafe' where everything is served in the shape of a heart? The options are endless. The locals take their reputation seriously, and most restaurants have something in particular they are famous for- they'll be happy to tell you all about it as well. And then direct you to what you should try next!
Coming from two weeks on a small island, the vibrancy of the cultural melting pot in Penang was like a breath of spice-laden fresh air. A favourite activity became waiting until the sun had eased a little (around 5pm) and then taking to the streets, simply to walk around and marvel at the hindu temple around the corner from the Chinese food court which backs onto Little India whose crazy Bollywood music drifts over the nearby Buddhist temple. No breath in there? That's how walking around Penang feels, as your eyes are first drawn one way and then the other, drinking in the mix of cultures and faiths. There aren't many places you can visit with such a concentrated mix of temples/faiths, which is also evident in the people walking around- western tourists blend with pop-culture laden Japanese, fully covered Muslim women walk past Indian women in saris. Each ethnic group has maintained their language- trying to find a dominant language in Penang just won't work for you. At one point, sitting in a Chinese food market, watching a Chinese soap on TV and listening to the couple behind me chatter away in Mandarin, I really felt like I could've been in a city somewhere in China... an experience repeated but with India if you simply crossed the street to Bollywood-pumping Little India. There is still plenty of Malay to be found though, with little local restaurants and cafes hiding all over the place.
This short entry marks the end of this particular Indonesia/Malaysia adventure- I'll leave my computer uploading photos while I really get down to packing... my procrastination skills are still on point but a 5am start tomorrow to get me back to the motherland (briefly) is getting kinda pressing. I'll be spending a week or so in Perth before jetting off to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands for 6 weeks of kite work- a pretty sweet way to get back to the real world. For more photos and stories from my last three months away check out the Indonesia page, and check back for new adventures!
Peace out.
