Day 56 – Penang

Oct 23rd

Once we woke up, we gazed out our window to see that we overlooked Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, the only UNECO recognized Chang Dynasty building outside China. It is also referred to as the “Blue Mansion” because of its distinct indigo color. After check out, Sara, Britney and I headed to breakfast at Jaya Restaurant. We savored the most amazing banana masala dosa–a fusion of French crepe and Indian masala doas breakfast-and washed it down with deliciously sweet natural OJ. It was truly the best meal we had in Penang by far. Afterwards we hired Koy Huah Yong to be our driver for the day, since it would be cheaper than getting multiple taxis during the day.

Batik Factory
First, we visited the Penang Batik Factory in the district of Teluk Bahang, which is set against the green jungle of Penang hill. Batik is a process of outlining shapes with wax and then dyeing and boiling the fabric until the desired look is accomplished. The manager gave us a tour of the facilities, which included a number of workers melting wax and painting with bright dyes. Then she took us to the showroom to browse the fabrics and clothing. She even showed Sara 15 ways to tie the same piece of clothe into shirts, skits and dressed. I’m surprised she didn’t make them into pants.

Botanical Gardens
On the short drive to the Botanical Gardens, Koy Huah Yong stopped for us to take pictures of monkeys that were crawling along the jungle trees. Apparently, monkeys in Malaysia are like squirrels in the United States. The Taman Botani or Penang Botanical Gardens is more than 100 years old, but still maintains a clean, organized presence. We passed among cactus, bromeliads, begonias and orchids gardens, before finding the tribe of ‘macaques’ (monkeys) that roam the area looking for tourists with food. Unfortunately for them, we only had cans of lychee, soy bean milk or jasmine tea to cool off with in the shade when the sun got too hot. Somehow during our stroll through the park, we got trapped in a school field trip of Muslim-Malay giggling girls. I think they found my blonde hair funny or something. On the way out of the park, we saw the largest lizard. I offered Brit money if she tackled it, but the size of it was a little intimidating. Before heading back to the taxi, we meandered through some small, shack shops. I was sweltering in my jeans and t-shirt and decided a $2 green cotton dress was an excellent souvenir from Malaysia. Koy Huah, however, looked confounded when I ambled out of the shack in something new.

Coffee & Chocolate
Pre Koy Huah’s suggestion, we headed to the Coffee House for a free coffee and chocolate tasting. We tried coconut, orange, tiramisu and white coffee, as well as lemon and ginger tea. White coffee was their specialty and is known for having twice the caffeine of regular coffee. My favorite was the tiramisu coffee, but better than that was the chocolate tasting. We tried chili, dark, apple-flavored, white, coffee beans, milk, almond-filled, mango covered and durian covered. Durian is a fruit well known for its distinctive garlic flavor. It doesn’t grow many other places than tropical Asian areas. All of them were delicious. Who knew Malaysia was so well known for great coffee and chocolate?

Kek Lok Si Temple
Afterward, Koy Huah took us to Penang Hill to see the Kek Lok Si Temple. Set in the mountain village of Ayer Itam, this temple us the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. Along the way, we passed a turtle pound where thousands of turtle stick their necks out waiting for kangkong (green vegetable) sold by street stalls nearby. The temple itself was breathtaking. Being built in three stages, it encompassed Chinese design in the lower part, Thai-Buddhist in the middle and Burmese shapes in the upper section. Each of the temples within the temple complex was intricate and ornate. Even the grand ceilings were covered with colorful beams and statues. Sara, who is taking Asian Art on the ship, explained the intricacies on various points in the temple. For instance, the elongated ear lobes on Buddha indicate a royal heritage. Currently, they are building a house around an enormous Buddha called the Kuan Yin Statue made of pure gold, diamonds and silver coins. Brit, Sara and I also climbed to the top of the pagoda that houses 10,000 buddha images. Each level had a different colorful theme, and the top had a great view of Penang harbor.

Afternoon
After parting with Koy Huah, we ventured around the backpacking distinct and found lunch at the Western Oriental cafe on Lebuh Montri Street. We settled down with jasmine tea, while our Malay style chicken satay simmered on the stove. I couldn’t help but think about chewing on the dead, naked chickens we had seen hanging in market shops earlier in the day. Regardless, we chowed down on ginger chicken, sweet and sour chicken and rice dishes before we were fully satisfied. We continued to wander the streets Georgetown to absorb the culture, while we admired the intricate gold jewelry and fabulous silk shops. At around 6PM, our group gathered at Hotel Malaysia to leave for Kuala Lumpur by motorcoach by way of the 14 km Penang Bridge. Because of traffic, we were literally going over that bridge for an hour. Thankfully, we were well equipped with almonds, Mi-Mi prawn flavored chips, minuman air tubu (sugarcane drink), sesame cookies and dried goji berries. The bus had seats the size of lazy boy recliners, so it was easy to fall asleep for the ride.

Dragon Inn Premier Hotel
By 1AM, we were standing outside the KL City Center. While walking around looking for a hotel, we found an outdoor night-market and streets lined with hawker stalls steaming with food. After finding the Dragon Inn Premier Hotel on Jalan Petailing in Chow Kit (Chinatown), we deliriously made our way up to get rooms. The rooms were quite literally a box around a queen-sized bed with no windows, dressers, closets, etc. We had our own decent looking bathrooms and that was good enough for us. We threw t-shirts over the pillows, so we each had our own “boyfriend” to sleep with for the night. Each pillow had its own background, like Molly’s which was an meat-head and alcoholic.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was taste testing all the chocolate! My “low” was finding a green, arrow sticker that reads “Kiblat” in the same corner of every room in the Dragon Inn. (We still don’t know what it means!)