Postcard from Penang
Postcard from Penang
On our way from Bali to Sri Lanka, we have stopped off to explore Penang, Malaysia, long known as “The Pearl Of The Orient,” which proves that there have been public relations people and advertisers around for a long time.
Back in the day, meaning late 1700’s and into the 1800’s, it was probably more like “The Oyster Of The Orient;” a bit of a rough shell, with some meat to it and some spots of pearl-like beauty inside. But I guess Oyster is not such a poetic lead, so let’s just go with Pearl.
The island part of Penang has the small city of Georgetown and feels generally friendlier than bustling Kuala Lumpur to the south. It has a wonderful older section, which is wonderfully walk able, with great architecture on a human scale (the buildings are not too big and the roads are not too wide) in most areas, traffic that is busy, but not crazy, and lot’s of street food and interesting shops and several culturally interesting areas: British, Indian, Arabian, Malay, Chinese.
There is great food here, from all of those cultures, including many veg food options.
Penang shows its history better than the other places we have visited. It is the story of nothing to something, to something less, to something else. As such, it lends itself to the contemplation of how fleeting the moments of highs and lows can be on the timeline of history.
The story goes that it was uninhabited when a British seaman bought the rights to use it from the local ruler (who lived across the narrow channel on the mainland) in the late 1700’s. Then, it was developed into an important port in the sailing ship days - gateway from Europe, the Middle East and India to the Far East.
Then, it was not so important after steam ships could go directly across to Singapore. Then, it was beat up and occupied by the Japanese during WWII. Then, it was important again as a “free trade zone.” Then, it was run down for a time after the free trade zone was moved to another area. Now, it is being reborn once again as a tech center in northern Malaysia and also as a tourist destination. It has been designated as a UNESCO Heritage City and there is a lot work being done rehabbing the older part of town.
We toured the famous E&O Hotel, one of the finest in the world when built and after renovations, still today, where Hesse, Conrad, Maugham and other great writers have lounged on the veranda.
Another highlight was the Blue Mansion, a wonderful traditional Chinese-style courtyard home, with 38 rooms and 5 large courtyards, said to be one of the largest built outside of China. It was owned by the Chinese business mogul, Cheon Fatt Tze, who built it in the late 1800’s.
By the late 1900’s, it was pretty run down and serving as a living quarters for several families until it was bought and remodeled in the 1990’s, it has won awards such as “Most Excellent Project” UNESCO Conservation Award.” As an old remodeler myself, I really appreciate the craftsmanship and the range of techniques used, the awesome detailing and the perfected Feng Shui of the place.
We stayed at a Heritage-type hotel, (remodeled beautiful old home with additions) which had charm, but tortuously slow Internet and unwalk-able location. Then, we looked at other Heritage-type places, but they had no Internet service or a shared bathroom or some other challenge. So, since we did not have much time, we relocated to the Tune Hotel run by Asia Airlines.
It is one of the new, minimalist hotels. Clean, very small rooms at a bargain price, but they charge for many things you might expect as standard. (US$38 on Agoda, which usually has the lowest rates, but only $22 per night on TuneHotel.com. Then, add US$4 for 12 hours of AC, $4 for 24 hours of Internet plus $4 for a towel, small bottle of shampoo and soap!)
We really liked the old town of Penang and there are also some nice natural areas including a nearby small mountain range to explore. We were chatting at some length with an expat couple from England. They had looked around like we are doing, then settled in Penang 4 years ago. Then, they rented in 2 different areas, for a year each, to get a feel for different neighborhoods, then bought a place 2 years ago and are happily settled here. It can be done.
The biggest disappointment for us has been the beach area. There is a tourist oriented area called Batu Ferringhi (I cannot think of that name without smiling, wondering if the creators of “Star Trek” got the name of the entrepreneurial alien race “Ferengi” from here”
There are several big hotels, a reasonably nice coarse, white sand beach, and unswim-able water. You can venture in all right, but be forewarned that there are some really nasty jelly-fish, which show up once in awhile and their sting is so strong, it has been known to paralyze humans, who then drown.
If you avoid the jellyfish, there is the pollution, which is usually at a pretty high level and may cause, slow prolonged death by environmental poisoning.
Hmm. Which to choose? “A” - Short, but excruciatingly painful death by jellyfish or “B” - long, extremely unpleasant death by poisoning? Choices, choices. I think we will choose “C” – None of the above.
Next stop, Sri Lanka.
Monday, September 17, 2012