Penang, Malaysia
After yesterday day we are already beat, and the day has just begun. Our excursion this morning, well late morning, was going to be to a batik factory, butterfly farm, reptile house and countryside market. Well, we have been to one batik factory already on this cruise. We have been to the butterfly farm on Vancouver Island. And the number of countryside markets we’ve been to, on this cruise, exceeds our desire to visit another one.
We never really know, in advance, exactly where the ship will be berthed in relation to the town you are visiting. Yes, we know if we are tendering from the ship to the shore, but even then you don’t know where the tender will drop you off.
However, we appear to be docking at the Swetteham Pier Cruise Terminal, which is located near the old town, Fort Cornwallis, and the Queen Victoria Memorial clock. These are the things we are interested in seeing. Old town, or George Town, is an UNECSO World Heritage site. Passages says that “no visit to Penang is complete with indulging in its culinary delights.” That pretty much cements it.
We turn in our excursions tickets. We have decided to walk into town. Forget any tours or excursions. Walk through old town and get some of the culinary delights for lunch. As we are exiting the cruise terminal we can see Fort Cornwallis across the street, to our left is the Queen Victoria’s Memorial Clock Tower.
There isn’t much left of the fort. Wooden structures seem to rot quickly in this heat and humidity. Still it is interesting. There is the 1884 flagstaff and lighthouse in the fort. They are obviously renovating the area around the fort. Apparently, reconstructing the moat that originally went around the outside of the balustrade. We are able to walk through the fort and admire the cannons and a model of the buildings.
We exit the fort and walk towards the town hall. It is an impressive colonial era building. We walk along the Padang Esplanade, which is a large park right along the sea wall. We hang a left and walk up Jalan Padang Kota Lama right in front of the town hall. Then we walk up Lebuh King (street) into into the center of old town.
This is more the experience we are looking for. What is it like to live here? Ok, there are the fancy malls, dressed up neighborhoods and really nice areas, just like there are anywhere. There are the placed put together for the tourists. There are, of course, the historical buildings, churches, temples, government buildings and public works, but where does everyone else live.
These are narrow streets without sidewalks. The streets are lined with small shops of every description. The section we are in seems to fit the description of “little India” that was in Passages.
Little India is the ethnic Indian enclave in Penang. The oldest Hindu temple of Penang, Sri Mahamariamman Temple is here. We are walking past and hoping it is a holiday because they are burning incense on the street in front of the temple. We are not talking about a Catholic Priest with a small incense holder. We are talking about three or four foot high and a foot in diameter incense “sticks”. And not one or two, but maybe a dozen which are filling the street with smoke. Probably our lungs as well.
Little India is also main business district. There are many Indian fashion stores, they selling saree, shirts, jackets, thought quickly about picking up a Nehru jacket, silk and cotton, almost anything that has the essence of India. Traditional costumes, spices, precious gold and costume jewelry which use semi-precious gems are widely displayed. There are also music video stores with the latest Bollywood movies and songs.
There are large number of restaurants, cafes and street vendors selling Indian and western foods.
Now we are hungry. Even if the smells don’t get you the photos of the food on the displayed menus or on the street carts will. We really wish Jayashree was here to help us understand what we are looking at. The exchange rate between the US dollar and the Malaysian ringgit, puts the ringgit at about $0.21. Looking at the menus when cost of a meal or dish in some where between 2 and 12 ringgits. Yes, 42 cents to $2.50.
Our western ideas are hurting us here. The western idea is that if it is that inexpensive it must not be good. But it sure smells good. But it sure looks good. Ok, lets stop and have lunch.
We choose a place called Restoran Kapitan. It is fairly large and has a “terrace” about 40 or fifty centimeters above the street level. You should be thinking sidewalk not really terrace. It sits on the corner Chulia and Kings Streets. There is another resturant across Chulia Street called Deen Claypot Biryani. Kitty corner there is the Nagore Durgha Sheriff Mosque for the 1800’s. Across, “the large Pitt” is what could be described as one of the original 7-11’s, although it has nothing to do with the chain.
Why do we say arcoss the large Pitt? Chulia street isn’t bisected by King Street. King Street ends at Chulia. Offset by a few feet to the south, King Street continues but it is now called the Large Pitt. Not sure why, but it might be fun to find out someday.
The menu has so many things on it. They have ten different naan breads to choose from. Of course the only choice is garlic naan, one of the most expensive at 4RM ($0.84). They have Tandoori “sets”. We have no idea what a set is. From the photo it looks like rice served with meat. These range from 13RM to 17.5RM ($2.75 to $3.68). They have Claypot Biriyani, chicken Milani, kebabs, Indian pizza(?), something they call Middle East cuisine, various chicken specials, mutton and beef specials, vegetables and paneer, roti, capati, tosai, mutabak, nasi kandar and things described as Hot from Work. The photos make everything look tasty. But what exactly are they? We stick with what we know. I order the mutton Rogan Josh and a garlic naan. Mary orders the butter chicken naan set. The latter is chicken tandoori served on a butter garlic naan.
It is all so good. There is flavor in each and every bite. Yea there are bones in my mutton, but bones generally add flavor to dishes. They are easily put to the side. The bill comes to 31RM, with two bottles of water. Yes that’s right $6.51. We give the waiter one of the Malaysian notes we have. It is 50RM, about $10.50 and tell him to keep the change. He is very happy.
Feed and rested we head back to the ship. We walk a block south to Penang Street and turn left towards the park and the ship. Here is the flower mart district. Lots of beautiful flower garlands. They are beautiful and we suspect for the festival or holiday going on at the temple a block over. Lots of jewelry shops along this street.
As we approach the end of the street there is the Sentral College. Central College? No Sentral! S (Steadily providing quality education); E (ensuring programs and services are designed to meet the nation’s aspirations); N (nurturing); T (Thriving); R (reviewing periodically the effectiveness of the programs); A (actively seeking opportunities to enrich students’ knowledge) and L (learning continuously to improve our core competencies). It makes sense, at least in Malaysia.
The building is beautiful and fairly modern. The ground floor is indistinguishable from any other on the street. Several small shops, some selling food, some even selling college supplies. The end of Penang Steert is Lebuh Light and the park. Right on the corner is the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce building. It is a heritage building from 1928. Next to it is a hotel they are redoing. It also looks like a heritage building but there is no information.
We walk down the Lebuh Light towards the traffic circle that has the Queen Victoria Memorial Clock. This itself is a specular tower built in a Moorish style. Right next to it, in the same traffic circle is a modern piece of art. Looks like a stylized head wearing AirPod maxs. Really quite strange.
The entrance to the cruise terminal is now just across the street. Than goodness. It is hot and although we haven’t walked too far, it seems like more than it is. The walk though the cruise terminal to the ship almost seems as long as the walk through town. We are glad to be back on board and in the air conditioned space of our suite. Probably time for a nap.
Buonanotte e ciao, Enrico e Maria.
Yorumlar