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Penang - Food glorious food!
Friday 8th October
The events of the following day had tired us out a touch so we woke up late, Penang greeted us with glorious sunshine. We decided to take a walk down to the centre of Old Town to get a feel for the city and some food before heading up to the big Buddha to admire the views and visit the impressive temple.
We wandered down the quiet streets admiring the old buildings and appreciating the cleanliness, here bore stark contrasts to KL. The buildings all bore remittances of Penang's colonial past and we stopped regularly to admire the architecture. Eventually we got to the central point where we visited a huge shopping centre, perused through the interesting stalls and shops picking up a delicious milkshake before leaving.
The bus station was attached to the shopping centre and after a few minutes of wandering around we worked out which bus we needed we boarded for the winding journey to the edge of the city. We passed the suburban side of Penang and here the villages were a hive of activity with small markets here and there, the streets lacked the high-rise buildings and proved a safe playground for many children. We eventually reached our destination, the driver pointing out where we needed to go to visit the Temple and Buddha. We trekked passed stalls selling fresh coconuts and small souvenirs up the steep hill, regularly other hikers and puffing cyclists passed us nodding hello. Eventually the terrain turned to thick forest and a beautiful running river, complete with children splashing and playing on the rocky bank. The scenery was spectacular. By the time we had reached the temple we only had a hour to look around; we were rewarded for our long trek with the most peaceful and beautiful temple we had visited. Set on the side of huge hills the panoramic view of Penang and beyond was spectacular, this however was nothing compared to the atmosphere inside the temple. Beautifully ornate statues, pagodas and fountains surrounded the intricate temple walls and roof, wandering around in silence both moved by how peaceful and holy the whole place was.
By the time we had looked around we had missed the small lift up to the buddha so after asking for directions we headed up on foot, the heat still strong despite the lowering sun. By the time we realized that I had been leading us the wrong way we had hiked up the winding road for at least twenty minutes, feet hurting and Tejal slowing we eventually made it to the big Buddha only to find that it too was closed and surrounded by scaffolding. A wasted journey but the walk had been pretty, people laughed and jeered us as we trudged down the steep slope back to the suburbs and our bus and by the time we were heading back the light had been replaced by darkness. Both of us agreed it had been one of the most beautiful places that we had visited.
Getting off the bus reminded us of sore feet and an increasing rumbling belly so we decided to wander around George Town's narrow streets to get a feel for Penang's famous street food. We wandered around for a good hour before eventually stopping at an amazing South Indian restaurant serving the most delicious Roti, as we gobbled down one after the other, each filled with a different vegetable or meat, our stomachs soon became satisfied. The staff were interested in us, mainly because of TJ, all of them thinking she was Tamil. By the time we had finished our meal, washed down with drinks, the bill came totaling the equivalent of three pounds. Amazed we headed back to our hotel, late into the night, satisfied and in great need of taking the weight of our sore feet.
Saturday 9th October
Again the sun shone brightly and we started the morning wandering around the beautifully old streets of George Town, it was interesting to see the way they had incorporated old with new. By the afternoon we had reached the clock tower, it was one of their favored colonial buildings and sat in the middle of a roundabout encircled by modern buildings.
Next to the clock tower and leading to the sea was Fort Cornwallis, an old coastal garrison complete with high walls and protective canons. A statue of the great man himself greeted us as we entered it's small gardens, after reading a little bit about the place we ventured over to watch some traditional dancing and music of the Malay people. The costumes were elegant and colourful for both the men and the women and it was interesting to watch the different styles of dancing. We walked around the small fort taking in some of the history behind it, at one corner was a huge watch tower built like a mast on a ship. Indeed it bore all the same resemblances including the perilous climb to the top, luckily it was closed off so I couldn't attempt the ascent.
As the afternoon was drawing to a close we followed the coastline up, stopping for a drink to watch the sun set over a brilliant blue sea. It was nice to sit and watch the locals, both young and old, enjoying socializing in the warm evening air. On our walk we had picked up a local food guide, giving superb information on all the great local food and where we could find them. We decided on the local dish Wan Tian Mee, steaming hot noodles with soup, vegetables and pork. After trudging down many roads we eventually found a bustling street with rows of different street sellers offering every food under the sun. By the time we found the noodle cart I had already gobbled down some fantastic chicken satay and TJ was still gnawing on a succulently tender sweetcorn cob. The walk was worth it as both of us (Pork abscent from Tj's) devoured our large bowl in minutes, you could tell it would be good from the number of people stopping on their mopeds to get a takeaway bag. The stall was so clean impressing TJ by the way they were washing up and constantly cleaning after themselves, we knew we wouldn't get a dodgy belly here!
After thanking the two cooks, probably husband and wife, we headed home via a few bars to wash down the delicious noodles. As we sat we couldn't believe how good the food had been, we had been told by everyone that it would be but the taste, cost and variety on offer was astounding. Again all our food and drinks only came to the equivalent of four or five pounds, an absolute bargain. We returned to our hotel in preparation for the early morning minibus journey to Cameron Highlands, both of us agreeing that Penang was a lovely place with lovely people.
Mark & Tejal
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