When we have friends come to visit who are new to Penang, it's a perfect opportunity for to explore the more out of the ordinary areas of the city. So when a friend from Portland, who recently spent several days with us while on a tour of Southeast Asia, announced upon his arrival "I want to see it all, taste it all, do it all!" I knew we'd have very full days of adventure.
We took in the usual sites -- museums, nature, Little India, the wet market, temples, hawker food centers, etc. By now these are not really new places for me (although hawker food is usually a mystery), but our guest was equally happy wandering down side streets and poking through little shops. To me, these places offer a more authentic glimpse of the daily life of a place than just the places where all the tourists go. So we indulged our bellies, lightened our wallets, and even got a close shave. Well, not me, but I really dug the poster of haircuts on offer. Looks like the hairstyles in my Dad's high school graduation photos!
On a nice hike along the coast in Penang's National Park, we saw the usual gang of monkeys, but also a slew of lizards, birds, and tiny sand crabs with tall goggle eyes that were right out of Sponge Bob Square Pants. The day was hot and sweaty, but the colors and sounds of the jungle were worth the effort.
Of course the man slicing fresh coconuts on the beach could also not be missed. His skill with that huge cleaver betrays the many hundreds of thousands of coconuts he must have opened in his lifetime.
We also hit Penang Hill. (No, not climbing to the top!) We took the fast and easy funicular train to the top station. Like an amusement park ride, the train zips to the top on an insane incline. The trees and plants rush by, but we had 10 minutes of good people watching inside the train. This little girl, in her ridiculously cute and oh-so-pink hajib, didn't crack a smile once.
Comments
Post a Comment