Penang....Pearl of the Orient

Penang has been called the Pearl of the Orient and it is a title well and truly deserved. From the densely forested hills to the quaint Malay villages, from little India in George Town to the glorious beaches and Cuasarina trees of the coast, the fishing villages and unspoiled islands nearby it is a travellers' paradise.

Life on board ship can be exhilarating of course but living in each other's pockets and the repetitive rhythm of life on a teaching vessel can also be stifling. We all needed a break I think...I certainly did.

George had to lead an FDP (student practica)in the morning. It was called Ethnic Communities. We set off just after 10.30 am in an air conditioned bus with an excellent Malay-Chinese Guide called Elizabeth....no difficult name to pronounce here. She spoke absolutely accentless English was charming and very large. When I later spoke to Elizabeth about herself she said in response to a question, "No I am not narried. Why should I marry? I love my job and my life, I live in a loving family yet feel very much my own woman. I don't need a man." We drove first through George Town and I was amazed to see how much it had grown in the last quarter century...although really why should I be, it's a long time since I was there! There are old and beautiful colonial buildings huddled under tall skyscrapers, ancient houses blackened with damp fungus and low colourful stores hiding down lanes and around corners. There is a heady mixture of old and new, East and West, Colonial and traditional....and among it all are huge trees with hanging vines and enormous trunks that must have stood there for who knows how long.

The roads are such a change after India. They are well marked and sign posted, the cars keep within the prescribed lanes and obey the traffic lights and one occasionally hears a horn. After India what a treat are these signs of order and sanity. There is less colour and noise and chaos, there are fewer spicey smells pervading the air but we were more than ready for this comparitive calm!

We visited a traditional Malay village, a fishing port and a batik factory with a tempting shop attached. I tried on two attractive tops one being quite a bit cheaper than the other. So, feeling very sensible (and as it was quite beautiful and classy) I chose the cheaper one. George bought himself a batik shirt, took both to the cashier and paid for them. When I joined him outside a few minutes later he said "You do realise that we have just spent US$100.00!" I was taken aback at the price of his shirt...'Well mine wasn't expensive ' I said smugly 'how much was your shirt?' 'twenty four dollars' he replied. Oops. On the bus I took out my 'cheap' top only to discover that the price on it did not match the sign above the rack which I was sure I had seen. It was pure silk and had cost almost $80.00! Too late...the bus was on its way so all I could do was apologise profusely...and pat myself silently on the back for my excellent taste!

We were getting hungry and it was well after 2 pm when we headed for the immediate chaos of Little India streets...in fact they were far too narrow for the bus so we once again walked through the wonderful muddle that seems to be India. We came to an Indian restaurant and were herded up the stairs to a dining room with one very long table. There must have been at least eight waiters who descended upon us, took our orders and then gave everyone the wrong thing. No matter we sorted ourselves out and started to eat. Mine was sooo hot and spicy that ultimately I could only manage to swallow the rice...and I am a curry lover! Luckily there were lots of interesting 'bits' in it so I enjoyed the meal..others were not so fortunate and were gulping down water...which doesn't help a bit, beer is better..but we asked for cucumber and yoghurt and that helped a few students get the food down!

When we finally descended the stairs to leave we discovered Elizabeth standing with an umbrella at the entrance saying 'We have to stay we cannot venture out in this' and she was right. It was pouring down in buckets....beautiful for all tropical rain lovers of whom I am one. So we seated ourselves in the lower portion of the restaurant and gazed longingly at the front counter where bowls of wonderful looking stews and colourful side dishes were laid our under glass...we would have much preferred to choose what we could see on the lower level.

After about twenty minutes or so the rain eased off and we ran down the streets until we met the bus on the main road. We had lost time by then so had to head straight back to the ship. Those of you who know me well will understand what happened next.

George left the bus to check the students and see them back on board, I hauled our back packs out of the overhead compartments and heaved them to the front of the bus and down the stairs on to the docks. Steve Malloy who was coming with us to the hotel at Batu Ferringhi and had been on the trip went to the ship to fetch his wife while I said goodbye and thank you to Elizabeth....and the bus drove off. George reappeared and as I was putting our stuff on to a trolley to wheel out of the port he looked at it and asked "You did bring the bag with the things we bought did you?" My heart sank...'Oh my God...you didn't?!' Oh yes...I had left the plastic bag containing his shirt and my $80.00 top on the bus! I grovelled in abject apology yet again and he flew back on to the ship, reported it to the agents who were on board and, to cut a long story short, the missing bag was delivered to the ship and given to us when we returned tonight. Mea culpa! Mea culpa!

Months ago I had looked for a hotel similar to the one I stayed at when I travelled alone many years ago to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore but Penang has grown beyong recognition immediately round George Town and hotels abound on Batu Ferringhi where I had been. Fortunately I mentioned this to a friend who had visited The Lone Pine Hotel and recommended it. What a total delight this place proved to be and after being taken round the old part, and seeing the beach in front of the old rooms and their white verandas I realised it was where I had stayed before!

However the Lone Pine has been renovated and opened again in November of last year. Our friends Brenda and Steve Malloy had asked what we were doing and whether we'd mind if they joined us, which we didn't, so they came with us.

The rains have come to Penang, wonderful, heavy, tropical rains. You can see the dark clouds approaching in the early afternoon and a cooling breeze gathers strength just before the downpour. But the mornings are heavenly with lots of sunshine. We had breakfast in the Bungalow dining room which remains from the old hotel. There is a colourful buffet with delicious fruits, yoghurts, croissants and other baked goodies in addition to western eggs personally cooked and exotic things like "Chicken porridge" (?!) and traditional porridge which resembles a rather watery cream of wheat...it didn't tempt me! There was much much more all laid out in the open dining room where we looked out on to the two swimming pools and the sea through the Cuasarina trees.

Our rooms were in the new building and were luxuriously furnished and very comfortable. Our balcony had the same view over the pools and out to sea. One of the things I enjoyed most was the enormous shower head which sprayed out comforting hot water in a very wide, high pressured waterfall. Fantastic...I could have stayed in there for hours!

We spent our mornings at the pool side under large umbrellas on comfortable chaises longues. We swam in the pool and then wandered on to the beach and enjoyed the ocean which was warmer and then back to the refreshing pool again! We ordered drinks like Singapore Slings and Mojitos and ate interesting lunches there on narrow rectangular white plates....their spring rolls were to die for! Because of the rain we had our evening meal in the hotel too although we had planned to walk further afield.

I cannot tell you the utter joy of waking up in the morning and knowing that the day stretched ahead, on terra firma, with no classes or meetings (and no students!), just to do with whatever we pleased. I enjoyed it all so much that returning to the ship today was quite difficult. Going back into the Glazer lounge for 5 pm drinks and socialising appealed only to George. I stayed in our cabin attempting to get myself psyched up for the onslaught!

I had a sad but huge laugh when I heard the story of our friends Alfred and Terry Hunt. They had planned a visit to the Cameron Highlands on the mainland and Terry had looked up the buses (vans) and all was to be quite straightforward. However when they reached the bus station at the stated time they found few English speakers and again to cut a long story short took the wrong van and ended up in Thailand! They realised how terribly wrong it had all gone when a taxi driver came up to them as they stepped out of the van and offered "Bangkok?' They had no Thai money on them (only Malaysian) and ended upin a pretty awful hotel for the night. They decided to come straight back to Penang the next morning in case there was any trouble at the border getting back. This is their third voyage like ourselves and they are well travelled but because they misunderstood the name of the city they went to (which they have blocked out of their memories!)when asking if it was the correct bus (it sounded like Cameron they said)their adventure came to naught in the sense that they didn't get to their desired destination. However any of you reading this who know Alfred (Jeannie and Brenda) will know that he is already living on the story and will do for years to come I have no doubt!