My Brief Visit to Penang

I had planned a 4-day layover in Singapore on my way back from India, to spend time with my nephew and his family. I had hopes of a brief visit somewhere during that period, just like my trip to see Borobadur last year. So, while still in Kolkata near the end of my stay, I decided almost on the spur of the moment, a brief visit to Penang. Thanks to Christopher and Gary, my brother’s travel agents who had planned my earlier trips to Dhaka, Borobodur and Andamans, I had a plan, an itinerary, hotel bookings, and plane reservations all within a few days. I had little idea about Penang beyond that it was in Malaysia, and therefore a former British colony. And my expectations about the place were even less.

I took an early plane from Singapore and after a one and a half hour flight, landed in Penang at about 9:30 AM and immediately proceeded to Park View Hotel where I had reservations. On the drive to the hotel, which was some distance away, I found Penang to be quite developed with modern roads and high rises. But in sharp contrast to Singapore, there were many two-story structures with balconies. It was also quite hilly, at least near my hotel, which was located on the beachfront and was quite upscale. After lunch and a brief rest, I proceeded to go sightseeing. The hotel introduced me to Salim, a tour coordinator, who fixed me up with a taxi for the next two days and gave him directions for the places to visit. Salim and the taxi-driver, James made all the difference for the trip. They both spoke good English. Incidentally, Salim’s father hailed from Chennai and his mother was Malaysian. James, who had a Chinese wife, said his grandfather had immigrated from Kerala (he did not know from where!), and was apparently a Christian.

My sojourn of Penang started with a visit to the Entopia, a home of butterflies. It was really an enchanting place as the pictures would show. Unfortunately, I could not capture the ambiance with the flying butterflies, thanks to the limitations of my equipment and also my photographic skills. Interestingly, an exhibit where a spider was weaving his web fascinated me. My next stop was at two Buddhist temples, one local and the other Burmese, on opposite sides of the street. The exhibits all over were impressive. The biggest attraction perhaps was a large statue of Buddha lying on his back. The popularity of the place gave me a sense of the presence of Chinese and the hold of Buddhism on them here in Penang.

I was getting anxious to get to the wall paintings which my nephew told me about. I have already posted my pictures on it. It was a wonderful experience seeing the pictures while riding on my rickshaw pedaled at the back by my wonderful guide, Ali. Ali was engaged by James, my taxi driver; he too spoke good English. Ali was quite knowledgeable and told me that much of these paintings were by Russian and Lithuanian artists. Why on earth and all the way in Penang, I wondered. In this context, I must mention that I was surprised to see many foreign (read white) tourists walking the streets, seeing the paintings. A white man was seen playing the guitar sitting down on the street.

James now decided to take me to the Indian temple. He said it was dedicated to the god Murugan. But before that, he suggested I take a stroll through the bustling Indian town, which I really enjoyed. There was the usual fare of saree and jewelry shops and food stalls. I picked up a laddoo there. The Indian temple was high up on a hill. It was a long climb and I did not reach the top. But I enjoyed many of the statues on the way. I was surprised that there were very few people, in sharp contrast to the Chinese temple I visited earlier. I returned to the hotel exhausted and had a wonderful dinner and went to bed, preparing for the next day.

Before embarking on my sojourn with James the following morning, I had the first opportunity to enjoy the scenes from my hotel. Plans were for me to check out at 10:00 AM, so James could drop me straight at the airport at around 4:30 PM. The first stop was a ride up the Penang Hill by a train. The scenes on the way were really interesting. Unfortunately, the day was hazy and the sceneries from the top did not live up to their fullest potential. In the haze, I saw a long bridge crossing the sea. For the first time, I learned that Penang was situated on an island, connected to the mainland by the bridge. The botanical garden was next. I was given a tour on an auto taxi by a fifth-generation Indian. He did not quite know where he came from in India but they spoke Tamil at home. The gardens displayed lush greenery with a wonderful collection of flowers, orchids, and a beautiful lily pond and a surrounding rain forest. Unfortunately, by this time my camera had filled up and I had to forgo taking pictures. I bought a souvenir instead. And then it was time to head to the airport, bringing to an end a wonderful brief swing through Penang.

I seem to have a particular fondness for the people around: their ethnicities and other aspects. I learned that the largest population in Penang was Chinese. Their following for Buddhism appeared quite vibrant with the Buddhist temples and lamps in front of the homes. The Malays, the next biggest group were easily distinguished by the women in Hijab. The men often had caps and beards. I learned that most Malays were Muslims as evidenced by several mosques I passed. The Indians, who I was told, constituted only about 10 percent of the population, were visible everywhere. They mostly hailed from South India as evident from the darker skins. The women often wore Indian dresses, but even in western dresses or in work clothes, they invariably had a little dot on their foreheads. From their looks, it appeared that intermarriage was probably not common, even though their ancestors immigrated two or three generations back. I learned that they all came as laborers in the rubber plantations and chewed a lot of ‘pan’ to keep them awake through the night. I was also quite surprised, perhaps thrilled to see several Bangladeshis working in the hotel and also in Penang Hill. I saw vestiges of British colonial history in the Governor’s Mansion and also in names like Georgetown.

I have taken many photos, some are added here, they will depict the documents.