"No innkeeper shall be liable to make good to any guest of such innkeeper any loss of or injury to goods brought to his inn, not being a horse or other live animal, or any gear appertaining thereto or any car or carriage, to a greater amount than the sum of Ringgit Malaysia Five Hundred Only (RM500)".
I have no idea what that legalese means, but, despite never seeing a horse at the hotel during our stay, we had an enjoyable time in Penang.
At a nearby hawker's compound, we came across a stall selling attractive lampshades. Similar to Christmas decorations in Europe, these lampshades had attractive Malaysian designs. We bought 10 to be given as gifts.
Penang is not typically Malaysian because the Chinese appear to outnumber the Malays. To our delight, we also saw South Indians (mostly Tamils) everywhere, and walked to Little India to have our meals.
A view of Penang from my hotel window. The rows of shop houses can be clearly seen.
The next morning, after the obligatory conference presentation (which is the usual excuse for my expense paid travel!), we walked back in the direction of Little India, passing hundreds of shop houses on the way. I have seen more stylish versions of these shop houses in Singapore, where many more appear to have been torn down, but, in Penang, their survival is guaranteed, because UNESCO got there first and declared Penang a World Heritage Site. So, the developers and the wrecking ball have been thwarted, and the Penang's unique flavor, giving an idea of what Singapore may have been 40 years ago, will live on. Thank goodness for that!
These shop houses are not merely tourist attractions. They are homes, and also workshops for all sorts of craftsmen such as mechanics, artists, rattan furniture makers, and printers. There were second hand bookstores, travel agencies, money changers, barber shops, and restaurants. Not in the best shape, these shop houses were evidence of a community that continues to uphold old values while surviving in a fast changing world.
As in Hong Kong and Singapore (but, alas, not in Sri Lanka), the colonial street names had been saved. There's even a Downing Street! Not only the shop houses, but grand, colonial style buildings, such as the Town Hall below, could also be seen all over town. Many of the streets were lined with large shady trees, which we call "mara" in Sri Lanka. Colombo's streets were lined with these trees but have been all but cut down now.
We found this interesting stationary store, which was really an Aladdin's Cave of items that we had not seen in ages. I last used Venus pencils ("Made in Britain") 4 years ago in school, and was thrilled to see them on sale here. (I thought the company may have disappeared now.) When we were admiring the rare fountain pens and bottles of Quink, the kindly shop lady gifted one of each item to us.
The shop house verandahs provided welcome relief from the sun.
Perhaps the biggest treat, for me, was the profusion of stores that sold used books. Undoubtedly, the king among them is Sam's bookstore on Chulia Road. Sam, a genial South Indian, not only sold books but was also knowledgeable about them because he read the, too. The last time I actually discussed books with a dealer of used books was in New Orleans, many, many years ago. (In Sai Kung, I donate my books to the Leisure Book Store, but am unable to buy anything from them because they mostly carry thrashy Brit books. And not a hope of discussing books with the people who work there. I like the cat, though.)
Sam the bookseller
On Saturday, a local English teacher, Bien Kee, escorted us on a conducted tour. We first went to two Buddhist temples, Thai and Burmese. This large reclining Buddha was at the Thai temple. This statue is made of plaster, and I marvelled at the even larger reclining Buddha in Polonnaruruwa, Sri Lanka, which is carved out of solid rock. Plaster vs, rock, there's no comparison.
With Bien Kee
We had three meals at this South Indian vegetarian restaurant. The vadai, dosa, and other items were a treat, but the big surprise was the cost, about a quarter of the prices we pay for Indian food in Hong Kong.
A mosque in Little India
A Chinese temple
Fawzia at the Chinese temple
More shop houses serving as stores
A tiny grocery store of the type we often see in Sri Lanka
A store selling colorful Indian clothes
Kien Bee took us to the Pinang Pernakan Museum, which used to be the home of a rich "baba", a Chinese Headman who must have been a Triad leader. Displaying the wealth of a bygone era, the house has Chinese wood-carved panels, English floor tiles, and Scottish ironworks. Lavishly furnished with period furniture and artifacts, the house had been recently renovated by a rich Chinese family. The Malay man who showed us around was also an artifact from the past, domineering and "do as you are told" type. While we observed him with amusement, the young Americans who were with us seemed to find him irritating.
Below are some photos from the Museum.
The center courtyard seen from one of the the dining rooms
The lovely ironworks around the inner balcony
The various outer buildings
View from a bedroom
Fawzia admiring artifacts
With a rickshaw
The hotel had a spa and I indulged in Thai oil massages on subsequent days. I have taken massages all over Asia but these were the best. The so called Thai-style massages are a torture, simply wracking ones body, but the oil helps to smoothen things out.
The traffic, the new middle-class Malaysians driving locally made "Proton" cars, are a real danger, and the place isn't all that hygienic, with smelly drains and hawkers who didn't look too clean. (What else can you expect in a place that's called Little India?) Some shop houses were rundown, and the owners are probably unable to afford renovations. The Malaysian government, despite all the trumpeting of "Malaysia, truly Asia" , doesn't care much for minorities, so may not help out with repairs. But, our visit was too short, and I want to return to Penang, the sooner the better.
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