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Pulsating Penang moments

A throbbing nightlife of a different kind, beaches, water sports, Buddhist temples - Penang is a slice of Malaysia you want to see

PHOTOS: BY AUTHOR

HAPPENING PLACES Penang offers enough for the listless traveler — be it in a beach or a Buddha

Malaysia doesn't begin and end with the Petronas Towers, Kuala Lampur, and power shopping for electronic goods in uber-huge shopping malls.

Like in most countries, Malaysia's heart and soul lies in the smaller towns with a character all their own. Cities and towns that exude warmth, that allow you to mingle with its people in smaller spaces — in crowded markets and houses with history.

The coastal city of Penang is ideal ground if you want to get away from the flyovers, steely towers and blitzkrieg of malls, boutiques and branded stores. As the winding roads take you up and down the hillside with a view of the coastline and tempting sand-beaches, it takes a reminder from Mr. Tan, our travel agent, that Penang was hit by the Asian Tsunami 2004. The only reminder I see from then is a seaside Tsunami Café!

Picture perfect beachfronts, night markets that go on till the wee hours of the morning (I was safely and comfortably shopping till two), steaming sea-food off woks by the roadside, pirated DVDs, fresh local fruits cut up and packed for a try, quaint forts and churches, friendly people, tall glasses of "teh tarik" — Malaysia's frothy tea, souvenirs and bargain shopping thrown in for good measure. What more could one ask for? Throbbing with life, trinkets, people, goods and food are the night markets — in the Batu Ferringhi area on the Penang island or locally called Pulau Pinang (funny that "betel nut island" in Malay also spells an Indian name for food!)

If you're smart enough you'll take a room high up in a hotel along this road. So that even when you sit back at the window, you can drink in the azure sea beyond, maybe catch a glimpse of a colourful parachute languorously climbing down from the sky, with specks of people scurrying about the vibrant street below.

Batu Ferringhi runs parallel to the beach and most of the quaint restaurants (including one built inside a huge sailboat) are on this street that stretches more than three kilometres. By seven in the evening, when the sun is still colouring the sky orange in a slow goodbye, hawkers wheel in their make-shift shops and set them up on the pavement. Imitation watches, bags, and T-shirts scream Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Nike and you can pick them up for a song. Colourful silk bags, traditional Chinese dresses for kids, batik sarongs and batik paintings on cloth, artists selling their paintings depicting life in Penang, souvenir t-shirts and curios, wooden clogs and cloth-soled footwear, silver jewellery and a huge amount of bling brim over from all the little stalls. Eat, drink, walk, shop till you drop.

It is not such a bad idea to go para-sailing or water scooting in the azure waters during the day to burn off all the fat you're bound to gain eating through the night. If you are not the adventurous sort, just order a nice, cool, long iced tea and sit by the beach-front restaurants to watch.

Penang is a conundrum of various cultures and people. And there's no place better than Burmah Lane for proof. On one side of the lane is the Dhammikarama Burmese Temple featuring tall standing Buddhas, and on the other the Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram of the Thais, featuring a beautiful 108-foot reclining Buddha. A peculiar practice you will notice — underneath the reclining Buddha are niches where ashes of deceased devotees are kept, with a photo of each person.

One thing you must put on your "musts" list in Penang is a guided tour of the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion in the Georgetown area. Home of one of China's first nouveau riche businessman in Malaysia, the first thing that hits you about this mansion is the deep indigo walls (painted with indigo dye brought from India). The mansion boasts 38 rooms, five courtyards, seven staircases and 220 windows - it is said to be the most Feng Shui perfect house one could imagine. The 19th century home incorporates interesting water-harvesting techniques, elaborate cut-and-paste porcelain work, Scottish cast iron pillars (imported from Glasgow), imported tiles from Staffordshire, stained glass windows and other interesting features all rolled into one house that offers a peek into the life of early Chinese settlers. It is fascinating to listen to Sally Lim, an excellent storyteller (and not a mere guide) who engages you in the life and times of Fatt Tze. In fact, it is Sally who makes the place come alive for the tourist; otherwise it could have lapsed into a boring museum. After a day or two in the country one realises that essentially everything in Penang quite distils around the Chinese community, (though they form only 23.7 per cent of the country's 24.4 million population) and you are bound to encounter much of it on the tourist circuit too. A visit to a clan house can give you an idea of how this community has held fast together and to their tradition. The Khoo Kongsi is one of the oldest Straits-Chinese (a community of Chinese that have inter-married with Malays) clan houses in Penang.

Built in about 1853, the house contains a book that traces in painstaking detail the family tree of this clan (everyone who shares the surname) that settled in Malaysia. You must catch the statues of two Sikh guards who stand sentry to the clan house! (Sikhs were apparently trusted by the Chinese for their valour and often hired as guards. Even today you can see a dominant Sikh population in the country.) Clan houses were and still do serve as a community centre for members of the clan to come and worship, meet, and celebrate festivals. The clan house features intricate carvings on the outside and inside on stone and wood and is full of breathtaking murals on the walls. A spectacular roof adds the pagoda look to this massive and awe-inspiring structure. What does catch my eye is that the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) team has played a large role in the restoration of this clan house (after a fire burned down most of it) including the paintings on the walls, wooden doors, panels and beams.

The Kek Lok Si temple on Crane Hill is one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in the whole of South East Asia. The white Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas towers over a hundred feet and makes a serene sight. Once you get to the top of the hill, you get a breathtaking view of the rolling hills and the city below. Be warned that the monastery demands a lot of time and energy and the shopping complex in the basement takes away from the beauty, serenity and ideals you would associate with a monastery. I visited the place during the Chinese New Year. And while there are large crowds milling in apparently to pray, there is hardly any sense of the devout that comes through.

Penang has lots more to offer than I can talk of in one breath. Read up a bit before you plan a trip and you can chalk out your own tour. Malaysia celebrates 50 years of nationhood this year so there is a tourist-oriented extravaganza every month of 2007. For details and special packages logon to www.virtualmalaysia.com or www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my

BHUMIKA K.

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