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Pulsating moments in Penang
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A throbbing nightlife, beaches, water sports, Buddhist temples... Penang is a slice of Malaysia you want to see
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PHOTO: BHUMIKA. K
HAPPENING PLACES Plenty of options
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 of 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 tsunami in 2004. The only reminder from then is a seaside Tsunami Café! Picture perfect beachfronts, night markets that go on till the wee hours of the morning , steaming seafood off woks by the roadside, pirated DVDs, fresh local fruits cut 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 by 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.
A visit to a clan house can give you an idea of how this community has held fast together and to its 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.) What does catch our 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.
BHUMIKA. K
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