Penang

I am sorry that I haven’t posted for a few days. I haven’t had internet access since early Saturday morning.

On Saturday morning I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, which is an island along the coastline north of Kuala Lumpur. It is also its own state within Malaysia. I was picked up at the airport by my driver, Dave. Our first stop was Kek Lok Si Temple. One of the finest Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia, The Kek Lok Si Temple stands majestically on a hill in Air Itam. Built in tiers, the temple boasts the beautifully crafted “Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas”. Taking more than 20 years to build, the temple is set against scenic surroundings. It features a turtle pond, gardens, shrines and sculptures. I took a lot of pictures of this beautiful place, below is one of the pagoda, which unfortunately was under renovation.

Next we went into Georgetown the island’s largest city. Our first stop here was the Seven Clans Village. This area is built right on the water and in some cases over the water near the harbor. It is where the Chinese immigrants from these seven families first settled when they came to Penang. Their lifestyles have stayed much the same and by the way Penang is the only Malaysian state to have a majority Chinese population. The area has a great view as you can see in the picture below.

Next we visited Khoo Kongsi, which is by far the grandest clan temple on the island. The forefathers of the Khoo family, who emigrated from South China, built it as a clan house for members of the Khoo family. The building was so magnificent that upon its completion in 1898, the roof caught fire, some believe, due to its resemblance to the Emperor’s palace in China. It features a magnificent hall embellished with intricate carvings and richly ornamented beams of the finest wood bearing the mark of master craftsmen from China. Below is a photo of the exterior of the hall.

We briefly stopped at Fort Cornwallis. The fort was built on the site of Sir Francis Light’s historic landing in 1786. Originally a wooden stockade, it was replaced by a concrete structure built by convicts in 1804. Below is a picture of the fort’s exterior walls. Georgetown is filled with British Colonial architecture and many heritage buildings.

Georgetown also has several ethnic districts. Little India was our next stop. Think Chinatown except with Indian shops and restaurants some of which date back over two centuries. I enjoyed a brief walk around this lively district. Below is a picture of one of the narrow streets.

The Botanical Garden is an oasis of peace and tranquility with lush green surroundings and vibrant colors of Penang’s tropical flora. But even more intriguing are the monkeys that make it home, one is pictured below.

My next stop was at the Penang Butterfly Farm. The farm is home to 3000 living specimens from over 50 species of colorful butterflies, frogs, scorpions and other insects. I really enjoyed this stop. Below is a photo of one of the butterflies.

My last stop before going to my hotel was the Tropical Fruit Farm. This agrotourism facility is spread over 25 acres of hilly terrain and contains orchards that produce over 200 tropical and subtropical fruits including durian, lychees, mangos, guavas and several lesser known varieties. At the end of the guided tour you get to sample several kinds of fruit and have a fruit juice drink. I have found that I really like Jack Fruit which I have never seen in the U.S. Below is picture of a Dragon Fruit and right next to it is a bloom that will later produce the same fruit. The blooms open at night. I tried Dragon Fruit, its flesh is a bright red and there are very small black seeds. It tastes alright but I still prefer Jack Fruit.

Next I went to my hotel which is in Batu Ferringhi, which translates to Foreigners Rock. It is on the North side of the island and is the best beach area. I ate dinner at a local restaurant called The Ship; it boasts that it has the best steaks in town and is built in the shape of a huge old ship. I did try a T-Bone and it had a good flavor, while it was quite large in diameter it was cut very thin. On the way back to the hotel I walked through the Night Market and used some of the bargaining skills I learned in China.

On Sunday, I slept in until very late in the morning and then had lunch at the hotel. After lunch I went to the pool for a while and then got a full body massage. After dinner I once again browsed around the Night Market. The picture above is sunset from my hotel room’s patio.

On Monday I met with three groups that all oppose the use of genetically modified organisms and free trade agreements. The first meeting was with the Consumers’ Association of Penang. The first two gentlemen I met with here were willing to have a back and forth discussion with me but it was apparent that the only thing we agreed on was the need for Malaysian consumers to be better informed about food safety and sanitation. Otherwise they had a lot of preconceived notions about American agriculture that simply are incorrect. I attempted to correct some of these ideas but I am not sure how successful I was in changing their minds. Later I attempted to have a meeting with the president of the organization. There seemed to be communication issues and this is the first time during my fellowship that I felt unwelcome.

I briefly visited the local chapter of the Friends of the Earth. The person I really needed to talk to here was out of the country. The two young ladies that were in the office tried to answer my questions but they were simply not the right people for the task. They did give me a booklet about why they oppose GMOs. My third meeting of the day was with the Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific. The ladies who run this organization have good reasons to be concerned with many of the issues that they try to address. They seem to legitimately want to make life better for rural people (especially women) in this part of the world. Though we don’t agree on many issues, we were able to find several other things that we do agree on. I felt a lot more welcome here and we had a good discussion of the issues.