Pulau Pinang: 5+ Days of Indulgence

It was supposed to be mostly work and little play but then only Steve Ortiz and I were traveling this time. And when it comes to interchanging work and play, we are, in technical lingo, known as the turn around specialists. A travel plan with a strategically placed weekend in the middle of equally distributed working days on both sides generally does the trick. And we were off to Pulau Pinang (Literally, Island of Pinang), located off the western coast of Malaysia.

In Transit (We absorbed a shock)

It was almost thirty six hour journey with three transit stops from Denver to Pulau Pinang and we decided to kill some time in Singapore by downing a few pints of local favorite, Tiger Beer. Folks, who haven’t been to this part of the world have to be warned before they go into shock. Some of these countries tax the hell out of alcoholic beverages. So much so that one look at bill could snap you back to sobriety, and could potentially put AA out of business. Airport bars, which live in a parallel universe, take this to a new level. In our case, fear of sobriety immediately prompted us to order another round. About 6 PM, we touched down in Pulau Pinang. Steve, whose only prior experience with humidity was mostly theoretical and highly technical (Probe-Stress-Probe of hermetically sealed MEMS devices) got a first whiff of what it is like to be that MEMS device, for a change. To me, it was a nostalgic reminder of my younger days spent working and traveling around southern Indian coastal regions.

A short cab ride and we ended up in a somewhat upscale “g Hotel”. If you have any doubts about the existence of chimerical g-spot, you need to visit the club of this hotel.

Day 1 (We had Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)

I have always been a heavy breakfast kind of guy. In fact, I have been known to gain a few lbs. of weight during breakfast. Breakfast in this hotel is one of the most elaborate. Even if I count the fresh fruit section as only one item, there were over thirty items in breakfast buffet, which ranged from western staple of donuts & muffins to common Malay fare of Roti canai and everything in between. There were six different kind of Juices, two of which were freshly squeezed right in front of you. Unlike American supermarkets, where uniformity takes precedence over taste, fresh fruit in Malaysia was nothing short of heaven. Steve and I attacked it (and pressed on the charge for next five days) with such ferocity that effects were observed in slightly increased standard deviation of Fruits futures prices on commodities exchange. Breakfast was priced at RM 25 (~ US $8) for hotel guests.

Btw, Malaysian currency RM stands for Ringgit Malaysia. Money does have a ring to it and did Malaysians decide to exercise subtle mirth by calling it Ringgit? No, actually the word Ringgit in Malay means “Jagged”, which refers to the serrated edges of Spanish silver dollar, which circulated in this region few centuries back. And as any Malaysian (or Americans for that matter) of moderate means will tell you, when it comes to money, it is more like “Wring It”.

In the afternoon, one of our hosts (Eng) decided to take us for lunch to a place called “Passions of Kerala”. Just like original Kerala, the food was served on environmentally friendly banana leaf and consumed with minimal cutlery. Traditional rice and spicy southern Indian fare served from a bucket, with fried okra on the side to satisfy your crunchy needs, all downed with a glass of mango Lassi. And yes, we were able to go back to work after this.

When it comes to dining, Steve and I belong to different schools of thought. I, being a vegetarian, belong to careful Herbivore, who opens a dialog with food with a simple question, “Is it OK if I eat you?” If I do not detect any expression of fear and protests, I proceed. Steve belongs to school of Cautionary Omnivore, who skips the introductory questionnaire with an instruction to himself, “I better eat it, unless it eats me first”.  

Two of our hosts (Boon-Ghee and Voon) told us that they are taking us to a seaside restaurant. Immediately, an American image of seaside restaurant conjured up but we were in for a surprise. Hai Boey (Literally Sea Tail or End of the sea in Hokkien dialect of Chinese language) seafood restaurant has that natural ambience, which is a thing of past in most of the countries. Located at southern coastline of the island, this place has very affordable great food served under large flat canopy structure open on two sides, tables thrown in at random, right at the beach with a priceless open view of the ocean and another small island visible in the distance, and sun just happened to be setting at that time. This is where Steve also discovered another truth: All rest rooms are not created equal.

Chefs were kind enough to make vegetarian noodles for me and then there was Beer. “Save an animal, Drink a Beer” has always been a guiding philosophy of my life.

Day 2 (The day Durian almost killed us)

Durian is a unique fruit found in southeast Asia. The outer shell of this fruit is protected by a battery of thorns, which was apparently developed by Durian genetic research labs to protect Durian clan from naughty Orangutans. The real claim to fame (or vice versa) for this fruit however is its odor. Many a human-reactions to its odor have been recorded. People who find it somewhat pleasant think of almonds. People who find it revolting think of a teenager’s gym socks. One way or other it is true that fruit is officially banned from many hotels and public transportation in some cities. The eatable part is a yellow creamy custard-ish flesh inside, which actually is quite filling though taste along with accompanying odor may test the range of your palette and other senses. On Friday evening, we were driven to a roadside Durian stand by one of the hosts (Jackie). And besides tasting, we were also given a short lecture. Durian 101 covered the harvesting and selection of Durian (apparently best ones are selected by squirrels), varieties of Durian, methodology of cracking Durian shells and proper durian eating etiquette e.g. eat just the flesh and not the seeds. It would have helped some of us, if they had covered the eating etiquette first!

About 30 minutes after Durian tasting, commences a phenomenon, which is bound to stay in one’s memory for rest of their lives, and perhaps even in afterlife too: Most "memorable" burps. Our solution to burps has always been beer, so we got it started. It started in the hotel lounge with a buy one, get one free happy hour deal, continued on through dinner at Bali Hai (Literally Sea of Bali, a seafood place with a motto: If it swims, we have it), moved on to hotel club and finally ended at a bar named Michaelangelo’s around midnight.

Where is the killing part in all this? Well, two days later at work, when our hosts learned of our Durian adventure, told us with aghast faces that Durian and alcoholic beverages are medically in-compatible and apparently deaths have occurred with their con-current consumption. Some people think that just the odor of Durian is enough to cause a death or two. One way or other, it is now confirmed that Steve and I are walking medical wonders with proud ownership of robust digestive systems. 

This was also the day, when our host (Hui-Ling) introduced us to, without argument, Penangites’ THE favorite dessert of Chen-dul. Chen-dul consist of green glutinous noodles (green color imparted by Pandan plant leaves), red kidney beans, coconut milk, shaved ice, all topped with gula maleka (palm syrup). The word Chendul comes from original word Cendol (pronounced Chen-dul), which is the word for key ingredient, green noodles. So one can say, Chen-dul is made from Chen-dul.

Day 3 (Over the Hill)

Nothing cures the previous night’s excesses better than a good hike next morning. At 6:30AM, our host (Wong), who had graciously agreed to be our hiking guide, picked us up and ten minutes later, we started our hike to Penang Hill from Moongate. Penang Hill hike passes through a lush dense forest and is about ~2200 ft. of altitude. On the way, one gets great panoramic views of Pulau Penang, mainland, Malacca strait & a 13 mile bridge connecting mainland and Pulau Pinang below. Some resting points are built along the hike, one of them with some weight lifting machines, just in case you feel like building muscles while hiking up. A leisurely hike takes about 3-4 hours. Trail is mostly wet and slippery with some steep but manageable sections, so bring shoes with good grip. Do not try to attempt this hike in your CROCS, as some dumb guy was seen doing it. Near the top of this hike, there is a Garden of Carnivorous Plants, however we skipped it because we were too hungry!

On the top of the hill, there is a beautiful serene old Mosque and an old Hindu temple, which exist in perfect harmony side by side, just as God intended, and bears testimony to Malaysian society’s diversity and tolerance.

We took the funicular rail down the hill, which takes only about 10 minutes to get down.

Our host Wong happens to be to an excellent food blogger in Penang (http://www.bestpenangfood.com), so he decided to introduce us to a sampling of Pinang’s hole in the wall places in the afternoon. We started with a small jam packed aromatic place, where a long line of people waited for, you guessed it, Chen-dul. In accordance with capitalism principles, one can cut the line here, if you ready to pay more. We ordered Rojak (Literally meaning Mixture in Malay), fish curry and of course, Chen-dul.

Rojak is a kind of fruit, dough fritters, bean curd salad heaped with peanuts and a thick sauce. Pregnant women love taste of Rojak. There is a popular folk-lore around Indonesia that if an Expectant lady’s verdict on Rojak taste is sweet, then it going to be a Girl and if verdict is spicy, then it is going to be boy…..Girls are sweet and Boys are spicy….go figure!

After this, we moved to a roadside joint, where a pair of well practiced hands (all fingers were intact) were dexterously hacking green coconuts with a machete for its delicious water and flesh. And from there we were brought to the Him Heang confectionery, which is renowned for its signature Tambun and other biscuits. The queue for Tambun is so long that it is better to order today and collect tomorrow.

For dinner time, we decided to visit the Little India area of Pinang. After downing a few Paulaners at a German pub, we explored the area which is declared UNESCO world heritage. The real attraction however around here is the interactive street art (combining real objects and drawn objects) by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic.

Little India is just like real India. Latest Malyalam music blaring at high decibel level and eager entrepreneurs ready to give you an irresistible deal on pirated DVDs. There are three kinds of shops here. Women’s jewelry, women’s clothes and Restaurants…..just like real India. Steve and I grabbed a prime out-door seating (roadside front of the restaurant) at Anand Bhavan and proceeded through the menu starting with appetizer (Vada Sambhar), intermediate (Cheese Naan, vegetarian accompaniments and Tandoori Chicken), final course (Plain dosa, Masala Dosa & Mutton Dosa) followed by dessert (Burfi and Boondi Laddoo). The bill rang at RM 30 (~US $10).

Day 4 (The Day God was proud of us….well, kind of)

This was the day we visited Buddhist Kek Lok Si Temple (literally Temple of supreme bliss in Hokkien dialect) located close to the middle of the island. Besotted by the eternal question “Does God look differently upon people who take a cab to the Temple compared to people who walk to it?”, we decided to err on the side of caution and walk six miles from our Hotel to the temple. It was a walk, which took us through most affluent sections of Penang (Mansions with 8 expensive cars parked in the front) to a tin-roofed houses of a common man. The humidity made us sweat approximately one bucket for every mile.

Kek Lok Si temple, though highly commercialized on lower levels, is a wonderful piece of traditional Chinese architecture built alongside a hill in ornate colors, which stand apart from its sorroundings. Construction started in 1890 and continues till this day around the 100 ft. statue of Kuan Yin (Goddess of Mercy), which comes from original Guanshiyin (Literally, observing the cries of the world).

After being reasonably sure that God was proud of us (just that day), we took a cab back! In a city full of cabs, what are the odds that the Cab driver who showed to pick us up from the Temple was same one who picked us up from the airport.

This night, we ate at famous hawker joints of green gurney drive. There are over hundred small stalls serving every possible tasty fare at cheapest possible price. And here I found a stall which makes mouthwatering asian dishes with a twist, they are all vegetarian. I had fried Tom Yam and Steve downed Laksa (a spicy prawn noodle soup)…..with some Tiger beer.

Day 5 (The day we wrapped up)

On one side, work was wrapping up and on the other side, the weighing machine in hotel room was indicating that there is something wrapping around my waist. We proceeded on to lunch at old town café and dinner at a pricey Indian restaurant Kashmir.

Day 6 (The day we couldn’t stop saying Thanks)

Our marvelous hosts had set up a whole new standard of hospitality. We were completely floored and we just couldn’t stop saying thanks.

As the plane lifted off the Pinang airport in the evening, I wistfully looked out of the window, and remembered the breathtaking landscape of this island. And among this landscape, resides Malaysia’s most important, most beautiful and most wonderful asset: It’s People.

Link to the Penang Pictorial Trip