Penang Island Tour via Scooter

I resolved the previous night that despite overwhelming local advice to taxi everywhere, I was going to rent a motorbike and take a self-guided tour of the island. After a surf-side run, and workout, I taxied back to Georgetown to rent the bike. I scored a ridiculous deal of $30 RM for a day's rental; that's less than $9 USD! The rental dude tossed me the keys and pointed me to a red rocket at the end of the shop. He didn't offer up a single word of explanation on the controls of this chopper, so I learned on the fly. Bam, I figured out it was a four speed monster with no clutch ... then I noticed the fuel gauge said 'E'. POOR FORM rental dude!

At the gas station I couldn't figure out how to unlatch the seat to expose the gas tank. I could definitely feel a latch but there was no indicator of how to disengage it and gain access to the fuel cap. BLASTED! Some locals noticed my struggle and building panic and tried to assist.

One of them let me borrow a phone to call the rental dude. The phone call didn't help as the language barrier proved too much. Inexplicably, I was flustered as I felt my adventure slipping away from me. Next I flipped a latch which covered the key hold as a security measure. The keyhole was covered AND I couldn't return it to the open position. OHHH-NO!!! First I had no fuel, second I couldn't get the key into the ignition of the bike, and on top of that I was a 30 minute walk from the rental joint. I was flustered (a rarity) and my adventure was doomed.

As I hastily ran through my options in my head, the local stud who lent me his phone figured out the bike's secret. Somehow he opened the latch and discovered that the seat latch is disengaged by pressing the key in when it's in an in intermediate position. OPEN SESAME!! The adventure was back on!

After fueling, I took my Honda 125 Road Runner to the Penang streets with vigor. The locals drove with reckless abandon, ignoring lanes, driving on shoulder and sidewalks, and cutting each other off. The motor bikers were the craziest and I was determined to fit in. They'd squeeze between large vehicles and generally scoot wherever they pleased, often with 1 or even two passengers along for the ride. I joined in on the loony riding ...

I dubbed my bike "Super Mario" because it was red, small, packed a big punch, and could stop goombas! Mario maxed out at 90 kilometers per hour (~58 mph) on a wind and gravity aided stretch of western Penang highway.

I cruised up to my first spot, the Tropical Spice Garden. I paid the fee and was treated to a one-on-one guided tour of the garden. The Chinese guide spoke pretty good English and gave a great tour. I learned that peppercorns are a berry on a tree and some variegated US houseplants' sap is nearly fatal if ingested. Did you know cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree and the whole tree tastes like cinnamon? Nutmeg is a ground-up seed and corrugated tile roof design was modeled after the structure of a particular palm. The garden tour blew me away.





I continued on the tour, swinging by the seaside National Park but opting not to hike; next stop was the Butterfly Farm. I have never seen so many butterflies in my life!



I was swinging counter-clockwise around the island and the next pit-stop was a Tropical Fruit farm. Jack fruit is delicious and the mangoes were really good. I also tried star fruit and water apples but they weren't really my faves. Did I mention that Super Mario came with a sweet blue helmet? :)



Here's Jim Carrey from "Yes Man" ... slight resemblance eh?



I tore up the rest of the deserted hilly roads on the west side of the island, taking in the scenery; the self-guide island tour was a big success and was one of my most memorable experiences during my stay.

Pictures Posted on Picasa (Finally)!

After some serious procrastination, I finally posted the pictures on Picasa. Enjoy!

Brent's Malaysian Adventure Pictures!

Saturday Part III -- Georgetown

Back at the hotel I got cleaned up and ready for the next chapter in my adventure, which would turn out to be a meandering journey. The aimless excursion to Georgetown was by design. Georgetown, a nearby district of Penang, is 3 miles from my hotel and is famous for its rustic Chinatown, lively Little India, and British Colonial sites. I was excited to check it out.

I decided to hoof it (that means walk for any city slickers out there), even after my strenuous Penang Hill hike and seven story pagoda climb. I'm a little loco, that's how I roll.

Unfortunately I COMPLETELY underestimated the maze of Georgetown streets. It was ridiculously convoluted with curving roads, dead-end alleys, and decrepit buildings. Most of it looked like pretty rough neighborhoods; I was by myself and lost; my heart rate and pace quickened. At one point I saw a bank guard with a shotgun on the sidewalk, WHOA! I passed through Chinatown pretty unimpressed, but Little India was bumpin'. I think this area of town really comes alive more in the late evenings though.

I passed by the impressive Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower on the way to Fort Cornwallis. This Fort, known to be the biggest in Malaysia, is situated at the spot where Francis Light landed in 1786.



Fort Cornwallis was very lightly fortified. I could have stormed it with my two samurai sidekicks, some sticky bombs, a glock, and 30 ft. of rope. At one of the galleries inside, I read the following.

Even though the fort was originally built for the Royal artillery troops and the military, its function historically was more administrative rather than defense. In its entire history, the fort had never been engaged in any battle.

NEVER IN A BATTLE! What?!? I thus question whether this landmark qualifies as a fort. Cornwallis did have a rockin cannon that the locals believe will increase fertility of their women.

There was also some mock prisoners in an old jail cell ... I must say they were pretty nice accommodations for 18th century criminals. I wandered about Georgetown a bit more and it started to grow on me. Despite the gloomy surroundings, everyone was friendly and there were some cool shops. I taxied and called it a night.

Saturday Part II -- Kek Lok Si

After Penang Hill, my guides suggested we make a visit to the Kek Lok Si Temple, which is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. Known as the "Temple of Supreme Bliss," Kek Lok Si construction was started in 1890. It was pretty impressive; the most impressive part was the seven story pagoda.



This place was lavish, colorful, and a giant maze of outdoor gardens, worship rooms, and Buddha statues. It was like nothing I'd even before. From various areas we could see great views of the city too.



In one of the buildings there were a pair of 20 ft. golden Buddha
statues. If you look closely you'll notice this guy is stepping on a peon's head; he looks angry!



My samurai guides and I climbed the seven story pagoda to the very top where we enjoyed more awe-inspiring views. Each level had a balcony with some sort of Buddha statue. I wonder if each level had a symbolic meaning similar to the seven levels of purgatory ... food for thought.

The Kek Lok Si adventure turned out to be much more interesting than I'd anticipated and made very worthwhile.

Saturday Part I -- Penang Hill

I woke up Saturday excited for the day's planned activities. Some co-workers, JT and Sun Zheng, were going to take me to hike to popular Penang Hill. I also woke up with some awesome spiky hair!



JT and I picked up Sun Zheng (SZ) and then jettisoned to the bottom of Penang Hill. Lush botanical gardens wrapped the base of the hill. Some people were practicing their Tai Chi in the garden -- righteous! Others were around as well enjoying the morning coolness; at the hill though, we were nearly alone. A paved access road was chosen instead of the real jungle dirt trail because of recent rain; at first I was dissappointed. Soon the utter steepness of the trail overcame this initial dissappointment. It was like climbing up to Camp Muir again at Mt. Rainier -- an unrelenting slope that punches you in the chest! That is what I'm talking about! We put in a solid 30 minute effort at this 25% gradient (aka -- STEEP) and made it to a resting spot. To my dismay, my mates informed me that we were merely one-quarter there ... Blasted! I thought we would have been half way! I was already sweating up a storm, but I dug down deep and re-ignited my inner inferno. There was a pull-up bar, so I did some one-handed finger pull-ups! Haha, just kidding, but I did pump out a few chin-ups to really stoke the flames. Some small native monkeys watched in amazement!



JT, SZ, and I were ready to roll again after our short break and continued the climb. The unrelenting slope succummed to our pounding and actually lessened a bit. We made it to a nice vista of Penang city peeking through the heavy forest. I snapped a photo of my fearless Penangite guides. They are undercover 3rd degree samauri warriors, just waiting for the right time to strike with a spinning Bayan Roundhouse Kick. I don't even want to know how many ways they could take a man's life.



Notice the glistening sweat!



With my inner inferno blazing and the steady resolve of my samauri escorts we made remarkable progress. In the midst of this journey, the week's meals of Indian, Chinese, and Malay food started bubbling my my stomach; I needed a bathroom and SOON. As we approached the 2/3rds resting point I had my eyes set on a small building that must house bathrooms! Relief would be mine! Alas, when I reached the structure there were locks guarding my sanctuary. I declined to ask JT to samauri chop the locks apart; I had decided that my mind could overcome the increasing rumblings in my tummy. We set off again, on another crazy steep slope. My mind was soley focused on the intestinal pressure -- I would definitely explode before reaching the top. I thought that perhaps peeing would provide some temporary relief ... I pulled off into the jungle and gave it a shot. Uh-oh, no pee! No turning back now, I ventured a few more steps into the jungle, out of the view of my alert guides. I felt immense satisfaction and victoriously cleaned up with some nearby leaves. My samauri trained guides did not detect my activities under the ruse of taking a whiz.

Feeling amazingly better the rest of the hike breezed by and soon we were atop Penang Hill. We saw an Indian Buddist temple, Mosque and enjoyed some cold beverages. I chugged some super tasty watermelon juice and then tried a Malaysian drink - freshly squeezed nutmeg. Nutmeg grows on trees; the fruit can be used to make a juice that is somewhat sour and bitter while still being refreshing. The seeds are used to make the spice. Nature is so smart; I learned more about nature's secrets at a later visit to the Tropical Spice Farm ... Glug, glug I finished the nutmeg drink along with some hot chick peas served in a paper ice-cream cone ... Cheers!



We took a vintage tram down the hill; not surprisingly I was the only caucasian. Usually I don't notice that anymore, but I happened to notice on the very crowded tram. The tram went straight down the steep gradient, never turning; interesting design! It was a nice hike and a fun adventure; Saturday was off to a great start!

Twin Towers and BATU!

BATU! BATU! BATU! BAAA-TUUU! It has a nice ring to it. 'Batu' means 'rock' in Malay. Ferringhi means 'foreigner'. On Friday, I visited Batu Ferringhi (Foreigner's Rock) which is on the northern part of the island and is the only decent beach on Penang. I headed up after work just in time to peruse the Yahong Art Gallery which had some great Chinese pieces.

I left the art gallery just in time to catch a magnifique sunset from the beach. It was very romantical, but alas I was by myself; a stray dog came and hung out with me though and I talked to some nice people. The sun set, and I headed back to the street where the vendors were just setting up shop.



At Batu; bargaining is a very useful skill! I have been making deals on taxi rides (30 downto 24), souveniers (18 downto 12), and figurines (49 downto 5!). I have been perplexingly unsuccessful in getting a significant price reduction on magnets though. MAGNETS! Really!?! The demand for souvenier magnets must be sky-high because these vendors won't budge!

I also enjoyed a Northern Indian meal of Tandori Chicken and Nan. I washed it down with a fav local beverage, Anchor Beer. You can't go wrong with a tough beer name like that. "GIMME AN ANCHOR." "It's ANCHOR Time!" It just sounds right.



A crazy rainstorm moved in and I headed back to G for the night; I was anxious to get rested for a much-anticipated Saturday hike up Penang Hill.

Before I close the book on Friday though, I want to mention the great lunch I was treated to by my co-workers. They took me to a traditional Chinese place, Double Good. Great restaurant name. We had chinese broccoli, fried bean curd, chicken in a sweet sauce, "noodle" vegetables, big shrimp in medium sauce, rice, and sting ray. The sting ray was a tasty fish, reminded me a bit of trout; they say it tastes like shark.

One co-worker, Woon Sin, took a picture of Hui Sian and I. She has dubbed us the 'twin towers' because of our imposing stature!

Day 3 -- Bananna Leafs and a Crash

I woke up on Thursday, April 9th to tropical thunder and lightning. It was a sight to see and I tried to take a picture but it didn't turn out -- Bummer! I was up early especially to take in the exquisite G complimentary breakfast. I wasn't disappointed ...

The breakfast had features of a traditional Chinese, south Indian, and what I'd classify as American. I loaded up with a little bit of everything, and omelette, some noodles, some seafood, fresh papaya and pineapple, grilled tomato, banana bread, Chinese fried bread, sticky buns, sliced beef, and a prune to top it off. There was this Chinese jello like substance which tasted like noodles and had a seemingly green egg yolk inside ... some Chinese food is a little out there! I washed it all down with chocolate milk and water! BAM-Z!



After breakfast I caught the shuttle to work and met a guy from Costa Rica, Manuel. He was also visiting and works at Intel. This was his fourth visit to Penang so he offered up some good advice about places to eat and things to see. I'm excited to get out and do some hiking and look at the flora and fauna native to the area.



Lunch was awesome! Some co-workers took me to eat some traditional South Indian cuisine at a place called Passion of Kerala. The food was served on a banana leaf and was crazy delicious. Apparently the banana leaf excretes some digestive aids when the hot rice hits it! Cool, but is that why my pooh wasn't solid that night!?! I'm sure it's unrelated or possibly the prune from breakfast! In any case, I highly recommend this style of eating, especially at $3 USD / person! I didn't take the pic but that's what it looked like!

Then, the Crash -- The international travel finally caught up with me. As soon as I made it back to the hotel on Thursday I zonked hard in my hotel room and woke up at 3 AM. I've gotta figure out how to get back on the Penang time!

Day 2 -- Work and "Dry" Meat!

After all the travel I was reminded the secondary reason I was sent to visit this foreign land -- to flex my brain muscle! I woke up and caught a 7 AM shuttle to mother Intel. On the shuttle, I met a Scot named Jon. Jon, like most people, were appalled that I didn't have jet lag whatsoever; but the way I sew it I was able to adjust on the plane ride; I was jacked up and ready to rock. Jon hadn't been able to adjust to the time change even though he'd been in Penang for over a week ...

I made it into the office without incident and found that everyone was really friendly. I met a handful of Penangite co-workers that I'd interfaced with quite a lot over the phone and via e-mail, which was good. Some people who I'd imagined as guys turned out to be gals; that's a quite strange feeling! I met Woon Sin, Kok Peng, Hui Siam, and Suk Han. Woon Sin and Suk Han are gals ... would you have guessed that? I didn't!

Lunch turned out to be a mini-adventure -- I hadn't arranged to eat with anyone as I'd been busy at my desk in the morning so I ventured down to the Intel cafe solo. I followed the crowd and filled up my plate with rice, some chicken-looking mixture, and green beans with tofu. Total cost, $3.70 Malaysian Ringgits (RMs); which was about $1 USD. The fare was good and the chicken turned out to be some kind of fish, it was flaky and dry but the sauce gave it a little heat and some wetness. I was impressed with quality to value ratio!

Work flew by and soon I found myself back at my hotel, casually named "The G"; I was ready to go in search of some local flavors. I was nudged in the direction of a variety of street vendors. The carnival-like atmosphere was packed with locals -- just what I was looking for; I was ready for some good eats. Malaysians though seem to have some interesting tastes in food -- there was a lot of crazy looking seafood and rice mixtures; plentiful fresh fruit and juice; I even saw some Shark fin soup!

I browsed the offerings and threw my money down at a pick-your-own-meat kabob grilling station. My choices included the Taiwanese Garlic Sausage, Pandon Chicken, Duck Leg, Salmon, and Dry Meat. I picked up a some raw sugar cane juice to wash it all down. I tried everything on my plate and decided I liked the sausage best, followed by the chicken, salmon, duck, and in a distant last the "dry" meat. The ensemble was capped with some unknown dipping sauce. During the meal, I kept thinking to myself, what is "dry" meat? What could it be? Didn't taste so great, but was made worse because I kept thinking it was probably a dog -- I've yet to see one on the island. I guess I'll never know, and that's a little disturbing. The sugar cane drink served it's purpose but I won't be a repeat customer.



After the meat sampling, I headed to the swank new mall built next to "The G". Turns out this thing is 8 stories tall, crowned with a movie theater; the prices were comparable to the US. With those "dry" meat thoughts still lingering, I decided I need another beverage. I grabbed a tasty kiwi smoothie; Back at "G Lounge", I ended the night with a Tiger Beer served up with some Jazzy tunes.

Days 1 and 2 -- Arduous Journey

Secret Agent Man! Secret Agent Man!

Welcome to my world of double crossing, secret meetings, undecover agents, and evil hitmen. My expertise is delivering invaluable packages completely undetected! Ok, maybe I'm not a secret agent (YET!), but I have been entrusted by my company to hand-deliver some microchips to validation teams in Malaysia for next-generation parts. What kind of microchips are these you ask??? If I told you, I'd have to kill you. The less you know the better -- It's for your own protection!

So, my company put me on a flight out of SFO Monday, April 6th at 1 AM heading for Hong Kong to transfer to Penang, Malaysia via Kuala Limpur. This was my first international flight and I was sitting in Economy. Last-minutes bookings mean middle seats and I spent a good 15 hours in that seat; luckily my spy training as given me the mental fortitude to withstand any amout of torture so I endured. Nothing too notable happened on the flight as we flew during the night and I mainly slept or read. I did use an airplane bathroom for the first time after 8 years of flying (note the bladder of steel).

I arrived in Hong Kong around 7 AM on Tuesday morning (Hong Kong time -- HKT). I felt pretty good. I had the metal briefcase still handcuffed to my hand; so far so good. Going to the bathroom with that briefcase sure is a pain! Eating is no picnic either. Ok, just kidding about the handcuffs and metal briefcase ... gotcha! They just implanted the microchips under my skin. They're so small it's really the easiest way. Gotcha Again! :)

Ok, back to Hong Kong; I had a 8 hour layover so I decided to scope out the city -- I took care of some essentials at the airport first (go through customs, lock up the microchips, get cash, and figure out transportation. Everyone was really helpful and the airport was very English-friendly. I hopped on this ultra-sleek train (Airport to Hong Kong Express) which was $100 HKD (~$14 USD) for a round trip. I was impressed with the train; it rode smooth, was completely automated, and like the rest of Hong Kong, was immaculate.



I experienced a great mixture of cultures in Hong Kong City; Eastern and Western cultures are both readily observable; I heard a lot of Chinese and English being spoken and saw a wide variety of ethnicities. I would compare the city to a bigger, more commercial, cleaner San Francisco. I mainly stuck to the touristy shopping areas but did find my way to the street market, which was awesome. There was a lot of fresh food, fish, clothing, jewelry, and other goods. A huge mix of people too ...

I ate lunch at a local noodle dive joint. No idea what I ordered; I think it was some kind of noodle bowl with beef. It was pretty tasty, and only cost $25 HKD (~3.5 USD). It easily filled me up for lunch.




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