Pennang Lah !
Easter 2013 and I was off to Pennang again, accompanied by the Inka marka guys, as it was a work trip this time, to perform at the Pennang World music festival at the Botanical gardens.
Inka marka @ Pennang 2013 (press the letters & follow the link to hear to see the video )
How much better could a trip to one of my favorite places be, accompanied by one of my best friends Karen, and the Inka marka guys. The festival was run by the crew from Kuching so the artist liaison officers and back stage crew were all well known to us , and some of them close friends from previous visits there. Anita, Angela, Sunita, Azahar, Jo Han, Gracie, Pein Li to name a few were all there as volunteers or in official capacity. So good to see these friends again. This was Karen's first trip to Pennang, and we weren't going to waste a minute of it hanging around the hotel. Whenever we weren't rostered for press, soundcheck or rehearsals, we were out and about, literally walking the length and breadth of Georgetown. These are a couple of pic staken of the Street art that Pennang is famous for.
As soon as we had a spare moment, we gathered up the "sisters" Anita, Angle & Sunita,( our friends from Borneo who were volunteering at this event) and headed off to explore the Georgetown.
First place we headed to was Dharmikarama Burmese Temple just a short walk from our hotel.
This temple is a juxtaposition of styles, and across the road is another temple Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram .Thousand of pics were taken, and all I can say is thank god for digital photography. The reclining budha is Fanous but I cold only manage to get the toe in shot !
China town & Chulia street were a must stop location. We wandered down Chulia street till the end, turned left and were confronted with the biggest Joss sticks I have ever seen. The temple although not large, was well maintained with several small shops surrounding the entrance.
There is no Asian city complete without a "little India" and as soon as we entered the precinct, all that could be heard were the screaming speakers of the Bollywood classics of the day blaring out in competition with each other. Little India is in the center of the Pennang Heritage zone, covering three streets, Chulia Street, Queen Street and Jalan Pasar . Along this street or Market street as it is known in English are many brightly colored Indian Clothing stores, selling everything Indian, Saree's Wedding dresses, Beautifully embroidered fabrics and many beautifully embroidered shirts and cotton kurtas.
I had an unfortunate interlude here with and Indian shop owner who just didn't seem to want us foreigners in her shop. Shopping in Asia is very different than shopping in Australia. In Australia, we like to be left alone until we make a decision, then we either try the garment on, or just pay for it and go. In Little India, you are stalked, cajoled, harassed and finally sweated into buying something. After being followed around the shop for 10 minutes, ( I had every intention of buying something) I finally found a beautifully embroidered shirt I was interested in. The shirt was not expensive by Australian standards, but I think it may have been for Malaysia. I asked to try the garment on. I was given a firm no. The owner of the store finally stepped into the negotiations after I had politely asked her assistants to step back and let me browse, as I cant buy something if I cant see what I want, or find the right size. They must have been working on commission because "step back" to them was interpreted as lets push harder to see if we can make a sale as she is obviously interested in something ! The shirt I was interested in was around $60 Australian , not expensive for a beautifully crafted silk Kurta shirt with a full embroidered front and tiny silver buttons, which would have sold in a trendy boutique in Oz for several times that amount , on sale! When i finally found one in a size and color that I found attractive, the Owner promptly said to me, You too FAT! This Not fit you, Go.. leave my shop! I was stunned to say the least. What had happened in the mean time as I was browsing, a large Indian wedding party had stepped into the already cramped space, and the owner was already counting the money in her head that she would make form this sizable sale should she manage to snaffle them. She just wanted the two foreigners out of the shop as quickly as possible to make space for the many Aunties and cousins already looking to park their backsides on a plastic stool or rickety chair. I have to say, I was quite shocked, and taken aback...but decided I would not spend my hard earned cash in a place like this..
We wandered several shops down the same street and came across a similar shop with an older man sitting on the step going down onto the footpath. "Apah kabar" I said to him, trying out my less than perfect Malay on him. We struck up a pleasant conversation, the man obviously seemed bored, it was a slow day, very hot afternoon and he probably thought that these foreigners wouldn't be spending money on his beautiful embroidered fabrics, so he would pass a few moments chatting to us about Australia, and asked us "did we know his cousin who lived in Sydney? " I had to laugh because wherever you travel to in the world, some one always has a relative that lives in Sydney ! After some more polite social chit chat, and he laughing heartily at my poor attempts to speak in malay to him, he finally asked.. "well Ladies, are you interested in buying anything? " He was such a nice man, that we entered his shop and I promptly saw the same shirt that I had wanted to buy in the previous one for more than half price. I asked, Him is this correct price? He responded with Yes, but I can give you a discount! Needless to say, the purchase was made, we had spent a pleasant half hour , and everyone was happy. I have been back to Pennnang several times since this incident, but I will never go back into this Rude woman's shop. I wish I could remember the name as I would post it so that everyone knew how rude she was... or maybe this is just the way Business is done in Little India. She would not last 5 minutes in Australia treating customers and clients like that.
| This Garland seller in Little India had the most amazing things and I would have loved to have purchased one |
We headed down Love lane to see the lovely old shop houses , many that had been converted into expensive Boutique hotels, were only a few years earlier this had been the brothel district of Georgtown.How quickly things change when real estate is involved. In Chulia street you could purchase all types of food and drink, with many Backpacker hotels as well as Reggae bars, street stalls, and a small night-market that has the most delicious satay in the whole of Pennang. If you stay in the district, the is a tea seller that has been there since the end of WW2. While he is pouring you Tea Tarick , his elderly wife is making French toast about 2 inches thick. I've heard that he has recently retired in his late 80's, as on my last visit in 2014 I tried to find him but to no avail. He was a Chulia street legend, having worked from the same corner for most of his life. The stall opened at dawn, and was gone by 10am, reverting back to a street corner. As it was Karen's first trip to Malaysia and Pennang presents so many diverse and interesting places to see, we tried to pack in as many sights as we could in the little amount of free time that we had. it didn't help that Pennang was sweltering though a heat wave, and I was so very unfit! We must have walked about 10 kms that day,starting from the Temple zone, heading towards the old Cathederal and into China town proper. We stopped continuously along the way to take photos, and look up the Lonely Planet guide to Pennang lonelyplanetmalaysia to find out info about where we were. Pennang has an amazing history, being founded by Colonel Light in On 11 August 1786, who landed on Penang at what is later called Fort Cornwallis and took formal possession of the island "in the name of His Britannic Majesty, King George III and the Honourable East India Company", Pennang had already been discovered but not to the English it seems. This is a whole other tale, so I won't go there right now. We wandered around the many distinct "districts" of the heritage listed parts of Georgetown, taking out time, taking many photos, and discovering many things about the history of Pennang that are not in guidebooks by talking to locals, and asking questions. There is a very big "artist" community living in Pennang, and the local council has been very prominent in promoting both street art, theatre, Formal exhibitions etc. Pennang street art locations Download the pdf guide for a quick tour. In the 40 degree heat with almost 100 % humidity, Karen "dragged" me back and forth from street to street expounding the benefits of exercise, keeping hydrated, and the Amazing photo opportunities presented to us. By this stage, I had lost all interest in anything except staying "alive" as I was convinced that I was about to have a heart attack, or perish on a backstreet of heritage listed Georgetown of thirst and hunger (well maybe a bit exaggerated) but I was certainly not in the same physical condition as Karen!. Even the locals were not out, the streets were deserted at that time of day, We had the walking tour guide to Heritage listed Pennang, and we made sure that we visited and photographed almost every site.
For everything you need to know about Pennnag go to http://wikitravel.org/en/Penang
Next blog will be more about Pennang and the Inka Marka band's appearance at the 2013 Pennang world music festival held at the Botanical gardens, until then, I bid adieu. Linda
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