Penelope doesn’t like to sleep during the day and the best bet for calming her down is to walk, walk, walk. This is a child of the tropics; the hotter it is, the better. So we’ve developed a new weekday routine where I slide her into the baby carrier and go exploring Georgetown on foot. She falls asleep as long as we keep walking and while we both end up sweaty, it’s the best way for me to maintain my sanity when the two of us are alone.
The other day, I decided to visit the historic Christian cemetery. There are two sections, one half Protestant and the other half Catholic. The earliest burials date to the 18th century and the last burial was in 1892. The site has suffered from neglect over the years and many tombstones are toppled, cracked, and illegible. Perhaps the most extensive damage occurred during WWII, when Japanese bombs obliterated both the north and south ends of the Protestant Cemetery.
Empty space at the ends of the cemetery, which were damaged by Japanese bombs.
It’s actually a beautiful place for a stroll. Tucked into a city with so little green space, it feels like a park.
Plumeria trees arch over the main pathway to create a shady arbor and muffle the noise of the nearby traffic.
I saw more species of birds here than anywhere else in Georgetown. A bright blue kingfisher perched in a tree and watched me for quite some time. Several mynas perched on gravestones and followed behind me. It was dramatically cooler inside than out on the street, but the recent rains had contributed to the number of mosquitoes inside.
Lovely place for a stroll.Many graves have been damaged by time.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am interested in historic names and naming trends, so I’m always on the lookout for interesting and unusual names.
Fenella. I actually know a little Fenella, but I’ve never seen the name in a cemetry before.Madiekulla.
Some of the names were a little harder to read.Old tombstones that had been separated from their graves were embedded in the wall between the Protestant and Catholic cemeteries.Reading old tombstones can remind us of the hardships of life in previous centuries. Of the legible stones, the majority were under the age of 50. Quite a few were young men in the 20s, and there were many children and babies as well.Especially hard to read while carrying my own baby daughter.Causes of death were occasionally listed, and I saw several shipwrecks and drownings. Perhaps the most unusual was the Jackson family: Lt. Col. Gregory Jackson (55), wife Matilda (59), and son Gregory (21).
“Both Parents expired on the Morning of
The 1st April 1855, and their Son
The previous afternoon from jungle fever.
One of the notable graves belongs to Thomas Leonowens, a British civil servant. Poor Leonowens is best known for his death, for he was the husband who died and widowed Anna Leonowens, the governess of “The King and I” fame.
As I strolled along, I came upon a worksite. A tarp was installed above one particular tomb and tools were strewn about. Nobody was around, but clearly work had been going on recently. I assume that the site was being used by preservationists, who were perhaps trying to restore the inscription on this gravesite. Or perhaps it’s the site of some very fastidious tomb raiders! In a show of sheer practicality, the tarp was tied down on the edges of other tombstones. A box of sterile gloves was perched on the arm of a nearby cross. I guess if you spend enough time in cemeteries, you probably stop thinking of them in such sacred terms. Simon’s babysitter, Thiva, tells me that the cemetery is a popular place for Chinese couples to have their wedding photos taken. I’m not a particularly superstitious person, but I was surprised to hear that.
There used to be an attraction in Batu Ferringhi called the Penang Butterfly Farm. But about a year ago, the Butterfly Farm closed. The facility underwent a massive expansion and it was rebranded as Entopia, an insect zoo (with a few other invertebrates and some reptiles thrown in for good measure). Entopia had its “soft opening” on May 2 and we decided to check it out today. Tickets are discounted right now, as there are still some displays that are unfinished and some critters not on display yet. For long-term residents of Penang, it might be worth it to wait a few months until the whole place is up and running. Since our family is leaving in a month, it was definitely worthwhile to visit today.
The central atrium is open-air and has many, many butterflies flying around.One of the Entopia mascots.We found a butterfly resting on the sidewalk and encouraged him to fly to a safer space.He sat on my finger and then crawled over to Simon’s.Sleepy baby.
In addition to the open-air portion, there’s a two-story indoor section–called the Cocoon–full of interactive exhibits and insect cages. Simon had a great time in this space and may be getting just old enough to start understanding the displays. We also lost him on one occasion. An employee found him before we did and we were reunited in under five minutes, but that’s a new experience that I don’t need to repeat anytime soon.
Riding the escalator through the blacklit room.
The little rhinoceros beetle was my favorite of the mascots.
It’s a phylogenetic tree, drawn to look like a subway map. It was unintentional, but mother and daughter dressed alike today. Maroon pants, striped shirt, and blue accents.
Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia. But nobody calls it that. In local parlance, it is exclusively known has “KL.”. The Gustavus students made a long weekend trip to KL in March. It was the week before my due date, so our family declined to go.
We recently had the opportunity to go. The US Consulate is situated there and we needed to do some paperwork to prove she exists and document that she’s an American citizen. The International Office at Universiti Sains Malaysia graciously supplied us with a minivan for the weekend. Of course, we don’t drive here, so Firdaus, a USM driver, escorted us the whole way.
I hadn’t really thought about it, but this was my first venture out of the state of Penang. I was quite surprised by the scenery. I guess I had this image in my mind that most of Peninsular Malaysia would be flat. I’m from Florida. Florida is a subtropical peninsula, and it’s really flat. But Malaysia is not! Up and down, over hilly terrain, we drove for about four hours. I was also startled by the local land use. It’s one thing to read about the damage of oil palm plantations in SE Asia. (You haven’t heard about oil palms? Read here about the tremendous damage they do, and start reading the label on your peanut butter jar.) But the scale of the palm plantations was incredible. It reminded me of the cornfields in Minnesota–a single monoculture for as far as the eye could see. It was perhaps a bit more surreal because the rows of palms snaked up and down, over the hillocks and valleys.
We checked into our hotel in mid-afternoon and had no appointments for the rest if the day. I had heard that there was a tremendous playground in the park at KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Center.). Indeed there is.
Endles playground.
It is literally the largest playground I’ve ever seen in my life. There were at least two dozen play structures, spread out in all directions. It was just the thing for little leg legs that had been cooped up for a long car ride. Adults, however, were NOT permitted on the playground equipment. This was enforced by a lady with a whistle, who would whistle vigorously at any adult who dared climb a ladder or, heaven forbid, sit on a swing. She never spoke a word, but would just whistle repeatedly and walk towards the offending adult, eventually coming face-to-face if they hadn’t yet caught the hint. She was remarkably well suited for her job.
There was also a public pool at the park, and Simon was thrilled to swim for a bit. It was actually just a shallow splash zone–which is good-because no adults allowed in the pool, either. Simon paddled away until thunderstorms broke out. Then we found a quick bite to eat in a food court (including milkshakes!) and headed back to our hotel. The next day was spent in administrative monotony. More on that later, where I’ll write about the process of getting a Malaysian-born baby an American passport. We never saw another tourist site in KL–no museums, no architecture, no historic buildings. Sometimes with kids in tow, you just spend your free time doing what they want, and everyone is happier for it.
We came back to mainland a day before the Gusties, who were still camping at Mak Kepit on the west side of Pulau Redang. We needed accommodations and since this happened to be the national Labor Day holiday weekend, lots of places were booked. I finally found a homestay near Merang, which seemed to be reasonably near the jetty where we were to meet up with the students the next day.
Millbrook Farm Homestay
The place is called Millbrook Farm Homestay, and it was fantastic. I wish we could have stayed for longer. We were met by Ella, whose family (parents, brother, uncle) all own and manage the facility. It has just six rooms now but they are building six more. The farm in the name is not what you think, but actually an aquaculture facility, a fish farm. Needless to say, Joel and I were delighted to take the tour with Ella’s brother. Did I mention the whole place is also right on the ocean? With views like this?
View from our front porch at Millbrook Farm Homestay.The aquaculture facility, right behind our room.
In addition to tilapia, which are a major food fish, this family is trying to raise fish for the aquarium trade. They have one large tank of brightly-colored koi. And the bulk of their tanks were devoted to raising different types of arowana. These large freshwater fish are considered a lucky species to a lot of Chinese because they resemble Chinese dragons. They can grow quite big and an individual fish can sell for hundreds of dollars (US).Trying (rather unsuccessfully) to hold an eel.
Ella’s daughter, Bella, is five years old. She loves horses and unicorns and My Little Pony. So Ella drove us all to the nearby stables, where horses are kept for polo. For 5 ringgit, Simon got to ride a horse around the ring. An ever-so-slightly older boy accompanied him.
Bella was shy when we first met her but soon she and Simon were running around the hotel, playing and laughing. It’s not often that I see Simon actively trying to impress other kids and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he was flirting. “Bella! Listen to me sing this song!” “Bella! Look at this drawing I made for you!” It was adorable.
SBella was also quite fond of Penelope. The kids spent the rest of the day running around the property. There was so much laughing, giggling, and scheming. Simon was in absolute heaven.
Look at Bella’s beautiful henna! Ella asked to do Simon and I was like, “No way that kid can sit still long enough for it to dry!”
Ella and her Uncle Denny were incredibly accommodating. They took us out to dinner at a delicious Chinese restaurant and to the only ATM in the region. And the next day, they offered to drive us to the jetty to meet up with the students and catch the bus home.
That’s when we discovered that I’d made a little mistake, you see.
It turns out that Merang and Marang are two different cities, both on the coast in Terengganu State, about an hour’s drive apart. The jetty is at Merang. I inadvertently booked our room at Millhouse Farm Homestay outside of Marang. In my defense, Malaysians seem to be fast and free in their spelling. Take for instance, the popular noodle dish, char koay teow. Otherwise known as char kuey teow. Or char koay tiao. Or char kway teow. Or chow kuey tiao. I mean, come ON. If Merang and Marang are both going to be cities in the same state, along the same coastline, and reasonably close to one another, you’d think someone would make a big deal out of that on the travel sites, no?
Now, I don’t regret it at all, because Ella, Bella, and Denny were delightful company and I only wish we’d had more time to spend together. But our hosts truly went out of their way to take us all the way from Marang to Merang, an hour-plus of driving. We ate breakfast together before my family boarded the Gustie bus to Penang. Simon and Bella hugged goodbye and we invited them for a stay in Penang. I don’t know if it’s likely, but it would be fun.
In 1999,a Hong Kong blockbuster movie was filmed at a secluded lagoon on the east coast of Pulau Redang. The plot, briefly summarized:A high-powered Hong Kong stockbroker is jilted and double-crossed by her boyfriend, causing her to lose her job. She escapes to a remote Malaysian island, where she and her cousin have inherited a pristine beach. A real estate mogul offers her millions of dollars to sell it, but she’s startled to find that her gambling-addicted cousin sold his share to a hunky beach bum who has no interest in selling his half of paradise. Wacky rom-com hijacks ensue until the business woman and the beach bum finally fall in love and decide to preserve the beach for themselves and the locals.
Summer Holiday.The message was lost on somebody on the set though, because shortly after the movie was filmed on site, they actually really did build a 212-room, all-inclusive, faux-Thai themed luxury resort on the very same beach. And that’s where my family stayed for the next couple nights. True story.
Laguna Redang Island ResortOh, and how do I know the plot? Because one of the six channels on the hotel TV is dedicated to showing Summer Holiday on repeat, 24-hours a day, a la It’s a Wonderful Life at Christmas. We never sat down to watch the whole thing, but would catch 15 minutes here or there, and Joel and I would share tidbits to piece it together, as if we were reading Catch-22 or Slaughterhouse 5 or The Sound and the Fury. We’re talking high-caliber literature here, people. “Who is that?” “Oh, that’s George. The ex-boyfriend who double-crossed Summer.” “No, no, that’s the out-of-work actor who was hired to pretend he is George.” The irony of a massive resort complex showing a film set on its very location in which the resort tycoon is cast as the villain may have been lost on the hotel management, but it was not lost on us.
The More More Tea Inn was built as the set of Summer Holiday and has now been turned into a souvenir shop.Gosh, but it’s pretty though.
The Gustavus students, for their part, were camping on the west side of the island, at a beach called Mak Kepit. It’s not readily accessible by the public, has no running water or electricity, and was deemed by everyone to not be suitable accommodations for a baby and a toddler. Too bad, because that’s much more my style and I think we would have had way more fun there. They swam til they were exhausted, ate five meals a day, and slept under the stars at night.
There’s not much to do at a place like Laguna Redang Resort but sit beachside (or poolside) and enjoy the scenery, so we embraced it. Simon loved playing in the sand and jumping waves in the South China Sea.
This is how we lounge.Beach baby.Not impressed right now.
Local Malay guys wanted to take Simon’s picture. The more things change, the more they stay the same.Shortly after this picture was taken, a stray ball from the nearby beach volleyball court bounced off Joel’s chest. That could have been really bad. He relocated to another lounger down the beach. What’s a beach vacation without tropical fruity drinks by candlelight?Enter a captionThe resort offers two chartered snorkeling trips each day. Joel and I each went on one while the other stayed back with the kiddos. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve snorkeled, so first I have to say: it was awesome to be back in crystal blue water. Words can’t thoroughly express how deeply I miss it, and how natural it felt to don my mask and fins and dive down again. Having said that, I was also completely stunned by the degraded state of the coral reef. This is the first time I’ve really witnessed coral bleaching and it was devastating. The staghorn coral at my site was dead and broken, the arms littering the sea floor like a boneyard. Green algae was slowly encroaching and covering everything that was still alive. I was delighted by each new fish species I saw, but the diversity was far less than what you should see at a tropical reef in the South China Sea. The rest of the tourists seemed less interested in the reef and more interested in taking pictures. They bobbed at the surface and splashed around, feeding bread to the fish. I was the only one who took off my vest and dove underwater. Deeper down, I was rewarded with so much more diversity: tiny little electric blue gobies hanging out in the crevices of brain corals; big snappers hiding under coral ledges. You can’t see that stuff at the surface, but I’m not sure most of the tourists knew or cared. A wasted opportunity.
Schools of sergeant majors hung out to beg for bread crumbs from the other swimmers.Towards the end of my dive, these little cleaner wrasses came over and started nibbling my legs. It was like the fish spa all over again. Our blue-footed booby.On our second evening at the resort, a local conservation team released a nest of sea turtle eggs. Unlike our experience on the mainland, this was done in bright daylight, 6:30pm. They cordoned off a section of beach and tourists gathered to watch. The most alarming part was when I discovered that they were selling off the rights to release a turtle. For Rm 20 (about US $5), you could personally hold a sea turtle and let it go. People lined up in batches of 20 behind the “starting line” and the emcee counted down, 3-2-1! Turtles were released and made their way towards the water, with people yelling, cheering, snapping photos, and breaking through the barricade to get a better luck.
The organizers–I think they were affiliated with the local university–were earnest in their attempt to educate the mass of tourists, but most of the people were in vacation mode and not really paying attention. In every possible way, it was the opposite of the experience two nights earlier. I was dismayed and rather indignant, snapping photos to share with our students while we shook our heads and laughed about the circus. Then one of the coordinators approached us. “We have a few turtles left over. Would your son like to release one for free?”
My indignation fell to my feet as my little boy’s eyes lit up at the prospect of holding a live baby sea turtle. And so we found ourselves lined up for the third round of the turtle release race, waiting to meet Turtle #46. Simon is so young that I worried about him dropping the turtle or, worse, squeezing it. But he did his absolute best, and managed to delicately hold the tiny little creature as it flapped its flippers in the air, searching for sand or water. Mercifullly, the countdown was quickly made and the baby turtle raced towards the sea, while Simon watched and cheered, grinning from ear to ear. m.
The classice tale of a boy and his endangered marine creature.Also not really impressed with all this.Cheering for his turtle.Our class has had discussions on the balance of education vs. entertainment when it comes to wildlife, zoos, parks. I’m not sure that we were on the right side of the line this time, but I hope not too much damage was done. I’ve decided the turtle was female. And I’ve also decided that she will be the one out of hundreds who will beat the odds. Twenty years from now, when Simon is graduating from college, that turtle will swim back to her beach on Pulau Redang and her flippers will touch land for just the second time in her whole life, and the cycle will begin again as she lays her eggs on that same beach as her ancestors. We can hope, anyhow–if the resorts don’t grow too big and the ocean currents don’t become too warm. That’s the story I’m telling Simon, who in the past few days has often asked me to tell him what his turtle is doing now.
As part of their Tropical Ecology class, the Gustavus Living Diversity program traveled to Malaysia’s Terengganu State and Pulau Redang this past week. Pulau Redang is an island off the northwest coast of peninsular Malaysia, and it’s well known as a beach paradise and snorkel/dive hotspot.
We all met at the USM campus late on Tuesday night. Our charter bus departed at about 10pm and the plan was for us to sleep on the bus and wake up at our destination the next morning. The good news is that both kids slept quite readily. As Penelope had cried through the past two nights, I’d been a bit stressed that she would keep everyone awake. She didn’t. In fact, she slept soundly and barely made a peep all night. I had a harder time falling asleep. Our bus continued to climb up mountainous slopes and careen down the other sides, the driver frequently straddling the middle line, only to slow suddenly when oncoming headlights appeared. I think most of us adults were awake. Sometime after midnight, I finally fell asleep. Penelope was on my chest, in a baby carrier, and we both had a good sleep like that until morning.
In the morning, we ate breakfast near the mangroves and the students went on a boat tour. Joel and Simon accompanied them, but the professors warned that it would be too hot for a baby. Penelope and I checked into our hotel, the Pandan Laut Beach Resort and waited for their return. The hotel was a simple place with rustic free-standing cabins. I think our group were the only guests, as we nearly filled all their rooms.
Penelope and I met up with the gang at lunch time. Some local ladies appeared and taught us the fundamentals of their style of weaving and (of course) offered the products (placemats & baskets) for purchase.
Next stop was the Pink House, a womens’ conservation cooperative. It was started about a decade ago with assistance from Worldwide Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Nestle.
Nestlé funded a survey of the socioeconomic needs and existing conditions of communities in key villages in Setiu. The survey identified the local communities’ capacity building needs. Emphasis was put on the women because, as mothers and co-income earners, they had an important role to play in the area’s long-term development in a sustainable manner. The project entailed equipping local women with the skills needed to develop cottage industries, including training on basic entrepreneurial skills, adopting clean “green” practices in food processing, marketing and branding as well as environmental awareness.
The organiational chart looks a little different in a woman-owned conservation cooperative.Simon plays mancala on the steps of the Pink House.Local paper crafts.
By all the measures, the venture was successful. The original funding for the program has expired and the women now work to make the Pink House financially self-sufficient. The women there showcased some other handicrafts and taught us how to make the regional style of banana chips.
You start with very green bananas……peel them with a sharp knife……slice them thinly……and fry in oil until they are crispy, golden brown.
I’ll admit. I was a bit worried about everyone walking away with their fingers intact. Using a mandolin slicer without your fingers–no grip–is a bit scary. But we were OK. And the banana chips were addictive! The ingredients were: very green, hard bananas, oil, and sugar. So simple; so tasty. Almost everybody walked out of the shop with a few bags to go.
I needed my hands free to chop bananas. Fortunately, there were plenty of women available to help me with that.
Our last stop of the afternoon was at the turtle hatchery. Around the world, sea turtles are at risk because their eggs are harvested and consumed by local people, who often view them as a delicacy or believe they hold special medicinal properties. Because of this, it has become a routine practice for conservationists to patrol beaches at night, identify sea turtle nests, and relocate the eggs to a safe spot until they hatch. Joel and I saw a nearly identical set up when we visited Petatlan, Mexico, in 2012. The biologists explained that while other species used to nest in this part of Malaysia, they’ve all been extirpated except for green sea turtles. Much to our surprise and enjoyment, one of the nests erupted and baby turtles started crawling out of the sand as we watched. Even better yet, we were told that we could witness the turtles being released that evening at the beach by our hotel.
Each red stake represents a relocated nest of turtle eggs, which has 60 to 100+ eggs. The location is guarded around the clock and the fence is sunk into the sand several feet to keep predators out.Nets prevent the hatchlings from wandering too far before the biologists can take them directly to their home beach, where their mother laid the eggs.Petatlan, Mexico, March 2012. A nearly identical set-up.These turtles actually emerged from their nest while we were watching.
Hanging out at the beach at Pandan Laut, where we would release the baby sea turtles a few hours later.
At about 10:00 that night, we all gathered on the beach. We were instructed to turn off all lights and stand completely still and quiet. One of the sea turtle biologists uncovered a box full of baby turtles and tipped it over. The little turtles skittered towards the sea. It was so dark we could barely see them, but they crawled along, occasionally bumping a foot or crawling right over. (Yes, it tickles!) No photographs, because the flash would be terribly disorienting to their sensitive eyes. But everyone agreed that it was a highlight of our trip to Malaysia so far.
After Brandy left, it was officially spring break at USM. Our family had high hopes of a visit to Kuala Lumpur, where we had some administrative work to do at the U.S. Consulate. But Joel and I made a realization early in the week:
We were exhausted. Something about a newborn baby, I guess?
So we stuck around town all week instead. We took it easy, had more doctor’s visits, and tried to get caught up on some work. By the weekend, though, Simon and I were itching for another adventure. We decided to take a weekend trip up to Penang Hill. Being some 2500 ft above sea level, the weather at Penang Hill can be quite moderate compared to the low-lying areas of Georgetown and the rest of Penang Island. It first became a popular destination with the British, who would venture up the hill to beat the heat (and the malaria).
Penang Hill is visible from our apartment window, but it’s taken us this long to get up there. You can walk from the Botanic Garden. A reasonably fit person can make it in about two hours, or so I am told. You have to start early in the day, before the sun gets too high and the heat too intense. And remember, it’s uphill the whole way. Frankly, I’m glad to have two little kids as my excuse to not make that climb!
The other option is to ride the funicular railway. I’d heard all about it but had to turn to Wikipedia for an explanation.
A funicular (/fᵿˈnɪkjᵿlər/), also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope, the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalancing each other.
Simon was super impressed with the “train.” We didn’t board until after dark, and so we missed out on a lot of scenery on the ride up. This mattered not at all to the 3-year-old.
At the funicular train station.We disembarked at the top of Penang Hill. It was late, and most of the tourists had gone home already, lending a bit of eerie feel to the place. It felt like we were walking around a theme park after hours.
There’s only one place to stay, if you want to sleep at the top of Penang. The Bellevue Hotel. The building was an old bungalow which later was renovated and expanded to form a small hotel. It can’t have more than a dozen rooms and the whole place felt like its prime was past–a bit dusty and grimy in the corners, but certainly an OK place to crash for some sleep. The grounds were quite lovely to walk around and the views were fantastic.
Seating for the scenic overlook.
In the morning, we toured the aviary adjacent to the hotel grounds. Simon enjoyed looking at the caged birds–he had been startled by the peacocks calling the night before, so it was good for him to get a visual of what made all that noise. Our admission was free because we were guests at the hotel. It was good for a 10-minute walk, but I couldn’t imagine actually paying an admission for the site.
They’re basically just weird looking chickens. In other words, they’re not welcome in St. Peter.
After the aviary, we found ourselves at the entrance to The Habitat. The Habitat on Penang Hill is a new ecotourism site that is still under development. For now, the main attraction is a paved nature walk, about a mile long, along the slope of the hill. As you walk along, you can peer down the hill and get a sense of the rainforest. We happened to arrive just in time for a guided nature walk, and so we joined just two other guests for that. Because the path is paved, and the rest of the park is under active construction, and maybe also because of the cultivated gardens, it feels less like a nature reserve and more like a garden. All the same, it was a peaceful place full of exotic (to us) plants and there was just enough shade that I didn’t feel bad taking a baby on the walk.
On the nature path.The park has big plans to bring more “exciting” features, and I’m of mixed opinions on that. The finished park will have a canopy walk and a tree top walk; our guide said there may someday be a zip line as well. On the one hand, the tree top walk would be a great way to expose people to the biodiversity at the top of a rainforest. I’ve climbed up to the top of the rainforest canopy in Ecuador and it does give you a whole new appreciation. And it would be incredible for birdwatching, if done right. But as with elsewhere in Asia, I wish that tourists would come to visit nature for its intrinsic value, rather than for some adrenaline-pumping overlook and the chance to pull out the selfie stick.
Canopy walk: coming soon.There was one other feature that was already installed and functional, and it was certainly the highlight for Simon. The park had a series of huge swings. Giant Swings I & II were built onto platforms on the side of the hill, granting you a breathtaking view of the island as you swung back and forth.
View from the swing.In addition, there were these little pod swings along the walking trail. They are made by a Dutch company. If I had a proper shade tree in my yard in Minnesota, I would definitely buy one!
He claimed he could nap in here. If that were true, I’d hang one in his bedroom. Did I mention there were monkeys at The Habitat?By this point, the heat of the afternoon had caught up to us, no matter the elevation. We weren’t quite sure what to do next. There are these little golf carts that roam all over the top of the hill, offering rides to tourists who can’t be bothered to walk the short distance between attractions.
For the record, we are those tourists. We hopped in our eco-friendly cart and away we went! Our driver stopped at each scenic overlook and offered to take some family photos.
By this point, the heat of the afternoon had caught up to us, no matter the elevation. We weren’t quite sure what to do next…wait. I said that already, didn’t I? Well, in truth, it was time for some of us–any of us–preferably ALL of us–to take a nap. But the 3-year-old was highly resistant to the idea of anyone resting. So instead we sat in our hotel room and begged/bribed/threatened the boy to sleep, so that we might have the same luxury. No such luck. Sometimes traveling with a little kid is fun. Sometimes you want to throw him off the scenic overlook. All in a day’s vacation, right?
For dinner we wandered up to the “fancy restaurant,” David Brown’s at Strawberry Hill. The restaurant is in an old British colonial house, but the real attraction is the garden dining area, with a big lily pond in the middle. It turns out that the place is quite popular. We managed to score the last available table of the evening, as everything else was reserved on a Saturday night. Dumb luck wins again! The menu is quintessentially British; Joel ordered the shepherd pie; I ordered a vegetarian pot pie. Both were good, and we paid American dinner prices, which is quite expensive by Malaysian standards.
Musicians were setting up to perform live music that evening. They let Simon check out the instruments.
Later, we wandered down to the Sky Bar, where Simon had a slice of chocolate cake and Joel and I had piña coladas as we watched the sun set. There was a live cover band. Have you ever wondered, “What would Madonna sound like with a thick Chinese accent?”
My first cocktail in nearly a year. Dancing with Daddy. I can see my house from here!In the morning, I woke up and went for a walk while the rest of the family slept in. I was hoping to get some pictures of the sunrise, but it was too hazy. Smoke from the Indonesian forest fires has been blowing over Penang for months now. But I was in for another treat: cool air. When I walked out of the hotel, I actually felt a bit chilled. I bet the temp was only 65*F or so. After months of unending heat, it felt luxurious. That alone was totally worth the overnight stay on top of the hill.
My cell phone got a better picture than my DSLR.When the rest of the family woke up, we took Simon to the playground, which is sandwiches between the mosque and a Hindu temple. Simon played on the equipment while Joel and I visited the temple.
Playground with temple in background.
I don’t know what exactly he is, but I liked this guy. Maybe not cut out for the infantry. Carnivorous pitcher plants–known locally as monkey cups–are common on Penang Hill as well as other locations around the island.From there, it was time to go home. We boarded the funicular train and managed to get into the front car. Even better yet, the passengers let Simon sit by the big window. There’s always a bit of shuffling and jockeying for the good seats, so this was really special. We rode down–it was every bit as exciting as a roller coaster–and caught an Uber home from a very busy weekend.
Brandy had been in Penang for a couple of days at this point, and she still hadn’t seen much nature. It’s just so hot here, and with a newborn baby in tow, it’s hard to get out of the A/C. Still, we wanted her to get to experience some of Penang’s nature along with all the food and culture we’d been able to show her so far.
One day, Brandy and I accompanied Simon on a trip to the Botanic Garden. Simon was able to give Brandy a clear description of proper monkey protocol: don’t carry food or the monkeys will steal it! But in addition to monkeys, we saw some other really cool wildlife. And Simon was the first to spot much of it: he was the first to see the salamanders on the path to the lily pond, probably because he was at a better angle to peer into the underbrush. And while Brandy and I were staring at the mostly empty lily pond, Simon called out that he saw a beautiful red bird. At the time, Brandy and I both agreed it must be some sort of bee eater. But having done a little investigating (erm, “googling”) I now think it was a crimson sunbird. Brandy, what do you think?
Somebody else’s picture of a crimson sunbird. Photo credit: Ariefrahman, s.r.arief@facebook.com
In addition, we saw TWO monitor lizards–one climbing a tree and one warming itself in a sunny patch of grass. I’ve long considered Komodo dragons to be one of the most terrifying animals on earth. These guys are relatively close cousins to Komodos, and seeing how well that big lizard climbed a tree reinforced my fear.
He’s a bit camoflaged, but there’s a monitor lizard in this tree. You see it yet? He’s close to a meter long.
On another morning, Joel and Brandy took a hike at Taman Negara, Penang’s National Park. Simon stayed with our babysitter, Thiva, and Penelope and I had doctor’s appointments. It sounds like it was a hot, humid climb but they were rewarded with some more wildlife sightings. The highlight was probably the mudskippers. Joel and I saw mudskippers once in Zhuhai, but I think the ones here in Penang were a little more actively skipping mud, as mudskippers are wont to do.
When they were done hiking, Penelope and I took an Uber to Batu Ferringi to meet the hikers and we all had lunch together at a little place called the Living Room. I picked out this place particularly for its beef rendang, which is a Malaysian specialty. It’s slow-cooked beef, flavored with coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, and garlic. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Yes, and it tastes even better. Best of all, those are all ingredients that are easy to acquire in the U.S. I envision perfecting a crockpot version of this recipe when we get home.
Wednesday, which was the exact middle of Brandy’s Malaysian adventure, was also her birthday. She and I spent the day together and wow, it was a whirlwind. We (Brandy, Penelope, and I) started off with breakfast at a swanky coffee shop that looks every part of a hipster shop in the U.S. It’s called Macallum Connoisseurs and I only happened to know about it from happening past it while Ubering around town. It ticks off all the boxes for the hipster coffee shop: and old converted warehouse space with high ceilings and an industrial feel; the interior is painted all black with industrial accents; a coffee menu with source notes and tasting profiles. We ordered breakfast, and it was nice to have a big, western-style breakfast. I also ordered one of the most expensive drinks on the menu, the chai latte, with freshly grated spices. It was good–in the U.S. I’d say it was excellent–but with our proximity to Little India, my chai tea standards have raised dramatically.
Macallum Connoisseurs
From breakfast, erm, brunch/lunch… With the lovely A/C, we lingered a bit…we sent shopping. We visited Sam’s Batik, which is supposed to be one of the best (and certainly biggest) local shops to buy batiks, silks, and other lovely clothing. We ended up selecting a few Indian embroidered tops for ourselves and as souvenirs for Brandy’s family. The staff were quite attentive…it’s quite common for salespeople to hover over customers here in Penang, which can be off-putting to us Americans who are used to shopping in peace and anonymity. But the staff here were actually quite helpful. They offered us bottled water and tea. When it came time for me to try on some shirts, a female staff member was flagged over to be a baby holder for the duration. Later, when it was time for Penelope to nurse, they set us up in a nice, private dressing room.
After we left Sam’s, it was time for Part 2 of our batiking adventure. A few of the Gusties have been taking batik lessons at a local shop called Rozana’s. She’s a really lovely lady who offers walk-in classes at a very reasonable price. We met the students, Lily and Annika, as well as Joel, for a hands-on batik lesson. Each of us selected or drew an image, which we then traced onto a framed cloth. Then Rozana helped us apply hot wax to the traced outline. After the wax set, we used dyes–essentially very dilute water colors–to paint the fabric. I think I mentioned this in my last blog post, but Gusties really are a talented, artistic group of people! It was a lot of fun and I definitely got the hang of the technique about halfway through my piece. I’m quite tempted to go back and give it another go, as I understand the coloring process much better now.
First you draw your design.Next, Rozana helped us trace over the design with a hot wax pen. After the wax is set, you can fill in each segment with paint.So talented.You can use water to blur and blend the colors. My design, start and finish.
Strangely, Rozana offers another service in her shop: a fish spa. Basically, you dip your feet in an aquarium full of fish that like to nibble on dead skin cells, but won’t bite living flesh. Yes, it’s weird, but it’s quite popular in Asian tourist destinations. Rozana treated Brandy to a free fish spa session because it was her birthday and I joined her. The sensation was somewhere in between a tickle and a pinch. To be perfectly honest, I found it really uncomfortable. It wasn’t painful, just…weird.
Fish eating my feet.
Everyone in our party had a go in the foot spa. And being a good sport, Joel even wore the accompanying flip-flop clogs.
Whew, you’d think that was enough, but our day wasn’t over yet! We still wanted to go out to dinner. It was Brandy’s choice, and of course, she chose Korean food. Once again, our restaurant choice was guided by a former Uber driver. (Sometimes I make polite small talk with Uber drivers. Other times, I drill them for good restaurant suggestions–and I take notes on my phone!) While driving through Tanjung Tokong one time, I mentioned to the driver that there seemed to be a lot of Korean restaurants in the area. He agreed and started to rattle off some of his favorites. And so it was that we made it to KO B.B.Q. It is, as the name implies, a Korean barbecue. We just handed the menu to Brandy and let her coordinate the dishes. We ended up ordering a lot of food, and worrying about having too much. But when the food’s that good–well, we ate it all. We walked out stuffed, but very happy.
Each table feature a vacuum with a long copper hose to suck up smoke from the. barbecue. They retracted towards the ceiling and Simon thought the hoses were really cool.
We were really exhausted by this point, but as we headed home, I managed to pick up a tiny little birthday cake from one of the shops on the ground floor of our mall. The shopkeeper even included candles; too bad I forgot we don’t have any matches! So we sang the birthday song and Simon helped Brandy blow out the imaginary flames. It was a long, full day. Happy Birthday, Brandy!
Right after Penelope was born, we had a very special visitor. Months ago, our dear friend Brandy decided to visit us during the Gustavus spring break. This would be her first transoceanic trip, and she was going to travel all the way from St. Peter, Minnesota, to Penang, Malaysia. She’d arrive 16 days after the baby’s due date, and we were all confident that baby would be out of the hospital and the Carlin family would be adapting to its new routine by then.
Ha! Little did we know how persistent this new little person would be. I was still in the hospital when Brandy boarded her first flight from Minneapolis to Tokyo. Fortunately (?), it takes a while to travel halfway around the world and our family was all settled into our apartment by the time she actually landed in Penang. In fact, Penelope’s very first outing in this world was a cab ride to the airport to meet Brandy.
Because the baby was so very new, we had to moderate the amount of touristy stuff that we got to do with Brandy. We compensated with lots of baby snuggles. I think it was a fair trade.
Her first weekend in Penang happened to coincide with Easter. I suppose it might seem strange to travel all the way to Malaysia to celebrate an American-style Easter, but that’s what we did! The USM buddies, coordinated through staff member Jumie, organized an Easter celebration at the Interational Office. All the Gusties and many USM buddies met up that afternoon to dye Easter eggs. And wow, we have a creative bunch. I was too busy holding a baby to get to decorate any eggs, but I loved seeing the students’ creations.
But Brandy wasn’t even our only guest! Another Gustavus colleague was also in Penang for the week. Mike has already been selected to lead the Gustavus Semester in Malaysia program in 2018. So he was in town to meet with program faculty, visit the USM campus, and get a feel for Penang. This was a bit of a special visit for us. Mike taught at United International College in Zhuhai, China, several years before we went there. I remember meeting with him and his wife at River Rock way back in 2012 as they described life in China to us. Now, the roles were reversed and we were able to tell him about life in Malaysia. I felt like I was repaying a favor, in a way.
And Mike got to hold a baby, of course.
The next day, Joel played tour guide in historic Georgetown.
Khoo Kongsi, a Chinese clan house.Joel and Mike on the steps of Khoo Kongsi.The walls inside featured the large depictions of ancestors riding a variety of real and imagined ccreatures.I’m not Chinese but if I were, I’d totally claim the guy on the qilin as my great-great-grandfather.
In 1910, Sun Yat Sen relocated his underground revolutionary society to Penang. The house where they held meetings in now a museum. Sun Yat Sen
Carlin Family Adventures 
