Friday, 8MAY98

Our mini-vacation to Penang started off on a worrisome note--all of the TV monitors at the airport (including those at our departure gate) were filled with images of horrific plane crashes. Every few seconds, a new plane crash (generally at an air show, in front of a screaming audience) would appear. Once we got close enough to hear the TVs, we discovered they were showing one of America's greatest exports: a made-for-cable TV special on "When Good Times Go Bad". After the air show collisions, we were able to see racecar crashes, speedboat crashes, home video of various tragedies, runaway covered wagons and an amazing variety of other disasters. Just the right thing to set the mood before a plane ride on an unknown airline owned by a container shipping company. The flight actually turned out to be very nice. EVA Air is a "real" airline flying "real" (American) airplanes. Their cabin crews were all trained by ANA (a Japanese airline) so everyone was pleasant and helpful and we were even fed a meal on the short 45-minute flight. Two other nice things on the flight: the flight attendants all bow before take-off and after arrival to thank you for choosing EVA Air (much nicer than the "Thank you for flying with us, we know you have a choice." Message we get on US airlines even when we don't really have a choice since the US airlines have basically split the country into fiefdoms centered around their hubs, but I digress). The other "neat" thing: throughout the flight the TV monitors display a map with our location along the route and information on our speed, altitude, distance from take-off, distance to arrival and the outside air temperature. Very interesting information, even when displayed in Chinese (they alternated between English and Chinese).

Penang was very nice although our hotel was a bit of a disappointment. We selected it because it was closer to downtown than the others, which were out at the beach resorts further away. While the hotel was closer to downtown, it was NOT downtown, so we always had to take a taxi to go into town. Kind of a hassle. Penang is another one of the original British Straight Settlements of Malaya (along with Singapore and Malacca). Unlike Singapore, it has kept most of its "character" and "Third-world charm". Lots of old shop houses, very little air conditioning, lots of bicycles and motor scooters. Like Singapore, Penang is an island and its population predominantly Chinese, even though the rest of Malaysia is predominantly Malay. There are quite a few Chinese temples and ornate clan houses scattered throughout Georgetown, Penang's capital. There is also a very large Thai Buddhist temple with a large Burmese Buddhist temple across the street. (There IS a difference between the two: in addition to significant differences in architecture and decoration, one has a huge Buddha lying on his side; the other has a large Buddha standing up.) We made a tactical error on our second day: we chose to go on the tour included in our travel package. While that provided us with free transportation to all of the sites it also included stops at shops offering us "special deals". So far, we have established that most of the things we purchased were indeed sold at a "special" price (not a lower price, mind you, just a "special" one for us tourists). But there were lots of beautiful things to see and we hit just about all of the sights. Next time we will stay in-town and have the freedom to explore the island at will.

Two last things about Penang. First, although the law says that all taxis must have meters and they must be used, we didn't see a single meter and none were used. So, each trip starts with a bit of haggling over the fare. Given our strong negotiating skills, we are single-handedly responsible for pulling Malaysia out of its economic crisis. We did take a trishaw ride. A trishaw is a bicycle with a little passenger section in the front (kind of a cross between a cart and a bike). While it was kind of neat, our constant near-intimate contact with the cars, buses and trucks on the road prevented it from being as "romantic" as the guidebooks suggested. We were also racked with guilt when we discovered that our destination was 20 minute away and we had held firm to a price of RM$8 (roughly US$2) with our 60+ trishaw driver. The other thing about Penang is that, amazingly, here is a group of people that enjoy eating even more than the Singaporeans. Restaurants, food stalls and vendor carts are EVERYWHERE; including along side the road. The people of Penang can't go to bed without their supper (served between 10pm and 2am). The food was terrific and we ate well. Given how many people seem to enjoy eating, it is amazing to see so few overweight people. Singapore is similar, but with its economic good times, Western fast food has become quite popular. Singapore's first generation, raised in the last 20-30 years since independence, have grown tall and healthy looking (many are taller than Greg is); some of their kids are starting to look chubby.

Finally, while on the subject of food, we can talk about Veronica's cooking class. As you may recall, Veronica had gone to sign up for an Indonesian Cooking class at the local community center only to discover that it was being taught in Mandarin (Chinese). Veronica was persuaded to attend the next class and then decide if the language thing was a problem. We are happy to report that while the class is taught exclusively in Mandarin and the instructor doesn't speak English (at all), Veronica decided to take the class. Her classmates have been very helpful and the recipes handed out come with English translations (sort-of). She has attempted one dish at home and it turned out very nice. She is hoping to be able to prepare some of these dishes back in the U.S.A. However, there may be a problem with some of the ingredients. In the U.S. we have "ginger"; here we have "old ginger", "new ginger", "yellow ginger" and "blue ginger" all of which may be necessary for a dish. In the U.S. shitaki mushrooms are expensive and white button mushrooms cheap; here it is just the opposite. Many recipe's call for lots of "small onions"; these turn out to be shallots which cheap here and expensive in the U.S. Also, does anyone know where to get "tamarind paste" in the U.S? We figure we will be spending some time in the various Asian supermarkets once we get back to the US.

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