Day 11: George Town, Sun, 29°

Close Friends & The Jetties!

It’s late here as I start to write this post, but as will soon become clear there’s good reason for this. Many fun things have happened since we arrived in Penang, and we’ve kept ourselves busy.

I’ll start with last night which was the big Chinese New Years celebration here in George Town. We didn’t plan things this way, but we’ve been in three Malaysian cities on the day of their main celebration; Malacca, KL and now here.

As we arrived here late afternoon yesterday we hadn’t had time to make any dinner reservation and of course we had no idea that this was THE day to celebrate here. We were informed that all the restaurants in our area and anywhere close to Chinatown were fully booked. Of course AM saved us. While I was recovering in our room from smacking the top my head while out walking yesterday🤕, AM had gone down to the hotel restaurant to see what could be arranged. The restaurant was Michelin rated. Somehow she was able to get us in for the early 7:00 seating! We had to rush to have showers and I had to shave for the first time in a week. Then we put on our nicest travel clothes and went down for dinner.

We ordered an appy of crab stuffed tortellini which was a great way to start!

This was followed by a chicken dish for AM.

And for me a personal favourite, a rack of lamb! Wow!

When I saw the menu I excused myself and went upstairs to get my credit card as this was going to exceed the cash available in my pocket!😂 Meals in Malaysia are incredibly inexpensive, so I wasn’t prepared for these prices. However it was very good and we even enjoyed a glass of wine.

Afterwards we went back up to our room and changed back into our regular wandering clothes and went out to join the celebrations. My head was still a bit off balance, but I wasn’t go to miss this experience! Besides I had AM to lead me in the right direction.😬

It was extremely busy in Chinatown!

We walked back to the same temple which I covered in yesterday’s post, and at night it had transformed into something quite magical.

Everything was beautifully lit up! It was difficult to get good photos because there were so many people everywhere.

We continued onwards and things were happening everywhere. A group were busy crushing sugar cane for the sugary juice it contained.

We checked out a narrow passage way where I’d seen a few people entering. We came out into a small square and found another lit temple. A good find!

People were going through their regular temple rituals which were all very familiar. A very calming process.

From there it was back out onto the busy streets until we were drawn down another side road where we found yet another delightfully illuminated temple.

On the other side of the square there was a raised stage where various performers were dancing to traditional as well as more current music.

I recorded more video than photos.

We watched a number of performances and then walked on to yet another square where we found traditional puppetry happening in front of an appreciative audience. We enjoyed a similar experience in 2016 in Bali when we were invited to a wedding in a mountain village by our driver with whom we had developed a warm relationship. I ended up taking photos for the newly wed couple (which I later sent to them from Canada) and the next evening we were invited to her family’s home where a traditional puppeteer was giving a performance. I was offered a seat beside the puppeteer as he gave his performance using oil lanterns for the back light and leather carved figures attached to hand sticks. It’s a cherished memory, and I’ve carefully saved my photo images which record this fast dying art.

Last night we also touched base with good friends from home, Linda and David. We had tried a number of times to get together since Covid ended, but our schedules were not quite in cinq. So we had to travel half way around the world to finally have some time together.😅 We arranged to meet this morning down at the The Clan Jetties, a part of the World Heritage designation for Georgetown. They came in by bus and we walked. The jetties have quite a history, and I’ve attached a link for anyone who wants to read further.

https://onpenang.com/clan-jetties-of-penang/

So after a breakfast at our new favourite breakfast cafe, we walked down to meet our friends. It was a happy reunion and we went walking onto the jetties.

Frankly, though we wandered and looked around, we were so busy catching up with each other that at least initially the sights kind of drifted past. But not completely..,

As detailed in the attached hyperlink, it’s easy to spot some of the city’s encroachment on the Jetties. Good to read that this has been stopped.

We moved from one pier to the next and at the very far end of one of jetties we found the Hean Boo Thean Temple. AM says it’s her favourite so far.

Surprisingly, unlike the other city temples, there were very few people at this temple.

We stopped at some point for an afternoon beer and lunch. It was getting hotter so afterwards we walked to a large local mall to shop for a few things and to compare the prices of chocolate, wine and a few groceries with prices at home. We were actually trying to find excuses to stay in the air conditioned mall!

At some point a decision was made to stay together for dinner as well. We walked over to a restaurant that Caitlin had found for us a couple of days ago.

We spoke with the owner who told us that it was her intention to cook her grandmother ‘s recipes. Dinner was very good!

After dinner we made plans to get together tomorrow morning for a bit more fun. A very good day spent reconnecting with old friends.

It’s past my bed time! For clarity my somewhat battered head settled slowly through the day, and as I write this I’m back to myself. The two cuts on the top of my head will take somewhat longer to heal.

Geoff🎆🐉☀️🤕