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| Penang, Malaysia |
But that's another story. A story that can be found here, #andihappentohavethelink
People Watching
Anywho, driving around China Town when one has a bus to catch - I've learnt - is never going to end well. I've pretty much grown to associate China Town with missed buses. As of now it brings on a terrible state of anxiety and flashbacks to near heart attacks after desperately running through the winding streets to meet the bus. Or when I first arrived in Boston, I was staying at a hostel in China Town and almost collapsed because of jetlag, a hangover and a hell of a lot to carry through the winding streets of China Town in 30 degree heat. Are you sensing a pattern? China Town means bad news. Almost happened again, kids. We almost missed our bus to Penang, because we were caught up in China Town, KL, but luckily we were operating on Malay Time, so our 15-minutes-behind-schedule was ok, as the bus departed a good 40 minutes later anyway.
So buses usually aren't ones's favourite mode of transport, but this bus had it going on. Like I mean, more swagger than the Night Bus in HP. Decked out in colourful scarves and jingling bells, the seats were large and comfy, and I felt like we were being ferried around in a Buddhist Temple. Now I've caught a lot of buses, trains, taxis, overnight trains and planes in my time - this cheap-as-chips-bus across Malaysia takes the cake on everything I've ever done before. Amazing.
Just to recap, I've currently been staying in KL. The historic city of Penang is here;
We took seats at the back of the bus, and at some point during the journey I reached my arms back to stretch...given my genetic makeup (ie long arms) it so happened that my arms extended beyond my acceptable bubble of personal space. I reached into the curtains behind me, expecting it was merely decor that covered the back of the bus. As I'm reaching back, I feel a human body, camping out there, lurching behind the curtain, who then forcefully grabbed my arms for a split second and then pushed them back towards me. It was absolutely frightening. Like, 20 centimeters from where I had been sitting for, I dunno, like 2 hours of journey, there was someone camping out at the back of the bus, catching a free ride/transporting illicit substances/trying to scare unassuming white girls. Whatever the reason, CG doesn't care.I got such a fright I insisted on moving seats...like, someone had grabbed me from behind, kids. Later on we saw something move back there and then the girls believed me. As Annie exclaimed, (and I would usually bag her out for such phrases but for this particular situation it seems quite fitting, so; *British accent* holy hell). It probably sounds like nothing, but it was so unexpected...like as if someone had literally been standing behind you for a significant amount of time and you weren't aware of it. Heh. But then the bus stopped and I scampered off, before Annie and I bought like 30 ringgit worth of snacks for the rest of the 4 hour ride...it was like our road trips across New England all over again. There's hilarious pics of me in the back of our car with like, bucketloads of American candy on the other blog, but, you know, it's more difficult to find if I make you go and look yourselves.
Viv's mum is from Penang...it's a beautiful place, with a rich history. Far more authentic than KL. Penang is the kinda place where rabid dogs wander around, cats with no tails and only one eye watch you cautiously from rooftops, and you never quite know if what you're eating if vegetarian or not. You ask a local a question and they nod and say yes with a smile, you ask them something else and they nod and say yes with a smile and then you say something totally contradictory to the first hing you said - and they say nod and say yes with a smile.The city is alive with smells, colour and sounds - even more so than the markets in KL. Old men snooze in their tuk tuks; decked out with flowers and incense. Durian fruit carcasses are thrown in the sidewalks, their pungent smells unavoidable. The sun is out, but showers are frequent, blanketing the town with clouds and a sticky humidity. Motorbikes are plentiful and people blend with cars, bikes and all modes of transport on the streets.
The people are friendly, the atmosphere is cleansing. Street food costs us around $3-$5 AUD per meal and we've made friends with the local bartenders, #hasitsperks. We're staying and roaming around historical Georgetown (there is also coincidentally a Georgetown in Washington DC, where we stayed when we all traveled to DC in October, but that Georgetown was far less hospitable with the shootings in the street, ect. Read the blog), and UNESCO World Hertitage Site, which was crowned by the Brits in the 18th Century. Safe to say Annie's lapping it it, and her suitcase-bringing, Ted-Baker-wearing, tea-drinking, scone-eating self is more than pleased to be here. Feels a little like home, or whatever. Also, just FYI, I tried to do a little history research but I got about 18.3 seconds in to the research and got swamped by Wikipedia, so you know what, if 'yall interested in the history, - look it up yourselves. I'm on holiday.
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| Penang street art |
But so far, Penang is proving to be mighty fine, chaps. The cheap food, drinks for $1, and lifestyle is something that draws people to Penang. There's never a dull moment. Feels good man.
So, to sum up, we've learnt not to trust China Town, not to mingle with rabid animals and that you had better open a new tab and get Googling.
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