JAZZY'S TRAVELS

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We arrived in Georgetown, Penang around 10pm, and after a tearful hotel search -hot water is unheard of, rooms are grungy, A.C. is way too expensive, and I told you, I'm tired- we found a hotel and settled in for the night. The next morning we awoke refreshed (we splurged for the A.C.), invigorated and ready for whatever Malaysia had to offer. After tea and a little bit of internet, we set off to explore the city.

Georgetown is "easily navigatable on foot" as all the guide books say. It's a fairly small city on the northeastern coast of Penang island which has a population of 800,000-1 million. It's truely a multicultural city with it's Chinatown, Little India, multilingual signs, a plethera of eateries offering everything from burgers to kabobs and a diverse ethnic population, minus white Europeans (tourists don't count). Oddly, Malaysia seems to have embraced much of it's colonial history, so many of the city's sights are old colonial style buildings or museums which placards talking about Sirs, Captains and people with names that sound like brands of tea. Given this, the guide book claimed that one of the "must do's" in Georgetown was to "take tiffin" at the famed Eastern and Oriental Hotel. Jared and I (as usual) were up for a splurge, so inspite of the fact that we had no idea what "tiffin" was (the Anglo-Indian side of me felt oddly ashamed) we set our strides in the direction of the E&O.

As we walked along the hotel's polished mahogony floors looking at afternoon tea and dinner menus, and peeking into opened suites, I couldn't help but admire the grandeur of the place. How lovely it would have been to "take tea" at 4, stroll along the grounds, parasol in hand, and dance the night away under the oversized crystal chandelier of the grande ballroom. Then, as to be expected, the realist and cultural studies side of me chimed in to remind all present that tea sandwiches are too small, girdles are too tight, and looking the way I do, the only time I'd carry a parasol would be to cover someone else's head.

Regardless, we enjoyed the history of the building, and were able to track down the mysterious "tiffin" in the cafe near the lobby. As the 3 metal canisters, stacked atop one another, were carried to the table, I couldn't help but smile as I remembered my mother's childhood stories about the hot lunches servants brought to her at school. The tiffin lunch consisted of 3 meat dishes and 1 vegetarian dish (all of which I couldn't pronounce, I think it was written in Malay), puppodums, steamed rice and a light chocolate mousse for dessert. Although mostly Indian influenced, (to sound extremely cliche) the meal was a complicated mix of cultures and flavors. The beef and squid dishes tasted Chinese, the chicken curry had hints of Indian while the vegetable -sauteed cabbage with spices such as cumin, annis and cinnamon- was undeniably so. The chocolate mousse was whoever claims mousse as their own (France?). We of couse had a pot of tea with dessert and savoured every moment. The total price: 40 rm each (US $10). Cheap, but not for backpackers on a budget like ours. Luckily, we felt it was worth every penny (or should I say ringgit?).


After lunch we strolled the streets of Georgetown, stopping at an old fort, an art museum, Little India, a Chinese temple and a modern mall. That night, after washing the grime of the day away, we had dinner at an English pub (a caesar and a lamb burger) and then went back to the mall for the 11:30pm showing of Fun with Dick and Jane (which was hilarious if I may say so myself).


It was the best day I've had in a while. New places, great food, cultural diversity and to top it all off I got to watch a film. After being grungy and sweaty on the boring (yet beautiful) beaches of Thailand for over 2 months, it's nice to be in a somewhat modern city, although it may wreak havoc on my budget. It's also nice to see the beemers, mansions and street cafes, and know that behind the wheels, closed doors and sipping the expensive cups of coffee are Malays, Thais, Indians, Chinese and Indonesians. It's nice to see the successful as well as the poverty stricken. It's nice to see that there are people here that aren't worried about where they will sleep or where their next meal will come from. Traveling is about seeing the bad as well as the good, and while I'm there, I might as well grab a latte.

view of Georgetown from Penang Hill