happy birthday buddha
put your hands up if you know what wasek day is. me? no. vicki? not so much. all malaysians? given that it is the day designated as buddha's birthday and consequently a public holiday, very much so. what's more, vast numbers of them elect to use the corresponding long weekend to flood to the more scenic parts of the country, much like penang, for a break. so it was that we arrived in penang late on friday night to find a town almost entirely devoid of available rooms. after a brief panic wherein we thought we were going to be sleeping in a shopping mall we finally found a room on jalan penang which, though marked up a little, was not too exorbitant. delighting in the presence of ac and lack of bugs we dumped our stuff and set out for a bite to eat in a little food market, our biryani and noodles complemented by some storming multilingual karaoke in the background.penang is good for a weekend's mooching. wandering through the back streets of georgetown's chinatown the dilapidated buildings still retain enough hints of grandeur to allow you imagine the city in its colonial pomp. nestled inbetween crumbling late nineteenth century facades are scores of chinese and hindu temples, rendering the air smoky and fragrant with incense being burnt and waved in homage to any number of gods. whilst penang showcases any number of cultures and peoples living side by side, with south indians and chinese bumping shoulders with ethnic malays and the odd expat, there does not appear to have been much of a process of syncretisation. indian canteens may sit alongside chinese noodle carts but the neighbouring influences have not fused into each other. the chinese temples have few if any hindu touches, the tandoori chicken no orientalised hints. and yet the kek lok si temple, itself a blend of chinese, thai and burmese buddhist styles, was full of south indian penangese, foreheads glistening with sweat and freshly painted tikkas from the hindu temples which they had visited en route; the street tables on jalan chulia are full of ethnic chinese chowing down on romali roti and curried mutton. the city is simultaneously compartmentalised and yet, almost unthinkingly, integrated, a casual unforced and therefore natural-feeling blending. we have really enjoyed it; small enough to wander around on foot, various unexpected delights to stumble upon and proving once more that the most wondrous side effect of multiculturalism is almost always great, great food.
a relaxed day here tomorrow, possibly getting our feet nibbled by some "doctor fish" (very much vicki's bright idea this) before getting aboard the overnight bus to the perhentian islands at night.
posted by bicrom @ 11:02 am
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