Melting pot of old and new
So says the tagline to promote Pulau Pinang, or Penang Island as known in English. I couldn't agree more. Being a city boy who grew up, of course in the city, and having visited places less developed like..err...Sarawak(?) (No offence to Sarawak people, it's just direct comparison), I'll say that the tagline hits Penang direct on.
For the 1st time, I had the oppurtunity to open my eyes and sense to the beauty and wonders of Penang, and of course to the less beautiful side of it. Previous visits has been a haze, although I do have a picture of me somewhere around the age of 4 or 5 in a snake temple, where there used to be abundant of snakes. My last visits several years ago was a memory of a whole bunch of people, standing around an enclosed area, trying to get a glimpse of what could be a snake. Sigh...
Well, here's my observation of Penang.
1. People honk there...like mad. If you're slow, you get honked. If you don't immediately put the pedal to the metal when the light turns green, you get honked. If you're trying to decide which lane to go because your number plate starts with "W", you get honked. If you...bla bla bla...you get the idea. Ironically, my aunty in another car who's a resident of Penang and drives a car with a plate number starting with P never got honked, although she committed some pretty serious crimes driving around. Talk about statism. :P
2. The roads are tight, and more often than not 1 laned. Thus, you're always side by side with a motorcyclist. And the problem is, they tend to drift to the middle of the road. And when they do, you need to swerve further to the other side of the road to avoid the motorcyclist when you're overtaking him/her. And when that happens, you put yourself in the risk of being banged head-on by the oncoming car.
3. The toilets are clean. Real clean. Heck, even a public toilet at a wet market was clean. Now what does that tell you?
4. There's loads of temples there. 1 here, another 1 there, famous temples everywhere. Temples with statues higher than KLCC (fine fine..I'm exaggerating). But they're handsomely and finely built, that's for sure.
5. The beggars there are really proactive. Heck, they don't wait for you to throw money into their cup. They come and ask you for it. Some are really really persistant. Now that's the spirit!
6. Cemeteries are everywhere. Well, not really, but when they're there, they stretch for miles and miles and miles..(fine fine..I'm exaggerating again). But hey, I guess I'm not that used to seeing cemeteries just right beside the road you're using (except in Malacca, that is)
7. Needless to say, food is available literally at almost every corner of the road. You've just gotta worry if you've got money to pay for it, or not.
Penang's cool, and I think I've added some kilos. A quick check at Carrefour on one of the scales indicated that I'm at the weight I was several months ago. But then again I've not been very conscious about my weight fluctuation. What I know is that I've been eating, and eating, and eating while I was there. :D
For the 1st time, I had the oppurtunity to open my eyes and sense to the beauty and wonders of Penang, and of course to the less beautiful side of it. Previous visits has been a haze, although I do have a picture of me somewhere around the age of 4 or 5 in a snake temple, where there used to be abundant of snakes. My last visits several years ago was a memory of a whole bunch of people, standing around an enclosed area, trying to get a glimpse of what could be a snake. Sigh...
Well, here's my observation of Penang.
1. People honk there...like mad. If you're slow, you get honked. If you don't immediately put the pedal to the metal when the light turns green, you get honked. If you're trying to decide which lane to go because your number plate starts with "W", you get honked. If you...bla bla bla...you get the idea. Ironically, my aunty in another car who's a resident of Penang and drives a car with a plate number starting with P never got honked, although she committed some pretty serious crimes driving around. Talk about statism. :P
2. The roads are tight, and more often than not 1 laned. Thus, you're always side by side with a motorcyclist. And the problem is, they tend to drift to the middle of the road. And when they do, you need to swerve further to the other side of the road to avoid the motorcyclist when you're overtaking him/her. And when that happens, you put yourself in the risk of being banged head-on by the oncoming car.
3. The toilets are clean. Real clean. Heck, even a public toilet at a wet market was clean. Now what does that tell you?
4. There's loads of temples there. 1 here, another 1 there, famous temples everywhere. Temples with statues higher than KLCC (fine fine..I'm exaggerating). But they're handsomely and finely built, that's for sure.
5. The beggars there are really proactive. Heck, they don't wait for you to throw money into their cup. They come and ask you for it. Some are really really persistant. Now that's the spirit!
6. Cemeteries are everywhere. Well, not really, but when they're there, they stretch for miles and miles and miles..(fine fine..I'm exaggerating again). But hey, I guess I'm not that used to seeing cemeteries just right beside the road you're using (except in Malacca, that is)
7. Needless to say, food is available literally at almost every corner of the road. You've just gotta worry if you've got money to pay for it, or not.
Penang's cool, and I think I've added some kilos. A quick check at Carrefour on one of the scales indicated that I'm at the weight I was several months ago. But then again I've not been very conscious about my weight fluctuation. What I know is that I've been eating, and eating, and eating while I was there. :D
I ranted at 9:07 PM
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