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Published: September 14th 2008
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I think the best description of 'sods law' is of inconvenient or inappropriate timing or happenings. I'm not sure if its an exclusively British saying but it certainly applies here. The whole time we were in Thailand the present political problem didn't really affect us. It was only when we wanted to leave that it had a bearing on us. The national train service had been at a standstill for days since the peak of the protests in Bangkok and many people were stuck in tourist hot spots waiting for buses or other means of transport. We were set to leave on the overnight train to Butterworth, Malaysia on 11th September but as a result of the problems are train was cancelled; we thought it would be alright as the day before the Thai PM had been forced to resign resulting in the outcome the strikers wanted, we thought they would go back to work but apparently not. The staff that were at the train station were very helpful, they gave us a refund and helped us book flights instead but they were nearly four times the amount of our train tickets and so swallowed up almost two thirds of our
earnings from teaching. (The bus wasn't an option as our visa's ran out on the 12th and the bus took two days, we were also advised against the bus because there was a chance the border wouldn't be open.) This is sods law. It is life and it is traveling but its still annoying. Oh well, we're in Malaysia now and are already starting to feel better about sods law.
We are in Penang which is a small Island off the south coast of Malaysia, we have never been here but for many reasons everything feels incredibly familiar. For one, most people speak English and are proving to be very kind and friendly. Our guest house is in the heart of China town and is family run, when we arrived we entered through what feels like the families living room; different generations of the family were sat on couches watching TV as we climbed over their outstretched legs towards the reception. As we signed-in Helen asked how to say thank you in Malay, we were told ta lima kasi but so far we haven't had much of a chance to use it due to the predominance of English, even
hello is hello. I guess everything feels familiar because Malaysia was a former British colony; the plug sockets are three pin, the roads have single and double yellow lines; the buses are the same and there is even a pub on Penang called Soho. When I saw the pub I didn't hesitate, I knew it would be dear but I had to go inside, after my experience with the law of sod and three weeks in Bangkok I wanted a proper pint. It was Carlsberg and it was cold, there was football on the TV, Guiness posters on the wall and brass railings around the bar, I was in a pub and I was happy. There were obviously a few differences like the sign in the toilet that read 'drug trafficking is punishable by death' and that smoking was allowed. We sat in the pub for about an hour enjoying our little reminder of home before setting off to explore the delights of Penang's main port, Georgetown.
Penang's demographic is made up of a Malay, Chinese and Indian population and is host to many religions including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Catholicism; all these different religions and cultures rub shoulders
from street corner to corner making for an incredible and varied experience. The first most notable thing for us was the variety of food, anything and everything everywhere!! Helen was even more enthusiastic about the range of cuisine available than I am so its only right that she describes it.
Instead I'll write about what we have been up to when we haven't been eating. Penang has loads of sights and history to explore but it is spread all over the island so without your own transport or a week or so its difficult to take it all in so we just opted for a couple of things.
Our first excursion was to the snake temple which is described in the guide as a sanctuary for pit vipers said to be 'servants' of the deity, Char Soo Kang whom the temple is dedicated. It also notes that 'these venomous snakes, can be seen coiled around the pillars, beams and potted plants'. Scary eh? This description is artistic license at best or as I would rather call it, bull****. The temple was in fact a mediocre Buddhist one with a reptile zoo attached. They sold it well but as
it turns out it was quite good and if snakes were really slithering wild then knowing me I would probably be in a hospital bed now recovering from a bite rather than in an internet cafe typing this. There was a wide variety of snakes at the 'temple' and the information was well presented, we were even witness to the famous snake show where a complete idiot decided to show us his uncanny ability to kiss a king Cobra on the lips. Yes, idiot is appropriate. Fortunately he survived and the snake ended up back in his box. All in all it was quite interesting and was so cheap it didn't matter that it was sold under false pretense. Our next trip was to the butterfly farm on the north side of the island, at first we were dubious, this one was sold as the largest butterfly farm in south east Asia but this time we weren't disappointed.
It took us nearly an hour to get to the farm on the local bus and cost nearly 4 pounds to get in but it was well worth it. The butterflies were bred at the farm and we even got to
see some hatching out of their chrysalis. The area in which the butterflies are kept is covered by netting and is laid out like a tropical rain forest, along the paths were enclosures for various reptiles, insects and even scorpions, there were also various plants including orchids and carniverous plants. It was amazing having so many beautifully coloured butterflies flying around us and in such great surroundings. I would obviously rather experience wild life in its natural habitat but to see this would involve a trip into the deepest darkest jungle which if I am completely honest would make me a little nervous and especially after the tarantula's we saw in the creepy crawly enclosure. The tarantula's actually had Helen running scared, literally. She is still on edge now. Apart from the shock of the nasty spiders the farm was fantastic. We're both really glad we went although has left us slightly concerned about our trip to Borneo because now we know what to expect!
As I have said Penang has a lot to offer but with just a few days we could only do so much. During our short time we have also visited the fantastic botanical gardens
with there resident long tailed macaques and climbed to top of Komtar, Penang's tallest building. Our first taste of Malaysia has been great, Penang is beautiful , vibrant and full of kind and friendly people who unlike nearly everywhere else in SE Asia haven't been trying to force their wares on us every five minutes. Hopefully it will continue that way. Next stop the Perenthians.
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Em
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Beautiful pics, well apart from the snake eeek. I am like Helen if not worserer (sorry had to try and sneak a little fake Bristolian in ) and will now have nightmares from one pic. x