Wednesday morning, September 8
Penang, Malaysia
I left my laundry to dry outside last night which was stupid. I could tell my mistake the minute I walked out onto my balcony. My glasses steamed up. Just like when you walk into a nightclub and you have that moment or two of disorientation. The stickiness is a welcome relief though. I was becoming inpatient and moody every afternoon as the wind would charge down California Street past my apartment in San Francisco. Now I have a sort of permanent smelly and gooey feel to me but that's OK. None of these Australians here know me.
Penang is a popular holiday destination for Australians. And with the British and Japanese. I decided I'd spend for my first couple of days at a hotel in Batu Ferringhi. I found the hotel on the Internet. It was the cheapest on the two pages taken up for Penang. And I can see why: they are little buggies in my bed and the nearest town/shop/anything is a bus ride away. (You can't walk because the road is so narrow that in some corners the road fender has simply fallen over the hillside into the sea). Pretty much, Batu Ferringhi distinctly reminds me of a town in the Costa del Sol called Fuengerola. Or Fungus Gorilla as my violin teacher called it. A holiday resort filled with Hayes and Jarvis cheapo tours. I love it, it's brilliant people watching. The only annoying thing is the slimy guy in the room next door who likes to people watch me from his balcony. So, sometimes, just to throw him off I pretend that my boyfriend is in the bathroom and I call out to him and ask him questions. Next door guy must think it rather odd that boyfriend's name keeps changing.
I
read about the Penang butterfly farm on the plane. Thousands of butterflies,
hundreds of different species is what the guide book told me. Ever since
I watched my pet Monarch pupa grow up into a butterfly when I was seven
or so, I've been partial to butterflies. Actually, I'm not sure that's
really true. I think they're pretty along with everyone else. I caught
a local bus that indicated it would drop me off by the farm. Its engine
screeched so loudly that I decided I'd get off at the nearest town and
take my life in my hands and crawl along the road until I reached the
farm. And good thing I did, too! I walked by an orchid farm that had fields
and fields and rows of orchids. When I told the woman at the farm that
I couldn't buy any orchids but that I was a big fan of them and had scads
sitting on the floor in my bathroom, she told me I had to pay $1 to look
around. It seemed like a reasonable rip-off.
I never did go into the butterfly farm. The gate of the farm (tourist trap) had a huge 20 foot high flea-like statue thing greeting visitors. That put me off. Somehow I'd missed the part in the guidebook that said the farm also was home to numerous snakes, bugs (big bugs) and other creepy crawlies.
Miles away from the sleepy fishing villages on Penang, is the Island Plaza Shopping Center on the outskirts of Georgetown. Shining at the front of the shopping center is The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a sparkly sort of Starbucks. Inside, an iced coffee costs $2 in comparison to my $.30 lunch. Clearly, this is a place where the upper crust of Penang hang out. Cell phones were buzzing everywhere and pale-skinned, perfectly manicured Asian women chattered amongst themselves in micro miniskirts and Versace sunglasses. Down stairs is the supermarket, a glamorous affair that has over zealous shop assistants keen to help you pick out your fruit. Even more enthusiastic than those at Safeways!
As you walk into the entrance of the supermarket, two big towers of L'Oreal's White Perfect Multi-Action Whitening Essence greet you. The bottles brag three stages towards obtaining a whiter self:
1). Bio-Complex: Lightens skin tone by acting at the source of skin pigmentation.
2). Gently exfoliate(s) by removing dark cells
3). Mexoryl SX: The most powerful UVA protector.
In this store, the Commonwealth reeks. The aisles are choc-o-bloc filled with Oil of Olay (not Ulay), McVites's diggie biscuits, Ribena, Polo mints, Marmite and cotton wool (not balls).
I think today I'm going to go for a hike. I read that there was a two hour hike to this quiet cove complete with beach. I'm just a little frightened that there will be lots of monkeys on the way. I'm a bit scared that one might jump out at me. Do monkeys chatter? I think so.
Tuesday, September 7 in Penang
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