Thursday, September 9
Penang, Malaysia
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Two to one, that's the ratio in SF; My high school reputation won't go away; You can't date me unless you adhere to this list; I'm turning into a Marina-chick and I'm scared; The nightmare dancing partner; Ten discerning rules to weed out the psychos. |
I went into Georgetown the day after I arrived here but I thought it best to go back and take another look. It's never fair to remember a town the day after you've arrived on a long plane journey. I'm glad I went back for a second time.
Georgetown is the second largest city in Malaysia. All around the outskirts are huge high rises with green tinted windows. The bottoms of the buildings are complete but the tops aren't. Hong Kong money, according to the bus driver on the #93.
Georgetown Town Hall
The city is a mixture of Malays, Indians, Chinese and Thais. And more of those Australian tourists. Little India is very little and Chinatown is a huge sprawling market in the mornings. And everywhere, there are Colonial buildings. Most of them are in a state of disrepair.
Walking along the streets in Georgetown today I kept bumping into the seductive wafts of incense from the temples. The smell gives me a jumpy tummy; it makes me feel guilty but not in such a bad way. It just reminds me of Smells and Bells Church in St. Andrews, Scotland. (The name, of course, came about because it was a High Anglican Church in which incense was burnt and where the shiny, glowing priest rang a bell around the courtyard.) Heather, Anne-Liesl and I used to go there because the service was at 10 am and if we hurried we could get back to the dorm in time to hear Casey Casem's Top Ten Hits at 11 am. I think the guilt comes from remembering how we'd sneak our walkmans into the Church and listen to George Michael's I Want Your Sex just to see if we'd go to hell.
I can't help noticing that every car in Penang has a box of tissues in the rear window. Every car. Not just the occasional car.
Tomorrow morning I'm taking off to head up north towards Thailand. Probably into Thailand tomorrow evening. I decided to rent a car for a week. I don't see myself coming back here anytime soon so I figured now was the time to really go off and explore. More of that off-the-beaten path stuff. So, that's me gone for the week.
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