After an uneventful flight aboard British Airways BA0033 to Kuala Lumpur, plus only a minor thirty minute delay on our Air Asia flight up to Penang, and then finding our hotel, The Muntri Grove, on only the second attempt, getting here wasn’t really a problem. But, there is often a but eh? After a delightfully nights sleep and a gentle breakfast by the pool we headed out to explore Penang only to discover our rental car hand been crashed in to overnight with the front headlight trashed and the wing smashed up. Popping back in to reception we were told by the girl that they had already phoned the rental company and everything was in hand and a new car would be delivered. She then said there’s no rush as its Sunday, so go out as you had planned.
So we did… using the hotel map.
First up was the Hainan Temple a rather ornate Chinese Buddhist temple, very tranquil and wonderfully peaceful too and almost right next door to The Muntri. Continuing on down Larong Stewart and through Little India stopping off at The Goddess of Mercy temple, another Chinese temple and one of the more prominent in George Town. The temple was rammed with Sunday worshippers and we could see the plumes of smoke and smell the burning incense from a block away. Tiny market stalls surrounded the adjacent streets selling joss sticks of all shapes and sizes and offerings of bottles of oil and bags of rice. Very enjoyable to see the bustle of a different religion. Quite a few beggars hanging about the temple too all hoping to tempt you in to feeling sorry for them.
Then, with a short diversion off our planned route we stopped by the Kapitan Keling Mosque the oldest established Muslim temple in Penang. Carrying on through little India which appeared to be waking up, very slowly, with stall holders setting up their stalls and shops pulling up their shutters and very loud Bollywood music seemingly coming out of every shop we ended up in a Sunday Market in Lebuh Panti, a street pedestrianised for the morning, mostly hosting charity stalls raising money for one cause or another but nice to browse along. We doubled back along Lebuh Farquhar to the old Colonial quarter passing by St George’s church, the first Anglican Church in east Asia which was very busy as it was Easter Sunday.
Left on Love Lane and rejoining Muntri Lane and heading towards the Eastern and Oriental Hotel, a refurbished relic of an age long gone, we stumbled across the Little Penang Street Market, another volunteer run market that was really nice to browse around too, selling a variety of produce and crafts. After almost three hours on our feet it was time for a break and we wound our way back to Lebuh Muntri, taking refuge in the Mews Cafe, finding some much needed cool shade and a fan where iced coffees were really enjoyed.
Our replacement rental car had been delivered while we were out but also required a visit to the local Police Station to file an accident report to help the rental car company process things a little quicker. Everything went ok and my interview was very genteel and light hearted with a guy who had a mattress and pillow on the floor of his office.
After a cooling dip in the hotel pool, we headed out again on foot to visit the Clan Jetties, pausing for dinner at the Muntri Mews Cafe. The clan jetties are what remains of the old fishing communities that live on stilted houses perched precariously in the bay. Not many of these families still actually fish, some now opting to serve the tourists that visit the jetties by selling the usual tourist trinkets. One clan jetty we walked down was pretty much tourist free and we were stopped by an old guy, obviously a stroke victim, who encouraged us to try one of his ice lollies. Green Tea and Red Bean Paste sounds horrendous, but it tasted really good. The next jetty along was rammed with tourists and gift shops and even a women selling the opportunity to have a picture taken with her kitten. We didn’t hang around this one.
Once again, resting and cooling off in the hotel pool, we then headed out to visit Padang Kota Lama park. We had passed this area the previous night spotting that it was beautifully lit up. On our route to the park we encountered a traditional Chinese opera being performed outside the Kuan Yin Temple, a totally bemusing and bewildering show with the actors/singers visibly wilting from the lights and the heavy evening heat, with lots of costume wafting going on in an attempt to keep cool.
Reaching the park the trees were hung with magical lights and there was a section of the path covered by a pergola that was festooned with hanging lights in the shape of air balloons. Loads of people were using the park which was lovely to see. Taking a detour on the way back to the hotel we stopped for refreshments at Old Town White Coffee store. This coffee shop chain sell a number of odd dishes, well, odd to Western palates. Things like Peanut Butter Steam Bread, Cendol and Ice Cream Toast. All rather bizarre but nevertheless all very tasty.
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