Back!

So... I'm back in the US now. Well... as with any flying across time zones, not all has arrived yet - I think parts are still in-transit somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. I left my parents' home in Penang, Malaysia around 6:15 AM on July 26 and got back to Cabin Hill around 1:15 AM on July 27 (which was 1:15 PM on July 27 in Malaysia). Went to bed not long after arriving and woke up about 10 hours later.

Here I am now, about 1:30 AM. I reckon I should go to bed. Hopefully all those parts will be back in a day or two. I still have a few bloggings from Asia that I will try to finish posting in the next couple of days. Until then, here are a few sunset shots taken in Penang, Malaysia.

Tiles - Penang

I've noticed since the last few summers that often times it's only when I take people around Penang that I start to see all those things that I've looked past or taken for granted while growing up in this town. I was walking around Little India with Ryan (when he was in Penang a couple of weeks back) when I noticed how interesting some of the tiles that line the external walls and walkways of buildings built during the colonial period. Here are some photos for anyone who might be interested in such things (I also saw the same concept used in old buildings in Saigon - will have those pictures up later).

Multiculturalism, religious pluralism or simply covering all bases?

Outside a shop in Little India in Penang. I guess the Buddha was not included since he's probably seen as too nice to give anyone any grief for being left out of the tea-party.







p.s. Probably just covering all bases - Malaysians tend to be very practical in all matters and manners.

Air Itam Market

I like going to markets - particularly outdoor markets such as the Air Itam ("Black Water") market in Penang. It's located inland on the northeastern side of the island of Penang. By the way, Penang is said to resemble the shape of a turtle. In Chinese popular beliefs, the turtle is a symbol of longevity - thus a good geomantic (fengshui) feature.

I used to live around the Air Itam area but since I was 12 my folks moved to Gelugor (see map). As a kid, going to this market on the weekends was always a treat. We bought at least 2 if not 3 of our pet-dogs from this market many, many moons ago. I can only remember the names of one of them - Rex.

There's Ryan, catching me in the act and giving me the evil-eye.

Ryan's stopover in Penang gave me an excuse to walk around Air Itam market with a camera - having an "angmoh" (literally "red-haired" - used in local Hokkien dialect to denote any Westerner, in Malay, any Westerner is colloquially referred to as "Mat Salleh") around is always a good excuse for anything!



Scooters everywhere. It's a pretty efficient mode of getting around, being that roads are relatively narrower and there are no winters to reckon with in Malaysia. I'm sure the environmental impact is probably no better than cars (although, surely better than trucks and SUVs with one driver and no passengers). Penang is known for having lots of scooters and my cousins from outside of Penang have always feared driving in Penang as they are nervous about all that scooting around. Buut what you quickly learn is to drive as if they are not there - they will know to move away from you when they need to.

Mom selecting some chicken for dinner later that night. [Curious note: During our 5 days in Vietnam we were served poultry not even once. Bird flu?] Most of these open-markets or wet-markets (Ryan: "Why are they called wet-markets?" Hun: "Umm... you'll find out first-hand/foot when you get to the seafood section.") sell all kinds of all things. The usual (and unusual) meats, vegetables, fruits, daily necessities, cooked food, clothings and household items. And pets (no, we don't eat dogs in Malaysia).



























But we do eat frogs, eels and tortoises. These are considered special/fancy fare - not your everyday pork, fish and vegetables. Increasingly though, devout Buddhists have been going to markets to rescue these creatures by buying them from vendors and releasing them back into the waters.

Lost in Translation

I'm back from southern Vietnam. Before I post anything from Vietnam, I reckon I should get a few postings up on Penang, Malaysia - where I was born and grew up and where my parents and extended family are still at.

So here's an interesting pic from Penang. Doesn't she look pretty happy to be confined?

Your first guess (in good faith) is probably that it's an ad for day-care for babies and kids. Nope. Now you might be thinking, "oh my gawd... it's true... Asians think confining women and not letting them into the streets is a good thing." Maybe. Sort of. Actually, it's an ad for these care facilities for recent mothers and their babies. Chinese Malaysians generally practice a period of "confinement" (30 days? 40 days?) for recent mothers and babies where extra, special care is required for both. For the mothers, it means having all their (special diet) meals prepared and served, special baths and they are not to engage in any activities deemed to be detrimental to their health. The special diet consists of nutritious food (deemed nutritious by traditional Chinese medical system) and food/beverage that expels the "wind" women who have just given birth are believed to have an excess of. This "wind" is not quite gas... and not quite the idea of qi/chi/prana. It's something in between and neither.

Care of the babies also include teaching mothers baby care. In the past, families employ "confinement ladies" to come to their homes and stay there for the entire period, taking care of the mother and child. My mom had one when I was born. These days, many people opt for the "confinement centers" as it has become too expensive to hire private care-providers. As the ad indicates, it costs somewhere in the MY$2000 (US$1 = MY$ 3.40) range to be at a confinement center whereas hiring a private care-provider can cost upwards MY$8000.