Penang or Pinang

First destination in Malaysia - Penang, or Pinang in Malaysian. This large island on the western side of the Malaysian peninsula used to be a large trading harbour with the Dutch and later British East India Trading Company. We are staying in George Town, a recent UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the first British Straits Settlement in the late 18th century.

So other than its historic role as a bustling trading post, what makes George Town so culturally important? The various ethnic groups and religious devotees that have settled here over the past 200 years. Yes, we are talking about a city that encompasses and integrates a rich culturual collection of Taoist, Confucian, Buddhist Chinese, and Muslim Malays, and Hindu Indians. In addition to these three main settling groups, some local Malay groups, Arabs, Javanese, Burmese, and Siamese (Thai) also call this large island home. The streets are a mix of colonial European architecture, modern skyscrapers, Chinese fishing huts (Clan Jetties), mosques, churches, Chinese and Indian temples, teahouses, guesthouses, and ancient vocational shophouses (such as engravers and joss stick makers). To my knowledge - from my one full day of observation, speaking to the locals, and reading the pamphlets - all these complex cultures and religions live together harmoniously.

While there are specific neighborhoods, such as Little India or Chinatown, George Town blends together the traditions, dress and languages of all its inhabitants. Next to Patel Insurance is a shop titled only in Chinese characters, and across the street from a mosque. The street signs are all in Malaysian (a bit about that below), but also have the street name in a second language - which to me, seems at random. In addition to Malaysian, street signs are accompanied by the Chinese character equivalent, Arab scripture, or an English translation.

We passed by an elementary school just as all the children were being picked up by their parents. It seemed to us, that the schools were just as mixed as the town, itself. Some of the children looked very Chinese, others clearly Indian, and still many of the girls were wearing their hajibs - daughters of the Muslim Malays. We also passed a school which had a sign in English, "Chinese School", and all the rest was labeled in Chinese characters. Just down the block was a Christian Convent school.

Overcome by the near-equator heat, Bridget and I hopped on an air-conditioned city bus with no destination in mind. We were walking along the pier road, overlooking beautifully blue water, looking for a cafe, when we came across a bus that said "Free" on the side. It is the "Hop on, free City bus"! How perfect. So, we did just that: hopped on, and found elevated seats in the air-conditioned bus, which is the nicest city bus that I have come across in Asia. Not only did we get to view the city sites from an air-conditioned vehicle, but we got to witness the harmonious living together of these distinctly varied cultures. The "people-watching" was the best part of this bus ride (oh, after the air-conditioning).

Sitting next to each other, standing next to each other, boarding and departing at the same bus stops were Indian women draped in saris and decorated with the bindi, Muslim Malay women covered in the hajib and full robe, middle-aged Chinese women whose round faces were topped with a perm, Muslim men donning a fez, Indian teenagers with decorative bracelets, earrings and a nose ring snapping cell phone pictures of each other, and young Chinese women in modern, casual business dress.

As a former colony of first the Dutch and then Britain, one can easily see the influences throughout Malaysia (specifically, for us so far - George Town only), such as in the language. The Malaysian language is, well, the phonetic English alphabet, but with a lot of "k"s. Bridget and I have constantly joked throughout the day, "I can speak Malaysian, wanna hear?" Why? Because so many of the words are similar to English, and seems to be intentionally misspelled just to confuse. But nope! That's just the Malaysian language. Let me share a few examples. Police in Malaysian is polis. Pharmacy is Farmasi. Immigration is Imigrasen.  Taxi is Teksi.  Museum is Muzium. Bus is Bas. Alcohol is Alkohol. Clinic is Klinic. Restaurant is Restoran. (And no, the absence of the "t" is not a misspelling.) As for the rest of the language, I don't know. But there are a lot of "k"s present.

While Malay is the national language, English is also widely spoken as the second language. We found that everyone we've come across has spoken English really well. Yes, we are in a touristy area, but even the food vendors on the street were able to describe to us the ingredients of their goods in almost perfect English. Your next question is probably... so do the ethnic groups speak Malay or their ancestor's national language? It's hard for us to tell. And it's awkward to just stand next to people on the street listening to their conversation. But, one of the pamphlets says that Hokkien and Mandarin are commonly spoken among the Chinese Malay inhabitants, and Tamil is the main vernacular language among Indians.

Bridget and I took a free guided tour through the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, which depicts the typical home of a rich Baba and Nyonya from more than a century ago. Baba/ Nyonya, what? Well, as we learned from both our tour guide, and a couple sharing the tour with us, Baba and Nyonya (Baba for male, Nyonya for female) are the people who were originally from China but have adapted and assimilated to Malay culture and dress.

The couple that shared the tour with us were originally from Malaysia, but have been living in England for the last 30 years. The man's father was from China. So he is a Baba, because although originally a "china man", he acculturated to the Malay way of life. However, what is most interesting and increasingly common in this ever-globalizing world of ours, is that the man's son is now more English than anything else, having completely grown up in England. So, if someone were to ask of his ancestral heritage, what would he say? Malaysian-Chinese?

Food, oh glorious food. Last night, we dined at an unknowingly at the time expensive Indian restaurant called Maharaj. Today, we ate at a local food market court outside by the water, sipping on fresh coconuts and I slurped down a traditional Laksa - a fish soup with lemongrass, onions, lettuce, and more ingredients (that I cannot remember).

So, that's our Malaysian experience for now. Only one day, and all that to share! Can you imagine what's up ahead? Neither can I. But, we're headed to Perehentian Island, on the west coast of the peninsula, tomorrow at 5 am.

I've posted the Penang photos on Picasa.