Tuesday, March 7, 2023
An Unanticipated Port
Just a few days before we were supposed to be docking in Langkawi, Malaysia, we were notified that we would be going to Penang, Malaysia instead. Island Princess had very little time to organize excursions for us, but they did so very quickly. We would not be docking in Penang until 11:00 AM, and our excursion would be from noon to 5:30.
We chose the Butterfly Farm and Gardens excursion, which included a bus tour around the entire tortoise-shaped island, about 65 miles. We boarded the bus right at the Port in historic Georgetown and traveled through the city and then along the coastline, viewing lovely beaches. Our guide said that swimming in the waters was safe except for the Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish.
Georgetown is filled with very old buildings, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The island is very industrialized near the city, where there are high end expensive condo and office buildings. Newer and more upscale office and condo buildings gave way to high rise government housing buildings that look as if they have never been painted since they were built.
On just about every balcony, especially in the low income housing, there were clothes hanging out to dry. Most of the lower income apartment buildings were fairly rough looking, with large patches of bare concrete, and very little paint left, if any at all. Some large sections of buildings were blackened with mold.
Between Georgetown and the beaches were many high rise condo buildings (many of which were very luxurious and expensive), which then give way to beach resorts.
The road that runs around the entire island climbs into the mountains and has many hairpin curves, some so tight, that a bus must stop so that another can pass by. Scooters are a favorite mode of transportation, with drivers rushing around the buses recklessly.
The beaches, which were on the right side of the bus, were lovely and rugged with rocks. On the left side, the thickly forested hills rose almost straight up.
The Butterfly Farm
Our first stop was the Butterfly Farm and Gardens. The huge covered open-air aviary was filled with hundreds of butterflies and exotic plants.
Also on display were native creatures. There was a koi pond with a waterfall, a pond with lovely pink water lilies, and a pond with what looked at first glance to be large white koi fish, but they had shovel shaped heads. They were the red-tailed catfish.
Then we saw some large lizards with dewlaps, which turned out to be a type of iguana; an alligator snapping turtle; a submerged water monitor lizard; and my favorite, large green lizards called the Oriental Water Dragon.
Inside a building were live snakes and other reptiles and a variety of large insects. The building was huge and wound you around like in a maze. It included many educational displays about insects, and even an enormous, colorful, hollow frog statue whose tongue was a slide for toddlers.
A long hallway was filled with specimen displays of all of the 100 species of butterflies in the garden, as well as many other insects, including beetles. We managed with some difficulty to find our way to the butterfly garden shop, where we could then find our guide and the bus, as we had only one hour for the entire tour. One woman was 15 minutes late returning to the bus, but she wasn’t lost — she was trying to purchase gifts in the shop, but the staff members were struggling with the credit card machine.
The Batik Factory
A major part of our exclusion was the tour of the Batik factory. We were able to watch a demonstration of dyes and waxes used to produce beautiful cloth for clothing, scarves, and even table cloths and placemats.
We had only 45 minutes to watch the demonstration and shop. However, several buses were there at the same time. I got in the long line 20 minutes before the time we were supposed to return to the bus, but it ended up being 45 minutes before I reached the counter to make my purchase. Fortunately, our tour guide was there to assure us that we had plenty of time to complete our purchases. She emphasized at the beginning of the tour that this was the place to buy authentic batik at reasonable prices. Elsewhere, it would be much more expensive or it might be a cheap imitation.
Mountain Roads and Exotic Produce
After leaving the butterfly garden, the bus continued climbing the mountain and the curves grew tighter. The views were panoramic, overlooking a huge reservoir. There are four on the island. The guide pointed out huge trees covering the mountains, which were mixed in with rubber trees. She said that rubber is the country’s largest product, but that the huge trees were durian fruit trees.
Durian is a spiky fruit famous for having the most hellish odor, but the most heavenly texture and taste. It is the most foul-smelling fruit in the world, said to be a cross between rotting flesh and raw sewage. In fact, it is forbidden in Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore to bring Durian fruit onto public transportation. Our guide explained that this was not the season for the fruit, but when it is harvest time, Malaysians come from all over to purchase it.
The season for Durian is about three months, June through August, and then the fruit is not available the rest of the year. The football sized durian fruit drops from the tree during the night when it is ripe and ready to eat, so harvesters place nets under the trees. Each tree (80-165 feet high) bears about 200 of the fruit, and our guide said that you can eat the fruit only when the tree drops it. She said that you can’t pick it or it will be inedible. However, I did read that some harvesters actually do pick it for shipping.
The raw seeds of the durian are toxic, cause shortness of breath and are possibly carcinogenic, so they must be cooked. You cannot drink alcohol and eat durian, because both cause gas, and they don’t mix. It causes alcohol to stay in your system a long time. It can also raise your body temperature and even your blood pressure, so you should eat only small amounts. Side effects of eating this fruit can include stomach aches, gas, diarrhea, vomiting or allergic reactions in some people. When you eat the fruit, your breath then takes on that same smell.
Other exotic fruits that our guide said were grown in the Penang groves are lychee, mangosteen, and rambutan. We stopped at a fruit stand so that we tourists could view, smell, and perhaps purchase spices harvested in Penang, including nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.
Our guide explained that different parts of the nutmeg are used, and gave out samples of shredded nutmeg rind with a sugar coating. Cliff loved it. She also showed us samples of fresh cloves (smells heavenly) still on their branch, and betel nuts.
Our guide said that the name Penang actually means betel, referring to betel nuts. If you are not familiar with them, chewing betel nuts is an important part of many cultures in South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. They turn your mouth reddish-brown, have a narcotic effect and can be quite addictive; additionally, they can also cause mouth ulcers, gum disease, and even mouth cancer.
Rural Life
The circle ride around the entire island was very enlightening. Throughout the drive, we saw many temples of various religions. As the twisted roads headed downhill, we entered a very rural area with humble Malay houses and some older condo buildings. Many rural homes are built up off the ground to keep out predators and wild boars.
Driving back to the city took over an hour. It was on the way back into town that we saw the most low income buildings. We also passed by the section of Chinese stilt homes, built over the water in long rows. Each section belongs to extended families (clans) of the same surname, including those who marry into the families. These families are usually fishermen, and living over the water is very convenient, as they can keep their boats close by. They do not pay property taxes, because the houses are over the water, but they do have city water, sewage and electricity. Throughout the island are also Chinese clan houses, where extended families live, and which can be very elaborate.
The Pearl of the Orient
With its rich mix of Asian cultures and its place in history as the first trading post in the Far East, Penang is called the Pearl of the Orient. When Sir Francis Light established Penang as the first British settlement on the Malay Peninsula, he wanted the dense forests cleared. Our guide said that he made the offer that anyone who cleared land could then own it. Settlers flooded in from China, Malaysia, and other parts of Asia.
Penang is one of 13 states in Malaysia (and there are also three federal territories), and densely populated. It comprises both Penang Island and mainland Seberang Perai. There are two bridges connecting the island to the mainland. The population of approximately 1.7 million is 65% Chinese and 21% Malay. About 46% of the population is Islam, but others are allowed to practice their own religion in harmony.
We found the people of Penang to be friendly, happy, laid back, and proud of their home. Malaysia is a developing country that has done much to reduce poverty in the past few decades, and it has one of the most rapidly growing economies in Southeast Asia. Malaysia is expected to become a developed country within the next eight years.
Our Recommendation
If you ever have the opportunity to visit Penang, we recommend that you spend time in historic Georgetown if the weather is nice.
While we enjoyed our tour because it took us around the entire island, we did wish that there had been enough time to explore Georgetown. Also, if you are not a fan of long bus rides on curvy roads, you should skip this particular excursion. Additionally, the tour bus was unusual in that it had valance-type drapes with fringe hanging in the windows, making it a little difficult to take in all of the scenery.
The weather was warm and sunny, with about 60% humidity and a high of 90, so it was not as overwhelmingly hot and muggy as some ports we visited. However, places indoors without air conditioning can be uncomfortable.
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