Goodbye Scotland, Hello Iowa

 

March 28, 2025

I’m sitting on our balcony, the morning after our sail away from Penang, Malaysia.  I would have liked to start the blog after returning to the ship while things were fresh, but I just wasn’t in the mood.  I’m trying to get in the mood now.  The sea is fairly quiet as we are about to exit the Straits of Malacca and go around the northern tip of Sumatra than proceed southwest, crossing the Equator for the third time, on our way to the island nation of Mauritius.  We will change our clocks back one hour four times on the six-day voyage across the Indian Ocean.

Dragons "protecting?" the world

March 27, 2025, Penang, Malaysia

As we left the ship, ladies in burkas were handing out welcome gifts consisting of a nice souvenir shopping bag, hand fan, Malaysian notepaper, a local snack and a bottle of water.

Welcome gift

We boarded bus #10 for our excursion which would take us around the perimeter of the island which makes up half of Penang.  The other half is just across channel on the extended peninsula stretching down from Thailand to the north.  The island half contains the capital city of Georgetown, a city of 2.84 million and the second largest metropolitan area in Malaysia.  We were glad to leave the city and get into a more rural area. 

Mountain road

It is very mountainous here and the roads are narrow for our tourist bus to negotiate.  Complete with hairpin turns and sharp corners, traffic, which there was not that much of, often had to stop to accommodate the bus. 

I think the greenery area is a parking garage

Penang is the first country we have visited that the major religion is Islam.  This is evident by the many mosques we encountered on our travels.  Every settlement of any size had one and most women wore burkas.  There are, however, other religions permitted.  With Muslim being just under 46%, Buddhist, 36% and small percentages of Hindu and Christian, Penang is unique among Malaysian states in that no single religion commands an absolute majority. 

Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day:  at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after dark.  I didn't hear the call to prayer during the day, probably because we were in the bus, but I did hear it from my balcony, once we got back to the ship. 

Small village mosque

The major race is Chinese, Malay and Indian, which has been a common occurrence ever since Singapore, all of which were formerly part of the British Empire and were responsible for bringing people from India, another one their territories.

The national language is Malay, but each race speaks their own particular language.  English is the common language and is taught in all schools.  We are driving on the left side of the road still, another left over from the British influence.  It will be good to get back on the proper side of the road and I can stop trying to board the bus on the wrong side.

Private housing in one of the
mountain villages

We are travelling through some pretty dense jungle type trees but our guide, Adelyn of Chinese descent, says they don’t have any wild animals here, only snakes.  I guess she doesn’t consider monkeys to be wild animals as I catch glimpses of them in the trees and alongside the road occasionally. 

Before getting into the mountains, I did notice some rice paddies, but level land is at a premium here so I’m sure it isn’t grown in abundance. 

Fruit stand

What is grown is fruit!  These mountains contain over 200 varieties of fruit and edible nuts.  We keep seeing signs for the Tropical Fruit Farm.  A major attraction for tourists, but it is not on our schedule.  We do stop at a roadside stand that has an area to accommodate our bus.  There are many selections to choose from including: avocados, oranges, lemons, bananas, pineapples and papaya and others that I don’t have a clue what they are. 

Jackfruit

I have seen a lot of Jack Fruit trees, not only here but back in Viet Nam as well. 

Jackfruit tree with fruit

They can grow to be the size of a large watermelon hanging from trees.  I had heard they were very sweet and tasty, and they had one cut open here to show the insides.  I purchased a container already sliced up for $2 and shared it with several people as it was more than I wanted, and others were curious as to its taste.  Others had no interest!  It tasted good but left my fingers quite sticky.

Jackfruit, each segment contains a nut

One of the most famous fruits that this area is known for is durian.  It has been crowned the “king of the fruits”.   It is not in season now and Adelyn said it is very expensive.  It has an intimidating spiky green shell on the outside.  Inside it is filled with rich creamy pungent flesh.  They claim nothing else tastes like it.  There is a saying “Smells like Hell, tastes like Heaven”.

Durian

 Its smell has been compared to garbage, raw sewage and sweaty socks!  In fact, it has famously been banned from public transit, airports and hotels in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and others.  There were none at this fruit stand unfortunately, or maybe fortunately!

Typical mountain homestead

Another home

It has been great traveling through the rain forest with its spectacular views which I tried to capture through the bus window on several occasions.  I also tried to get some pictures of the local homes.  Most of them are in disrepair and not very tidy and in need of paint as are some of the multi-family buildings.

Typical apartment housing

Typical view from bus

Before coming completely out of the mountains we stop at Craft Batik, a facility that takes local, colorless fabric and hand paints designs on it as is or dyes it and produces clothing. 

Drawing pattern

Hand painting 

They also do block printing and logos to produce clothing for corporate entities.  They are well known for their quality and uniqueness.   Sue contributes to their total sales with some very nice blouses.

Ready for next step

In-progress   

Block printing

One of Sue's blouses

Our next stop takes us to the Penang Entopia Butterfly Farm. 

Butterfly Farm with
Scarab beetle

 Which turned out to be much more than just butterflies.  Besides the 15,000 free-roaming tropical butterflies, the tropical plants and trees along with a beautifully done waterfall, it had an underground display area that was dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the natural

Sue with giant caterpillar 

Butterfly on pineapple slice

world, particularly the insects and other invertebrates that play Important roles in maintaining ecnological balance.  Definitely aimed at educating kids, it was informative for all ages.

Pupa waiting to metamorphous
into a butterfly

  There was an impressive beetle display, ant farm, some aquatic creatures and even an iguana. 

Resident iguana

It was a little tough finding your way out of the maze of displays which eventually took you to the ever-present gift shop before exiting.

"Underground" display

Video of reclining buddha:    https://photos.google.com/search/CgZWaWRlb3MiCBIGCgQqAggBKIuJzZneMg%3D%3D/photo/AF1QipNUOlSGOMMzJg0im-vAAAJJjB4FpqFEl8LJRfNC

Our last stop was at the Thai Buddhist Temple which features one of the world’s longest reclining Buddha statures (just over 100 feet long).  Behind the Buddha is a columbarium in which urns of cremated ashes are housed.  They are enclosed in glass so the decorated urns could be viewed.  Sometimes, a picture of the person was affixed to the outside.  Everyone had to remover their shoes before entering and no pictures were allowed. 

Video of Thai Temple:   https://photos.google.com/search/CgZWaWRlb3MiCBIGCgQqAggBKIuJzZneMg%3D%3D/photo/AF1QipPj-Dwtc6USjeYAISwtFT4fFkAr-huph3A7ebvi

Entrance

Across the street was the Burmese Buddhist Temple with similar structures.  I took quite a few pictures but will only post a few.  A lot of this was in brilliant gold.  I wonder if it was actual gold, if so, there was a considerable fortune here.

Not sure what this represents

One of two dragons guarding the entrance

We managed to get an Adventure Lab done at the temple before being one of the last to get on the bus.  We were ready to get back to the ship.  It had been a busy series of stops the last few days with overnight sailings and we were ready for a break. 

Both dragons

Incense burning in front of temple

 
March 31, 2025

As I get ready to publish this, our captain came on for his (our female captain left us in Hong Kong) noon address.  He mentioned that we were in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), otherwise known as the "doldrums".  It got this moniker back when most ships were powered by the wind, sailors dreaded getting caught in the doldrums.  Ships could become stranded for days or weeks and run out of food and fresh water to drink. 

Smooth sailing!

And it looks like it today.  The sea is flat with calm winds and cloudy skies.  It reminds me of a time aboard the USS Albany, my first ship, during a deployment to the Mediterranean. The sea was glass smooth and as blue as the sky.  The captain approved a swim call for all hands.  Two beams were swung out port and starboard and rope ladders were thrown over the side to aid climbing back aboard.   We edged out on the beams and dived or jumped into the sea 30 feet below.  Our onboard marines stood by with rifles for shark watch and we enjoyed the swim of a lifetime.  However, when I had had enough, I grabbed the rope ladder to climb aboard, and my left foot went below the waterline, and the barnacles sliced into my foot.  Instant pain with the salt water.  I limped around for a few days, but it was worth the memory.

 I think I'll head for the pool!

Next stop: Mauritius (pronounced: maw-ree-shuhs)