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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| I think the greenery area is a parking garage |
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.
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| 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.
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| Private housing in one of the mountain villages |
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.
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| 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.
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| Jackfruit |
I have seen a lot of Jack Fruit trees, not only here but back in Viet Nam as well.
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| 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.
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| 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”.
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| 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!
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| Typical mountain homestead |
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| 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.
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| Typical apartment housing |
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| 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.
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| Drawing pattern |
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| 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.
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| Ready for next step |
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| In-progress |
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| One of Sue's blouses |
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| 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
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| Sue with giant caterpillar |
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| Butterfly on pineapple slice |
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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.
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| Pupa waiting to metamorphous into a butterfly |
There was an impressive beetle display, ant farm, some aquatic creatures and even an iguana.
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| 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.
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| "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
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| 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.
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| Not sure what this represents |
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| 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.
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| Both dragons |
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| 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)
Thx for indicating how to pronounce the name.
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