I never expected to be back in Penang, but as fate would have it, here I am and it is not a bad thing at all.
Once I arrived, all sorts of memories came flooding back. Some of you will know that lived here a few years ago at the time of opening and running a hotel, and that in itself was a fun time – We gathered such a great team and created many fun work memories. On this visit I can’t help but reminisce about the non work side of living in Penang…
A great three storey villa
It did take a little while to break into the scene back then, but eventually I accumulated a small circle of friends and encountered a lovely couple who are still great friends to this day. In fact they (Clive and Dheng) later visited me in Thailand a couple of times and as I write this I am ‘house sitting’ for them while they are away in England for a few weeks.
Golf with Clive
Clive likes golf too and we formed the regular the habit of playing short course golf (9 hole par 3) every other Sunday or so, followed by an early lunch and, well, a few beers, at the Chillout Cafe located nearby.
Live at ‘the shed’
Clive was also the window through which I came to make cameo appearances with a band as the occasional guest singer. His band, ‘Men from Bars’, used to play on a regular basis at a pub called ‘The Shed’. Towards the end of my time in Penang, I managed to put in three performances with them, covering a few old songs like ‘Born to be wild’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and Hendrix’ version of ‘Hey Joe’. It brought lots of enjoyment, even if the audiences were very small.
It was during my time in Penang that it first occurred to me to try my hand at making amateur Music video’s. But that’s another story.
Also on the music front, I met and befriended an older gentleman called Stanley who was into jazz / funk. He was also an avid guitarist and we had more than a few conversations revolving around his current music project, overlooking Batu Ferringhi beach while he played the latest favourite playlist. He introduced me to some great stuff, of a genre I wouldn’t usually listen to, among which I discovered ‘Rueben Wilson and the Godfathers of Groove’, who, if you have time, are just classic! Try this.
I caught up with Stanley again on this trip, but sadly the beach area where we used to meet up was far more crowded than the last time we met there. More’s the pity, though I expect the local businesses count it as a major blessing.
Karaoke night with Charlotte and Georgia
Some of my immediate family, including Michelle, Charlotte and Georgia, came to visit me before the pandemic. Georgia twice in fact. We had a memorable time, and I recall an especially classic night at a local Karaoke place. The owner was somewhat surprised by the girls’ talents. As some of you may know, my daughters love to sing as well. check this out
If you can be bothered, there are a couple of galleries in this site that feature a few of the places we visited around the island, and more will follow.
Living in Penang, I would sometimes escape to a place I simply called ‘the secret beach’. If work became too much or things at home weren’t going so well, I could simply ‘scoot‘ on my trusty e-scooter up to the small track that led down to a little patch of paradise. It seems incredible to me now that so few people knew of its existence as it was smack bang in the middle of a built up area. See the gallery
An escape after work at the secret beach
The local neighbourhood was quiet and hospitable. I lived in a nice two story semi detached place with a small garden where Lucy was free to run around. My neighbours on both sides were friendly as well. When I departed Penang, I gave my neighbour ‘Susan’ a lot of the potted plants I had accumulated, as she was an enthusiastic gardener and we often chatted about plants. The house also had a mango tree at the back with really large and sweet Indian Mangoes which were abundant in the season, although a cunning old local Malay man used to sneak in and steal them before they were ripe, then go and sell them at the market. I guess he needed the money.
Tasty Corner street restaurant
Just down the road was a collection of shops and street restaurants. My favourite eating place was ‘Tasty Corner’. I was such a regular patron that all I needed to do was walk in and sit down and they would bring me my standard beer and a plate of fried noodles. ‘Char Kway Teow’. I wrote a post about this a few years ago. Click here
I also got to know Ling and Pete at the local grocers. We would regularly have simple chat’s about local news and the state of the tourist business. If I didn’t have enough money or had forgotten to go to the ATM, it didn’t matter as I could always “pay next time”.
Yet, there is a slight undercurrent of sadness in returning to Penang, and more specifically Batu Ferringhi. In the two years since I left, the buildings, vacant sites and general condition of the area have deteriorated dramatically. Sites that were cleared for development years ago remain vacant with piles of rubble or poorly constructed blue site screens adding to the overall sense of dereliction. Buildings are abandoned, ramshackle pop up stalls are almost everywhere, most of them illegal. They were supposed to be moved to a purpose built and well equipped night market area years ago. The main street really has the feeling of a third world backwater, post typhoon, abandoned by the authorities after the clean up.
Ramshackle street stalls
Like this for 4 1/2 years. Why?
Cleared for what?
For what could and should be the ‘star beach’ in Penang and even Malaysia, the area comes up well short. Even though there have been meetings and promises made by successive councils and local ministers, it seems that nothing ever gets done about it. And this to the obvious benefit of Thailand, and other sea facing SE-Asian countries who seem to nurture and care for their beach assets with a lot more ownership and pride.
Ok, time to get off the soapbox.
And yet there are some beautiful places on the island. The national park is certainly worth visiting.
I went there a few times, and once, when the girls were visiting, we saw no less than three of the endangered Giant Squirrels, some sea otters and many turtle tracks on the sand. Even if it appeared that the turtles had to make their way through a high tide mark delineated by washed up plastic bottles, it was a great day.
Turtle tracks on the beach
The western side of Penang Island is very different and there are a few fishing villages such as Pulau Betung and older places like Balik Pulau that are not yet too developed. You can still find the legacy of the British colonial, Malay, Indian and Chinese past, reflected in the buildings, temples, shrines, churches and street stalls. The religious harmony and acceptance in this area is a model for the world.
Fishing boats in the harbour at Pulau Betung
This part of Penang is well worth a visit, especially the seafood market at Balik Pulau. There you can see traditional Malay fishing boats in the small harbour and buy some fish. It was a bit sad that they had juvenile sharks and rays at the market, but then, they have nothing else I suppose. And if you like, and are not allergic to, the many cats that live there…
In the main street of Balik Pulau there is a very famous street stall next to the car park where people line up just to get a bowl of Kims famous Laksa. That in itself is reason to visit. There are also some pretty good roadside stalls selling chicken leg curry and roti canai. I reckon these stalls are exceptionally good.
Traditional Malay house
I also enjoyed visiting a few of the last remaining old wooden houses that have not yet given way to the ‘progress’ of concrete and brick dwellings. Hopefully someone will have the presence of mind to preserve and protect them, much as they have done with the old Chinese peranakan buildings on the eastern side of the island.
There is a lot more that I could share. Scooting adventures, other restaurants, beach walks, flying the drone and some of lucy’s adventures, but enough for now.
I’m only here for a few weeks, and I don’t know if I will ever come back. But if I do, I will return to all those places that made my life here special.
More travel articles to follow.
