Visa Run To Penang

Some time long ago, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided that if you want to stay in Thailand - you have to leave. That is, in order to get a new visa, you must leave the country and apply at a Thai Consulate or Embassy outside of Thailand. I guess they want to keep some control over who is coming, going, and staying too long, but it would seem the MOF would be able to make a few bucks by charging a little bit more for a visa issued "in-country" but just a bit less than the cost of a plane ticket and hotel to get one "out of country".

That being said a visa run, although tedious and always inconvenient, is a great opportunity to visit new cities in the region, so this past week I journeyed to Penang, Malaysia for the first time.

Penang was a British colonial port much along the same lines as Singapore, but as part of Malaysia, Penang has developed a bit more slowly. The good thing about this is Penang still maintains some of its colonial charm while remaining relatively inexpensive.

I stayed in Georgetown, which is fairly quiet compared to some of the more central areas that are spotted with condos, high rises, and shopping centers.

Here are some pictures from my hotel window.

Georgetown by day.

Georgetown by night. After sunset, the streets were nearly empty except for the occasional food vendor.

This was a budget/ backpacker trip, so I stayed at the Broadway Hostel (15 USD/ night with Air Con). My only complaint was the Everest-like stairs I had to climb to reach the 3rd floor.

But the rooms were fairly clean, and the staff were friendly and super-service oriented. When I arrived late in the evening on the first day, the receptionist said to me he was so sorry and proceeded to apologize in multiple ways. I was about to jump across the desk and strangle him, thinking that because my flight arrived late, they had given out my room - even though I had called ahead to tell him I would be on the last flight in from Thailand and arrive at 10 pm.

Turns out he was apologizing for not responding to an email I had sent the day before (which became a moot point to me after our phone conversation). Now that I think about it, perhaps he just wanted to give me a shock, so I wouldn't balk and would, in fact, be grateful for a room on the top floor.

Here's a picture of the room. You know you're in a Muslim country, when they have a green arrow on the ceiling to let you know which direction to face during prayer time. Don't worry - the Broadway sign did not flash red neon during the midnight hours.

I didn't have a lot of time to wander around Penang, which turned out to be okay, since there is not a lot to see. But the one thing that stood out immediately was the glaring mix of cultures. I stayed in the area called Little India, but within just a few city blocks (and even within Little India) there were people from all parts of the world - Chinese, Malay, Thai, Indian, and all kinds of strange Westerners. A Brit I met had tattoos covering half his face, and (believe it or not) he was probably the most grounded foreigner of the bunch. (btw, There is no way I was going to take his picture. This is just a picture I found on the web. My guy had a few more nose piercings)

To soak in the cultural smorgasbord, I decided to take a walking tour of the 4 major religions represented in Penang. (Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam)

This is the outside of a Chinese Buddhist Temple (I think it's Confucian). The Chinese temples were by far the most ornate and second in number to the Muslim temples.

It's not very clear in this picture, but the dragon's tongue is coming out of the relief.

These were taken at another Chinese temple. Once again, impressive sculptures.

These were taken at a third Chinese temple or shrine. Of all the temples, mosques, and churches I visited, this was the only one that appeared active. While I was there, a continuous flow of people arrived to make wishes and then light joss sticks to carry their prayers to heaven - or perhaps, they didn't like the smell of the Indian restaurant next door.

Along the street at the same temple, you could light these monster-sized joss sticks if you really, really needed to get an A on your final.

The Hindu temples were almost as colorful and ornate as the Chinese temples, but they seemed a bit run-down. What they lacked in upkeep the made up for with flowers.

You can barely see him below the yellow carnations, but underneath is the elephant boy himself, Ganesh.

This Hindu temple was just around the corner from my hotel in Little India.

Finally, another shrine to Ganesh and his mother.

Soon after the trading companies landed in Penang, the missionaries arrived to save the heathens, which required the establishment of several churches.

Finally, the Muslim mosques. They tended to be in some of the best areas and although fairly basic in design, they were all very well kept. This is one of the larger Minarets I saw - from which Muslims are issued their call to prayer.

This is the main mosque on the same grounds as the Minaret.

Another mosque, which was near my hotel. I think these were the guys waking me up every morning.

So, that was my day tour. Enough culture to keep my philistine mind occupied for a while and just long enough to get a nasty sunburn on the top of my head.

To be sure, I did set aside some time for fun and play. On my second day in Penang, I journeyed over to Batuh Ferringhi, which is the beach resort area. Although a beautiful spot with mountains running to the sea, I missed my Thai beaches with old ladies selling grilled seafood and bars at the edge of the beach always ready with a cold beer.

The Penang beach (at least the one I visited) was pretty tame, except for the annoying jet skis - in particular, their hawkers. Needless to say, after an hour long bus ride, I headed back to Georgetown after 30 minutes of soaking up the Malaysian sun and sand.

Georgetown is not the most exciting town, but as I mentioned, you can meet some interesting characters. I spent a good amount of time with a guy from Montenegro and his wife who ran a small bar and restaurant.

He shared with me his love for Jazz music. This picture was on his wall - King Oliver's Creole Band (New Orleans, 1921).

He also shared his belief that 9/11 was a CIA/ Israeli plot. He then played me some Richard Pryor on Rodney Dangerfield comedy clips. Talk about an eclectic mix of entertainment.

As far as food, I stayed away from local meals, fearing my stomach would not take kindly to the Malaysian and Indian spices. So, why did I order the delicacy pictured below at a Malaysian/Mexican restaurant - I'm on a mission to try Mexican food in every corner of the world.

It's difficult to recognize, but this is actually, a local version of Enchiladas. The tortillas, cream sauce, and chicken are underneath the runny egg and between the cheese fries. Excellent, although probably deadly if eaten in excessive quantities.

I did get some bar time in where I watched the Liverpool - Aston Villa match 5 different times (on replay) and the finals of the World Baseball Classic, but didn't take any pictures.

Finally, the one lasting impression I had of Penang was the presence of cats, who wandered the streets at their leisure. More than anything, this shows an absence of stray dogs which plague the streets of Bangkok. Hopefully, it's an example that Thailand will one day try to follow.

The only drawback of having a city filled with lazy cats is the presence of belligerent rats. As soon as the lights went out, the rats came out - and roamed the gutters at will. You can't make it out in the picture, but this guy (and his buddy, too) are smiling at me.