A Trip to Penang, Malaysia

Yesterday we (Myself, Nikolai and a friend, Lucien) got back from a week trip to the Island of Penang, Malaysia. We stayed in the city of Georgetown, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to what some say is the best street food in Southeast Asia.

Georgetown is a very diverse city, with many different cultural/religious groups living in close quarters to each other. Many days as we walked through the city and I was amazed at how on one street you could pass a Chinese buddhist temple, a Hindu Temple, a Baptist Church and a Mosque in about 4 city blocks. Now, this is not some splendid utopia where everyone lives in perfect harmony. But it was amazing to watch the level of religious tolerance/acceptance as people went about on their day to day lives.

As we wondered the streets of Georgetown and the jungles of the island we found ourself coming back many evenings to eat at the Red Garden. This is a hawkers place where various food stands sell their food along the outside of a sea of 100+ tables. The first night we went there, we perused through the stands to see all of our options. There was Thai food, western food, Japanese food, Vietnamese food, Malay food and much more. We all decided to skip on the Chinese food, since we get enough at home.

After much debate, I settled with some fabulous Japanese BBQ skewers of lamb, lobster and a jumbo prawn while Nikolai and Lucien continued to look. Finally, tucked away in the corner, they found what they had been looking for...Indian Curry. I would say that all in all, Nikolai and Lucien had a total of no fewer than 20 curries between the 2 of them. Butter chicken curry, chicken vindaloo, tikka masala & a Penang style curry were just a few that they sampled throughout our stay. You could say that the two of them were in food heaven!

I did thoroughly enjoy the food, as the morning street food was outstanding, with samosas, egg roti & cheese baked bread, but I found the nature on the island fascinating. We took several hikes through the jungle in both a national park and the highlands above the city. Along these hikes we saw much of the flora and fauna that made this island so important to the Malay natives and fascinating to the British that arrived here in the 1700s. From 7-foot water monitor lizards to dusky leaf monkeys to century old trees, I was in awe of the natural beauty of the island. It was quite a respite from the concrete jungle that we live in back in Foshan.

We have 8 days of work and then another almost 3 weeks of vacation where we are heading to Thailand (Chiang Mai & Koh Samui). We can hardly wait!

Clear skies, Running & Smiles

The last few days here have been beautiful. At least if you are a Minnesotan living in a Sub-tropical climate. Strong winds have carried away virtually all of the air pollution and the skies are a bright and vibrant blue. With these wind has come cooler, dare I even say cold, temperatures in the upper 40s low 50s.

While weather like this makes many chinese natives run for their parkas and winter gear, it makes me throw on a pair of running shoes and head outside.

Yesterday, I did an evening run under the full moon. The crisp air had me reminiscing of fall back home. I was beginning to get sad thinking that I was going to miss my favorite season when I realized that winter here is like one long fall...BEAUTIFUL!

I knew I had to take advantage of these beautiful clear days because, as you probably know, not all days are like this here. So, this morning, I decided to take a run around the lake near our apartment.

Getting to the park is not the greatest, I have to run on sidewalks along a busy road. Granted, the sidewalks are all granite and gleaming in the sun, but this means I must pass by dozens of cars, vans and motorcycles. I don't want to paint an unfair picture of the people here, as most of them are very polite as this strange tall, blond foreigner is running down a busy chinese road. Not a sight that many see here everyday...or ever. Yet, there are always a few who will stop their car in the middle of a busy intersection to stop and look. No harm being done, just looking or rather staring.

Once I get to the park it is great! I can find anonymity amongst the quiet trails on the wooded hillside or along the lake and surrounding ponds. It is beautiful. I even caught myself stoping along the lake and thinking of how much it felt like Como Park at home. However, once I heard the chinese flute music being played on an elderly man's personal radio (yes, they are everywhere here...radios and elderly chinese men, usually together) I quickly was reminded of where I was.

On my way out of the park, I noticed a man on a motorcycle coming towards me on the path. I quickly skirted out of the way to avoid being hit, but as he passed me I noticed a young boy about the age of 6 sitting backwards on the motorcycle. His arms were crossed on the carrier on the back of the cycle and he was attempting to rest his head on his hands. His tiny legs were splayed out on either side. When he noticed me, he smiled with his head bobbing up and down with every bump on the road. I couldn't help but smile back. Perhaps stares are not all bad, when complimented with a smile, they can be quite welcoming in this strange new home of mine.

Hong Kong - Where East Meets West

A few weekends ago Nikolai and I decided to take a weekend trip into Hong Kong. Since we are only a 2.5hour (plus customs) trip away I did not anticipate Hong Kong being all that much different than here in the Greater Guangzhou area. I was in for a little reverse culture shock.

We came into Hong Kong late at night, so I did not get a real chance to investigate the city of 7-million until the next morning. I did, however, get a chance to enjoy a Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Waffle ice cream cone...wow...I have missed good ice cream!

On Saturday morning we awoke to clear blue skies and slightly cooler weather (for my Minnesota friends, that means it was in the upper 70s). We started our walk down to Victoria Harbor and along the way I was stunned. People stopped at stoplights here and pedestrians ONLY used crosswalks on the main roads. There also seemed to be more Starbucks per square kilometer than anywhere I have ever seen.

As we got closer to the harbor, there was a moment when the fresh salty sea air hit my nostrils. Ah, fresh air! I even saw a few runners out along the Walk of Stars.

The harbor itself was beautiful. Truly one of the great harbors of the world. As I looked at it it was hard to imagine its shores without the glittering steel and glass skyscrapers along the sides and giant ships and ferries in its waters. We took the famous star ferry across to Hong Kong Island and spent the rest of the late morning and early afternoon walking around the streets and hills of the west end. Beautiful!

Later in the afternoon we decided to go up to Victoria Peak to see the famous high view of the harbor. Here, is where Nikolai and I realized that we were truly not in mainland China any more.

We waited in line for about 1 hour to get on the historic tram to take you to the top of the hill. At the top you will find everything from touristy nic-naks to a Bubba Gumps restaurant. However, Nikolai and I were there for the view so we quickly passed all of these attractions and headed for the observation deck.

While at the top, we walked around on our own a bit. While taking photos, I ran into a couple who was posing with Danish flags that they had draped on the ledge of the tower. I wanted to find Nikolai to show him the flags but when I did Nikolai had this strange look on his face. "What happened?" I asked. "You will never guess.", he relied.

Apparently, as he was wandering around admiring the view he came across a mainland chinese family with a 3-year old son. There was a great commotion as the small boy seemed to need to use the bathroom. Now, in mainland China, I have become almost too comfortable with seeing grandparents and parents squatting with their children and grandchildren along roads, paths and even in shopping malls to relieve themselves. But, this was Hong Kong.

That didn't matter to this family as Nikolai said they stripped the little boy of his pants and he precede to go number 2 on top of the observation deck at Victoria Peak. Seconds before he was finished, Nikolai said there was a great commotion as security guards came running over to the family and escorted them away, presumably to the nearest restroom.

As Nikolai retold the story to me we just kept on laughing. It was nice to be in a place where that was not acceptable in public anymore.

Later that evening we meet up with a college friend (Robin) who is teaching in Hong Kong and we enjoyed a great meal of Mediterranean food and a wonderful conversation about life in China. My friend mentioned that she was excited to go out for non-chinese food, as many people who come to visit them want to have chinese food. We get enough of that at home in Foshan!

The next day we spent shopping! My only mission was to find a pair of boots and Nikolai a pair of Clark's Originals. We found out quickly that mainland Chinese people come to Hong Kong to buy the real brands while Hong Kong natives will venture over the boarder into Shenzhen to buy the cheep knockoffs...so funny to see!

Over all, it was a great trip. I know there will be many times that I am craving western food, civility and the ability to speak english...it is nice to know that Hong Kong is so close!