*Malaysia Special* - Penang

Next, Penang island!

Penang is the Malaysian state with the highest density of Chinese speakers. The Chinese influence here is so strong that you can find people of different races communicating with each other in Hokkien 福建 – A Chinese dialect from the Fujian Province. Even police officers in Penang take up courses in Hokkien! People here are a living proof of a multicultural population.

Penang, like Malacca is very rich in cultural heritage. Penang was the next booming port for trading after Malacca, and where there is trade, there’s a multitude of nations that come together from all around the globe to seek their fortune. And one of them who made it big, is the owner of this big beautiful Blue Mansion!

Like many other Chinese fortune seekers in the 1800s, 16 year old Cheong Fatt Tze

张弼士 boarded the boat to the South East Asian region, known as Nanyang 南洋 -- the ‘Land of Opportunity’. This penniless teenager who hailed from Taipu in Guang Dong province 广东大埔 (where my ancestors are from) ended up as the ‘Rockefeller of the East’. This entrepreneur was involved in many lucrative ventures. For those who've lived in China, perhaps you may have come across this brand of wine called ChangYu 张裕.  I was surprised to find out that Cheong Fatt Tze is the founder of ChangYu winery in ShanDong 山东Province – China’s oldest and largest winery. 

So the next time you see this ChangYu 张裕 brand of wine, remember that this man has a beautiful Blue Mansion in Penang that’s worth a visit.

Another place I’d highly recommend to visit in Penang would be the Clan Jetties, close to the Penang Ferry Terminal. These jetties are unique Chinese settlements established in the mid-19^th Century when there was an influx of Chinese who migrated here. Each jetty is occupied by people of the same surname/last name. I guess being with people coming from the same region definitely made them feel more ‘at home’ in a foreign land.

Residents of these jetties still go about their daily lives, and being there makes you feel like you’re one of them and that is what I absolutely love and appreciate about this place.

I probably shouldn’t be taking a photo of this lady who was just lying at her front door, enjoying the cool sea breeze, but I wanted to show you just how unaffected by tourists these locals are.

I do have one little request though: When you’re there, please do keep noise at a minimum, as these are actual living quarters. The last thing we’d want, is to drive out the residents by making this place noisy and unlivable eh?

Take a closer look at what’s being used as stilts… Empty paint buckets!

Penang is positioning itself as the first ‘Green state in Malaysia’, and this is just one of the many examples of Penang working towards becoming a greener, more sustainable and environmentally-friendly state!

This is serene and charming… See those two people there? They’re home-stay guests. The next time I go to Penang, I’m staying here and I will do just what they’re doing – Sit there, read a book with the sound of the waves at the background, occasionally looking far out at fishermen returning with their catch, or simply allowing the rhythm of the bobbing boats to lull me to sleep... Certainly sounds good to me.

Alright, let’s not get too sleepy here... Let’s crank things up as I speak about FOOD!!!

Penang is famous for its hawker fare. Forget dining indoors if you’re here for a short time – Head out, sweat it out and sample the myriad of local food Penang has to offer!

Some of the best places for food are situated in the most inconvenient of places, so you might want to ask locals for recommendations. But if your time in Penang is limited and you’re already hungry and cranky – Gurney Drive, a promenade by the sea has all the popular local fares in one place.

It’s too bad I don’t have a wide-angle camera when I took this photo as there was more food at the sides which my camera couldn’t capture. Gurney Drive in Penang is definitely the place you can stuff yourself silly.

More food!! Gosh, I’m getting hungry just looking at these photos…!

This is only the tip of the ice-berg of what we’ve eaten in Malaysia. The food we’ve had was simply amazing! I’m quite certain our team members had put on some weight after filming in Malaysia.

We had exactly 24-hours in Penang to film and off we went to the airport to catch our flight to our last stop – Langkawi!

You can view this episode of Travelogue which I presented, and wrote for CCTV News, on Pangkor Island, Penang and Langkawi -- The west coast of the Malaysian Peninsular:

(In case video does not appear, you can watch it here.)

*Malaysia Special* - Pangkor Island

On our way north from Kuala Lumpur (or ‘KL’) to our next stop Lumut, a coastal town three-hours drive from KL, we made a quick stop in this little town called Bidor 美罗. Time seemed to have slowed down in this town. It was a stark contrast from KL where cars are bumper to bumper, and people constantly in a hurry… Over here, who’s in a hurry? The only things the locals were busy with, would be having a chat and reading the papers over coffee at a ‘kopi tiam’, a local term referring to a coffee shop.

Can you sense the calm just by looking at this man’s face and his two sleepy cats? :)

Goodies-galore!! This reminds me of my childhood. I felt like I was five again, stomping my feet in the shop because mummy wouldn’t get me ALL the biscuits! Heh… I’m kidding! It’s such a pity we only had 30 minutes in this town. This is a great town to stop for good Malaysian food and snacks!

In our 30minutes in Bidor town, I found this bunch of beans. I knew what it was, but my film crew did not. Cheekily, I took a few of those beans and told them to pop it into their mouths, reassuring them that it won't poison them… And boy did I wish I took a video of their expressions as soon as they chewed on it! It sure did wake them up. These beans are called ‘Petai’, or Stink Beans. It actually doesn’t stink at all.. Not until you’ve chewed on it.  It is an acquired taste, but it seems our director and cameraman/photographer got used to the taste and smell pretty quickly and were constantly on a hunt for it at local buffet spreads! I personally do quite like Petai especially when served with Sambal (chilli paste)… But I’d avoid eating it prior to meeting people.

Lumut was our gateway to Pangkor Island, just a 40-minute ferry ride from the jetty. 

I have to mention that one of the islands in Pangkor is the favourite island getaway of the late opera singer – Luciano Pavarotti. He visited this private island so often that they have a suite named after him.

Pangkor Laut – that’s the late Pavarotti’s favourite hideout. I’m sure none of these chalets on stilts are named after him, as these are quite out in the open. There are more chalets which are private and secluded, therefore we were unable to snap pictures of them. Such a high-profile man certainly needed his privacy.

One thing interesting I’d like to point out is the difference in the colour of seawater in the West coast (where Pangkor Island, Penang and Langkawi are) and the East coast of the Malaysian Peninsular. The seawater in the West is Green in colour; while it is Blue in the East. In order to prove my point, I have taken the liberty of digging out some pictures which I took while on vacation in the East coast in 2010.

Specimen #1:

Pangkor Island in the West: Probably the reflection of the greenery around? 

But wait! Check out the next picture of the East coast.

East coast: It’s also surrounded by greenery, but the seawater’s blue. 

I swear, no Photoshop involved.

Specimen #2:

Green seawater in Pangkor Island

Blue seawater in the East coast

Specimen #3:

Pangkor Island

East Coast - That ain't a swimming pool...!

Why is it Green in the West and Blue in the East? 

I think it is probably due to the existence of microscopic algae which causes the water to be green, and since the seawater in the west is calmer, from being sheltered by the large island of Sumatera, Indonesia (you can refer to this map), the warm, still waters make it the perfect breeding ground for algae. Well, just my hypothesis.

It is also partly pollution, since the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia is a safe haven from the monsoon winds, hence many ports are located in that region.

I’ll be honest and tell you that the beaches and islands off the west coast of the Malaysian Peninsular are incomparable to those in the east coast or even in Borneo. I believe you can judge for yourself based on the pictures above. But if you want the sea, the chance to be immersed in the Malay way of life and a place that isn’t too touristy, Pangkor island would be for you. It is home mainly to fishermen and people in the business of selling dried seafood.

With that, a visit to the fish factory was part of our itinerary since one of the main commercial activities of Pangkor Island is the production of satay fish - a type of dried fish biscuit popular in Malaysia. What you see being laid out to dry, are fish fillets. If you’ve always been curious about the making of satay fish and fish crackers, visit one of the fish factories in Sungai Pinang Kecil. My producer who absolutely loves seafood was so delighted to hear that this factory which we visited actually exports their products to China. I believe she’s now secretly on a hunt for their products in Beijing!

That’s me assisting my producer in creating a Malay look!

Since we’re on the topic of dressing, I should just mention again that Malaysia is a Muslim country hence it’s good to cover up a little and not dress too revealingly especially when you’re visiting a mosque where you need to have your limbs covered and ladies would need to wear a hijab, or headscarf, like in the picture above. No, it’s not necessary to wear a hijab when you’re out on the streets. We just wanted a Malaysian picture of ourselves :)

This is such a nice way to end the day... All that’s missing, is a cocktail in hand.



You can view this episode of Travelogue which I presented, and wrote for CCTV News, on Pangkor, Penang and Langkawi - the west coast of the Malaysian Peninsular:

(You can watch it here, in case the video doesn't appear.)