We went to eat in an open air cafe and I had the best Won Ton Mee. I was in heaven. We really got to see the less wealthy parts of Ipoh. The streets have open sewers running along a cement gutter. So at first the smell of that was overpowering the smell of the food. But then we got to the cafe and it was all noodles and oil and fried rice and curry and spices I can't identify. Amazing.
We then went to Gunung Lang, which is an outdoor park. There is a big lake in the middle of the limestone cliffs. And we got to see a monkey up close and personal (with the help of some strategically placed potato chips). Then we went back to Aunt How King's other house and got ready to leave for Penang.
In the middle of the afternoon we left Ipoh with our cousin Kin Kin driving us to the Island of Georgetown. The city of Penang is on this island. It is northwest of Ipoh and it took us a couple of hours to get here. Our first stop was on the mainland side in Butterworth at the home of second sister. Kitty is the second daughter of second sister. We met her and her husband and her beautiful grandson, Zi Yang. I played with him for an hour or so until his mother, third sister, came in and honed in on my little baby. The nerve! (just kidding Cecelia)
Zi Yang's mom is Cecelia. She and her husband work for Intel.
Tim and Kin Kin finally pulled me away from Zi Yang and we crossed the suspension bridge and onto the island of Georgetown. We met first sister, Cynthia and her husband Desmond at a Japanese restaurant for dinner. We also attempted to have dinner with their brother but his son wanted nothing to do with the foreigners and started crying and would not stop. They decided to take him home. We once again had delicious food and I indulged. We laughed and talked and laughed and Cynthia had to get a tissue she was laughing so hard. Now that is what I call a successful dinner!
After dinner our hosts took us driving around Penang. Desmond drove and loaned me his Nikon to shoot pictures with. We drove through a UNESCO world heritage site, which is a designated site that is so significant to world history that they cannot be altered or torn down. These were pre-war row houses and shops. There were temples and restaurants and shops. We stopped to take pictures at the opening of one of the temples and a pigeon pooped in my hair. Yup, you read that correctly. A pigeon pooped in my hair. I joked with Cynthia and Desmond and Kin Kin, please tell me that in Chinese culture it is good luck to have a pigeon poop on you. Desmond said, it's okay, I know the owner of this little pub up here and we can use her washroom.
This little pub was called Edelweiss and Tim and I fell in love with this place. It is more than a century old and was converted into a cafe and pub. We met the owners and after I washed the poop out of my hair they let us explore their second floor which is not open to customers. Wow, it was a museum of antique artifacts. They had all kinds of things. From tiny chinese shoes from when they used to bound the feet, to antique tiffins. It was a like walking back in time. It was indeed good luck to have a pigeon poop in your hair.
We continued our sightseeing and drove down by the shore. We walked around a shopping district with a marina and a lighthouse. Then our hosts could tell I was fading so they brought us home to their beautiful house. We arrived here around 11:45 and I took pictures (of course) of their distinctive home.
I am barely able to stay awake. I must stop typing and go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.
Good night!
em
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