July 1 – Penang: Tze(Z) and Johnson

Today we explored the home of Tze and Johnson. We could just imagine them as little tykes riding their little mopeds around in the relentless heat. Sweating furiously as they labored away in little shops at whatever trade their family did.

We went to the Penang State museum and learned all kinds of things about Penang. We learned of all the different types of people that came here to live. Chinese immigrants hooked up with the locals to create Baba Nyonyas. Others combined to create other groups like Chittys. There are some similarities here as in Melaka.

We visited Fort Cornwallis to learn even more history about the area. It was built by Captain Sir Francis Light, who is sort of the local legend as the founder of the British colony of Penang. This fort was built for military purpose, but never actually used in a battle.

Here is a clock tower that was knocked crooked by some bombings in WWII.

We also passed by several other government buildings, a large church, and many temples. There was a China Town which we didn’t spend too much time in.

There was also a Little India.
Here you can see me eating as the Indian locals do. They eat with their hands, well hand actually. You are supposed to eat with just your right hand as your left hand is reserved for bathroom duties (no TP - figure it out).

We also stopped in at the Komtar Complex which we originally thought was a giant mall.

We could only access the first few floors of it though and it was a bit ratty in there. We did ascend to the 60^th floor to see some spectacular city views.

It was a fine day in Penang!

Click here for more photos.