First Impressions of Penang

I don't think you would miss India much if you lived in Penang. Walking along Jln Penang our first afternoon, Lonely Planet mentions that Mydin's Wholesale Emporium is the place to buy cheap DVDs and other items. The place is owned by Indians and it has the latest Bollywood music blasting throughout the store. The DVDs they are referring to are Hindi movies. The prices are considered to be cheap if you live in the US but if you live in India, not really. Prasad noted that someone needs to write a series of travel books meant for the Indian travellor. We're staying at the G hotel in Georgetown next to the Gurney Mall and opposite to a promenade facing the sea. The hotel is inexpensive yet has all the modern conveniences including internet access from our hotel room. Hotels seem to be cheaper in Penang compared to India and Indonesia, my two most recent reference points.

Some observations and things we learned:

• 90% of the population is Malay, Chinese and Indian and there is a rich history surrounding how each group has migrated here and how they have integrated here. They all seem to live in harmony with three different religions coming into play. Penang Museum is the best place to get educated on this. The British occupied Penang for a few years and you can go to Fort Cornwallis to understand how that ties together. This may explain why everyone speaks English here.
• People are more reserved and not as friendly as the Balinese, maybe because Penang is so much more than a tourist attraction. Many companies have setup offices either here or in KL and if internet access is an indication of how technologically advanced they are, every eating area, store, restaurant has free wi-fi, it's easier to get access to free internet here than the US.
• We were in Chinatown and Little India this afternoon and went templing much to the disappointment of the kids. To their defense, it was hot and humid and after visiting a couple of Budhist temples, a mosque and a Hindu temple, they forced us to go back to the hotel to relax. Later when Prasad's colleague asked us what we did the last couple of days, it didn't seem like we covered much but with kids, you just have to go slow and soak in the culture at your own pace.
• We visited one of Penang's more famous Chinese clan houses, Khoo Khongsi. The Khoo family used to gather at this home and they have plaques of each family member that graduated from a university that was funded by this clan house. They had a small museum which described the history of the clan house. It was an interesting concept, it certainly got Prasad thinking that he should create a Modali clan house.
• We ate a Woodlands restaurant in Little India and it was excellent. Little India was what I expected but it was definitely cleaner than the streets in India, even the restaurant bathroom was surprisingly clean.
• I was told we can get cheap electronics in Penang but so far we haven't found the prices to be that cheap, maybe we need to keep looking.
• It's hard to bargain in Penang, they typically don't discount the prices more than 10% and will easily let you walk out without bargaining further. It's taking us some getting used to after living in India for a year and our Bali visit.
• We bought some peanuts as a snack and after eating a couple, we were done. In India, you can find a million people who would take the peanuts willingly but here in Penang, noone would take them. Even a beggar refused the peanuts and said he preferred money. A bit surprising especially after living in India for a year.

Prasad has his conference for the next couple of days so I'm on my own with the kids. Sindhu is begging for a more kid friendly itinerary so we'll see if she's happy with what we come up with.