Penang

I arrived on the Malaysian island of Penang on the 8th of December. Here I hooked up with Jasmine Sau, whom I first met on my Bus from Saigon, Vietnam to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, and with whom I spent five days thereafter. I crashed on her floor and spent what little free time she had with her, during which she took me to various local restaurants, whisked me around on her motorbike, and took me out with one of her friends to see temples, markets, and bar scenes.

Penang was my first look into the rich mix of cultures that is Malaysia. In addition to the native Muslim Malay population, there is also a strong mix of Hindu Indians and Buddhist Chinese. The population seems to get along remarkably well despite their very blatant seperations. With very few exceptions that I observed, they stay within their cultural bounds. That is to say that you will rarely see different ethnicities going out together. I don't believe I ever saw members of differing ethnicities that were intimately involved. The Chinese population will be seen together speaking Mandarin, or Hokkien, or Cantonese. The Malay will be seen speaking Malaysian. The Indians will be seen speaking Tamil. The foods have been kept equally well preserved, although there appears to be some mixing of tastes and dishes. Interestingly you will actually see a great diversity of peoples eating at most food establishments.

The first images here are of Kek Lok Si, the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia. The greenspace outside the temple contains statuary of the various animals in the Chinese zodiac, and you will observe me kissing the rabbit that represents my birthyear, 1987. The remaining photos include me contemplating my dark lust for Indian food, images from the ferry between Penang and the peninsular mainland, snake temple, Penang's national park (including Monkey Beach and Muka Head Lighthouse), and also places of worship for the Muslim, Hindu, Taoist, and Buddhist population.