“We’re all a little weird and life’s a little weird. And when we find someone who’s weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”

(Dr Seuss – Children’s author)

Smoke billows from massive incense sticks in front of a intricately decorated Chinese temple; every combination of black and red and gold blending together.  Indian music blares from the shop behind in Little India.  A rainbow of sari’s offsets the jammed neon colored shop windows.  Greasy smoke belches out from the local non-vegetarian restaurant into the face of the local sidewalk fortune teller, spurring us towards the sumptuous veggie buffet beyond the alley. Call to Prayer from a large mosque down the street vies for attention 5 times a day.  Only the sunrise loudspeakers are noticed.  Not to be left out, an early century Christian Church reserves its turn for Sunday morning bell ringing.  This spicy, rich diversity all within a 4 block radius.  Tolerance in action.  This is Penang!

The weft of the fabric in Penang has changed but not the warp.  Like India, it is impossible to make a dent – even when running a bus headlong into the very texture of existence.  Life goes on as it has for centuries.  Cultural diversity and some of the best food in Asia makes this a true “Pearl of the Orient.”  Everything from crusty old shops to modern mega-Malls are open for your every need.  As if further incentives are necessary a talented City Council highlights regular Thai New Year dance festivals, Chinese Temple light ceremonies with Opera, Islamic Ramadan specials, Christmas lights, and Indian Dewali festivities complete with fireworks.  Old and new, young and old alike turn out to celebrate each group, honoring the other’s customs.  Besides when a Muslim gets the day off work for an Indian Dewali Festival who is going to complain?

So we landed years later into our old surroundings.  Hotel quality has improved, prices risen but not much has changed.  A few hours found us wandering the streets amazed at the number of windowless, shared bath budget establishments.  One Chinese place had the shared bath almost a block away, and down a flight of stairs.  Go figure that.  We ended our journey at the Star Lodge in the middle of Chinatown.  Clean, quiet, but basic this was our ‘home’ for the next few weeks.  Besides who could resist waterfront windows (an open ditch) down a side alley, greenery (a tree growing out of a crack in the tile roof across from the window) with Mrs Wong singing to a full moon?  The day staff and owner are extremely helpful and the crowd of regular inhabitants was diverse – expats on visa runs or long timers hiding away.

Being the ‘party animals’ we are, if we hear drums or music or see fireworks we check it out.  Might be a parade or a ceremony or?Something not to be missed.  One night we heard fireworks, then drumming and followed it down the dark back alley, past Mrs Wong, and discovered a wild Taoist celebration complete with men going into and being snapped out of trances.  We sat in the back and enjoyed the festivities and before we knew it we had an old Chinese Grandma loading our plate with all the vegan food she had specially prepared.  So at 11pm we partied, in great company!