Hindu Temple, Orangutans, and a Sticky Hike

This weekend was a busy one, which made me very happy! Friday morning a few of us went into Georgetown in an attempt to cross off some of our “Shirley and Steve Bucket List for Penang.” We walked down the historic Armenian street, which had a ton of murals, and found a batik shop, which is a cool art form. To cool down, we ate at what is my favorite restaurant thus far, despite the higher prices: China House. I got toasted banana bread and sliced bananas with cinnamon. Heaven. To cap off the morning, we walked out along the Chew Jetty. This was where typical Chinese houses on stilts are. It was neat to be out near the water. For being on an island, we don’t see it too much!

Later that evening we were given a tour of a Hindu Temple. This one was dedicated to the deity Muruga and is one of the largest outside of India. After paying initial respects in the temple at ground level, we hiked up 513 steps to the main temple, were we got to observe the prayer ceremony. Afterwards, we were given a free meal. Our leaders didn’t know about the free meal though, so we had reservations after the temple to eat at a typical Indian restaurant where you eat with your hands and the food is served on a banana leaf. Locals swear that the food tastes better when you eat with your hands... but I’m not convinced.

Saturday we went to Orang Utan Island, as our first outing for our biology class. This is an island that is dedicated to the rehabilitation and conservation of the pongo borneo species of orangutans. It was set up so that the visitor’s walk in cages, and the apes have free range of the island. Neat inverse of a typical zoo! We were lucky enough that some orangutans came quite close to our cage and we got to watch them play. They are smaller than I imagined, but way more adorable!

            Sunday our professor’s brother-in-law brought some of us up to the national park on the north side of the island, Taman Negara, or known locally as “the end of the world.” We accomplished a treacherous, winding, hot hour and a half hike to Monkey Beach, were we ate lunch and cooled off in the water before making our way back. And yes, there were monkeys there. This is the first time I’ve personally seen monkeys in Malaysia and they are a little frightening. Do not feed them, or they will attack! It was a long, tiring day. I enjoy hiking though, so it was time well spent.