Saturday, December 27, 2008
The Seven Deadly Sins
OK, I haven't actually engaged in all 7 this week, just a few.
Here in Penang Stan and I have been having a very nice time. We arrived Friday after a nice Singapore Airlines flight (is there any other kind?) and soon after met up with Azhan. It's so nice to see him in his hometown! He took us to a nearby hawker center and suggested some good local foods, including some sort of chopped up marshmallow in sesame and nuts that made a yummy dessert. We went for a walk along the seawall and a little kid called me "uncle" but other than that it was great. We all returned to the hotel lobby for a drink (there is a DJ in the lobby even in the afternoon, so we knew this would be good) before Azhan headed home and we called it a night.
Saturday we got up late and explored what the hotel had to offer, then checked out the surrounding area. Stan is a big fan of Indian food so we found a good restaurant and settled into a nice lunch. Azhan came to pick us up later and we ventured into the old part of Georgetown where he gave us a really great tour, including some nice temples and my first visit to a mosque! It was great seeing this UNESCO world heritage site through his eyes. He took us out for dinner in Little India and it happened to be another restaurant in the same local chain as where we had lunch. Good stuff and we were glad to find it.
Then we ventured out to the evening's main activity,a play called "The Seven Deadly Scenes," which was very good. It was done by a youth theater group from KL and each scene depicted one of the seven deadly sins. Some were disturbing, some were funny, all were good. A couple required some explanation of local culture and Azhan provided that.
Funny thing: twice during the evening we were approached by people who knew Azhan. I had joked with him earlier about knowing everyone in town but apparently he really does.
Today we're relaxing a bit and planning a beach trip. This has been a nice, chill trip, exactly what we're looking for. Good times. And great food, as everyone promised.
Here in Penang Stan and I have been having a very nice time. We arrived Friday after a nice Singapore Airlines flight (is there any other kind?) and soon after met up with Azhan. It's so nice to see him in his hometown! He took us to a nearby hawker center and suggested some good local foods, including some sort of chopped up marshmallow in sesame and nuts that made a yummy dessert. We went for a walk along the seawall and a little kid called me "uncle" but other than that it was great. We all returned to the hotel lobby for a drink (there is a DJ in the lobby even in the afternoon, so we knew this would be good) before Azhan headed home and we called it a night.
Saturday we got up late and explored what the hotel had to offer, then checked out the surrounding area. Stan is a big fan of Indian food so we found a good restaurant and settled into a nice lunch. Azhan came to pick us up later and we ventured into the old part of Georgetown where he gave us a really great tour, including some nice temples and my first visit to a mosque! It was great seeing this UNESCO world heritage site through his eyes. He took us out for dinner in Little India and it happened to be another restaurant in the same local chain as where we had lunch. Good stuff and we were glad to find it.
Then we ventured out to the evening's main activity,a play called "The Seven Deadly Scenes," which was very good. It was done by a youth theater group from KL and each scene depicted one of the seven deadly sins. Some were disturbing, some were funny, all were good. A couple required some explanation of local culture and Azhan provided that.
Funny thing: twice during the evening we were approached by people who knew Azhan. I had joked with him earlier about knowing everyone in town but apparently he really does.
Today we're relaxing a bit and planning a beach trip. This has been a nice, chill trip, exactly what we're looking for. Good times. And great food, as everyone promised.
