Bloggus Interruptus.

Penang, Malaysia - Today, we head to the island of Langkawi in search of Macaque monkeys and Monitor Lizards.

Oh, and perhaps a bit of relaxation as well.

In the process, we bid adieu to Penang, which has been an incredible experience for me. Eye- and imagination-opening. The doors, the details, the smells, the food. The experience.

Not sure if we'll have reliable Internet access in Langkawi, so if posting ceases for a few days, it doesn't mean I've been swallowed by the jungle.

Necessarily.

Penang, Evening.

Penang, Malaysia - We had a ball this evening at the Bukit Jambul mall, where we discovered a sizeable arcade. Good thing SCS and I aren't the least bit competitive. Nah, not at all. Pop-a-shot: check. SCS showed very good form and was good competition. Arcade motor bike racing: check. No clue how a guy my size is to fit on one of those wobbly things. Oh wait, there's also that small detail of balance. Whoops. There goes SCS, tearing down the hairpin turns while I bounce off of walls, wounding only my ego. Must be all her experience on a scooter. Redemption time at the air hockey table, something about which SCS has talked a bunch of smack. Too bad that was the only smack to her game this evening. Two straight -- one, playing by her rules. And the other, by the right rules. I know, she said something about her thigh hurting. A fun, fun time -- and we were good sports about it. Most of the time.

I was pretty excited to get home to my 'dinner in a bag', which I rustled up at an Indian restaurant across from the mall. Take-away. Yum. One guy cooked up some chapati on a giant grill in front of me, flipping it in the air like pizza dough. Another had me choose what I'd like from a number of dishes in front of me: some rice, some sweet chicken legs and something else with shrimp in it. Throwing it all on the plate with gusto, he painted the completed dish with a flourish of a couple more sauces, tied up the bag and wrapped it in newspaper. For maybe $2-3. Voilà, dinner is served.

Penang: Day Three.

Penang, Malaysia - An extremely hot and humid day in Penang today and we decided to wade our way through the large Sunday market set up at the base of the hill on which the Buddhist Temple, Kek Lok Si, is perched. This Temple, which seems to appear magnificently over you when you approach it, is the largest in south-east Asia and quite a sight to behold. Still being expanded today, Kek Lok Si is more than 110 years old.

With so many colours, shapes and interesting angles, it was really no surprise that I finally filled my camera's memory card today. The tiling and woodwork are breathtaking, as are the views of the city and the mountain. Throughout, of course, are numerous giant Buddhas in his various forms, some which are trampling crazed-looking demons. Apparently, the site is even more breathtaking at night.

To get up the hill to the temple, you must run the gauntlet of vendors who line both sides of the narrow, covered steps, frantically grabbing at your sleeves and saying "Buy something? Best price, best price!" Of course, if all that's grabbed is your sleeve, you're doing well. I got into a stare down with a young guy who had accidentally -- or not -- been feeling around SCS's rear pockets. At a little more than five feet tall, his eyes broke the lock first and he scurried away, deeper into layers of fabric, smiling Buddhas and cheap t-shirts.

SCS made off like a bandit with her negotiating today, driving prices down and laughing the whole time. "Best price" became a new "best price" became a new best price. And then, a final price. The farther away from the stall you were the lower the price would go as though Ringetts could disappear into vapors with the shrinking sounds of words, lost in the mayhem. For a culture not overly accustomed to negotiating, I think SCS and I have done pretty well and, at the end of the day, everything is so cheap here that it's tough to get too upset either way. Weaving back in and out of traffic, we took in the smells of many more hawker stalls and also passed a religious procession where oxen were pulling a cart of Hindu effects.

We enjoyed lunch at the Temple of Fine Arts with SCS's friend, where there was an Indian buffet and the slogan: "Eat what you like. Pay what you like." Wow, that's pretty trusting, non? It was a restaurant where you take your shoes off when you enter and was run by volunteers. I also finally broke down and had my first mango lassi, not generally being too big a fan of mangos. All and all, it was another fantastic meal.

Penang: Day Two.

Penang, Malaysia - It was a quieter day in Penang as I had the oppor- tunity in the morning to join SCS at her conference, which included a number of the top bloggers in the world (notably contentious Malaysian bloggers, who are attempting to mobilize action in a country devoid of press freedom) and human rights activists. (Thanks for the shout-out, Peter.) It was particularly interesting to be able to put faces to a number of individuals about whom I have read a fair bit in SCS's papers and to hear their views in person. I'm thinking the only reason SCS asked me to come to the talk was that she wanted a piping hot latte. But I might be wrong.

I also wandered around the subdivisions around where we're staying until SCS finished her work and we were able to head back downtown. I had wanted to go see the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, also known as the 'Blue Mansion' because of its startlingly blue walls, which helped it win a UNESCO award. We weren't able to get inside, but it was still a sight to see from the exterior.

We again wandered down through the streets of Penang and into a couple of crazy Chinese and Indian stores with fireworks, golden Buddhas, flowers and other religious icons wrapped in plastic. We also went into a local art gallery and store where the owner graciously toured us around and pointing out various pieces, including one SCS particularly liked of a surrealist cat with fish eyes painted by a 94-year-old man.

For dinner, we stopped into a little Indian shop and had some Tandoori chicken, Mee Goreng and assorted other delights. You really cannot beat the value for food here -- we were full and quenched for about $6. Apparently, many of the hawker stalls follow traditional recipes passed down through their families and tend to specialize in just a few items.

Once we had had enough of wandering, we went back to the Eastern & Oriental hotel to watch the sun set over the water and enjoy a glass of wine. As it got dark, a cruise ship sparkled through the Straits -- needless to say, it was a nice setting.

Stopping at the grocery store on the way home, the security guard wanted her to check her umbrella with the coat check. She looked at him rather incredulously, as if to say: "Hunh? You think I'm going to smuggle a bundle of bananas inside this wee thing?" It was odd, but not as strange as the hotel refusing to provide us with another blanket at the end of the night. Wedding after wedding in the hotel this weekend...

Penang: Day One.

Penang, Malaysia - Having left KL behind, we had a great day on the island of Penang, which is to the north-west of the nation's capital and on the Straits of Malacca. It was an earliesh start to the day, but we had to be sure to get one more Hilton breakfast under our belts. Literally.

By high speed train to the airport, we passed Putrajaya, a recently-planned city designed to ease the burden on Kuala Lumpur. Home to the new Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), which is intended to replicate silicon valley and push Malaysia to so-called first-world status by 2020, Putrajaya also serves as the current base for the Federal government. And the Prime Minister's home, atop a tall hill, looms large above. Over the half hour trip, we also passed many of the palm plantations we saw upon landing earlier in the week. They really do stretch for as far as the eye can see, all in perfectly ordered rows.

One of SCS's friends picked us up from the airport and brought us to the Hotel Vistana, where we will spend a couple of nights prior to heading to Langkawi for a bit of R&R. And hopefully, some monkeys! We're staying just up the street from Universiti Sains Malaysia, a hike from downtown, but in the shadow of a tropically verdant mountain. Interestingly, outside downtown, nearly all homes are gated.

Wandering downtown was one of the neatest experiences thus far for someone interested in how people live. Gorgeous buildings, but most in need of some serious repair. Sidewalks that end abruptly, dropping off to the street. And into the gutter. Weaving in-and-out of archways hanging from which are Chinese lanterns, blankets and other wares. A little tougher to navigate for tall people. Small, one room homes you can peer into, almost all of which have a Chinese alter directly in front of the door, candle light flickering over the walls while children scurry about, helping make dinner or watching television. Or others, in which all of one's worldly belongings are stacked to the ceiling in a single room. In the face of very real poverty, people's faces are painted as brightly as the colours on the doors, shutters and archways that carry you into their worlds. Bamboo blinds, blinking. Motor scooters dueling with rickshaws on the road.

You cannot effectively get many places here without some form of transport- ation, so there are a lot of cars, but even more motorcycles or scooters, and bicycles. One man lugged a dozen or so bleach bottles of detergent, tied -- hanging like jewelery -- to his bike. Another, strapped his eggs to the back of a motorcycle. One accident in this heat and you'd have a giant, instantaneous omelet. And likely, a street party. People's livelihoods strapped to two wheels and their balance -- the way people drive here, that's a serious risk.

Everywhere, little shops filled with trinkets, antiques and artwork. Alleys which open into vast spaces filled with fabrics in a full array of colours. Chinese temples, Hindu temples and the occasional Buddhist temple tucked quaintly between people's homes. Apart from occasional, small alleys, jutting jagged like veins in random places, most buildings are attached to each other. And the roads: not designed according to a grid.

We wandered through Little India, which was also awash in colour: bright flower leis in oranges, reds and yellows. Saris in combinations of all colours. Small backpacker havens which could be had for the equivalent of $6 CAD a night. With a fan.

A little peckish, we stopped into one of the street side Indian restaurants to sample some local fare. Taunting the taste buds, some of it was spicy enough that I saw colours. And not from all of the flowers hanging outside. But it was also extremely tasty and the blackberry lassi certainly helped to cool things off. Completely full, all for a few dollars. It was a satisfying way to take in some of the local culture at what appeared to be a family-run establishment, the matriarch perched on a chair, silently directing the men about the restaurant as they gathered us food bathed in yellows, browns and reds.

After lunch, the rain began to fall (which helped polish off the last remains of spice the lassi couldn't handle) and we made it over to the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, a bastion of Britishness that remains from colonial times. Swanky, even. As the rain fell harder, we huddled inside the dining room over a coffee, then a glass of wine, overlooking the choppy water. As the storm lifted, we were gradually able to see across to mainland Malaysia and the whitecaps soothed themselves back into the ocean. Venturing outside to take a couple of pictures, I was greeted by my new, little friend to the right. Not the best of pictures because the lizard skittered along the wet pavement better than I. Trying to get closer, it took off, dancing up a covered drainage ditch, splashing happily away. As did I.

We enjoyed dinner with a number of people associated with SCS's conference and partook in some Malay food, including fried seafood balls coated in -- essentially -- croutons and chicken wrapped in banana leaves. What a good day.

Doors of Penang.

Penang, Malaysia - Doorways conceal and doorways reveal. What's inside? Who lives here? They keep you out and yet, they also provide an entrance into someone else's world. You can often learn a lot about people, or about a shop, based on the door. Sort of like shoes. Here are some of the doors that caught my eye while wandering through Penang today.

This ornate door fronts a shop on Penang Road where we found many antique curios and other neat items. As if the door wasn't fancy enough, the wall was also lined with tile. The one below, too, included minute detail and even the security bars had some flair.


The next two doors were pretty common aluminum doors, but their owners had taken the time to paint them vibrant colours. Many shops have similar doors facing jagged, raised sidewalks which weave in, out and under myriad arches.