Another I (Heart) Penang Day!

3D Multi-media mural in Armenian Street

     Recently I had to run an errand in downtown George Town.  It was a hot Friday afternoon and I really didn't want to go out.  But, by the time I got home, I'd had another of those days that make you glad to be alive and living in Penang.  Here's what I saw in just one hour or so.

    Armenian Street is arguably the most quaint and interesting little lanes in George Town.   (It's only wide enough for one car, so you can hardly call it a "street" in my opinion.) There's been a street artist in town recently, and one of his most popular installations is this combo of mural painted on the wall and permanently-fixed bicycle to make it multi-media and 3D.  Charming!

Armenian Street public art

Sellable wall art in Armenian St. shop

Local culture explained in wire

    Across the street, which means about 10 feet away, there's this other much-photographed piece of public art.  


     And a few feet beyond that, there's a charming little shop full of Chinese stuff, mostly retro, whose name or address or both is quaintly called 14 Living Story.  They have really cool gift items at reasonable prices and their displays are fun, too, like this wall full of shoes. 

       Then, just down the street, there's more public art.  Here's one of several wire explanations mounted on walls in certain parts of town to explain local culture.  This one describes a procession that involves floats carried by local folk.

Lotus & tortoise shell cat

       Down the street from that is the very ornate Yap Temple, with this lovely lotus plant growing out front.  They say lotus is the sacred flower of Buddhism because, even though it grows in mucky, muddy water, it produces this pure light-pink flower. In the same way we human beings can become something lovely, even if we come from the worst of circumstances.  

   And then, when I was almost home, I saw the tiffin man plying the lane in front of our condo.  Those silver stacked food containers are called "tiffins."  They're full of delicious Indian food that's delivered daily on a standing-order basis to folks too busy to make their own meals.  He was delighted to have his picture taken, though he couldn't understand why, since he was just doing his job.

 Cheerful tiffin dellvery man in Lorong Leandros

   And that was it -- another fun, interesting and yet typical day here in Penang.  How can a small place like this have so much going for it?  It boggles the mind!