Poop and Apom -- A Morning in Pulau Tikus

     It was a rainy morning, so I took Hubby to work on the motorbike.  And what a lovely trip it was!  There's almost no traffic at that early hour, and it was so cool I almost wished I'd been wearing a jacket, and that rarely happens here. The rain had stopped and the air, which has been quite hazy recently, was delightfully cool and fresh.

       In early morning you see "the uniformed ones" heading toward their workplaces.  Like a giant magnet, the Adventist Hospital draws all the white-clad care givers from all directions.  Here and there you see the distinctive pink flowered uniforms of Gleneagles Medical Center staffers.  There's a river of young folks wearing dark blue uniforms and carrying their lunches in shiny metal tiffins.  They're all streaming toward Gurney Plaza Shopping Mall, where they'll keep it nice and clean. 

          Speaking of keeping things clean, I constantly marvel at the patience and thoroughness of the MPPP (local Penang City Council) street sweepers.  They are out there every single morning, equipped with two-wheeled carts and  brooms made of twigs.  Often they actually have to  work in the street where's there's early-morning rush hour traffic  (going one way, toward George Town).  Yet they work with zenlike serenity, getting every single scrap, leaf, and plastic bag, paying no attention to the traffic just inches away. How do they manage to do it day after day, knowing what a thankless task it is, knowing that hours later new trash will appear?  If I had a lot of money, I'd give every one of those "street saints" an iPod loaded up with whatever music they like, just to entertain them while they make the streets and sidewalks more pleasant for us.  This morning I was particularly happy because one of them now recognizes me and greeted me with a smile. 

      The morning hawker stands are bustling with breakfast-eaters and lunch-getters.  My favorite food at that hour is a sort of sweet pancake called "apom manis."  They're more like a crepe, actually, with crispy, lacy edges and a custardlike center. My favorite apom maker (shown here) sometimes puts tiny diced-up bits of apple in the batter and they settle in the middle.  Delicious!  And cheap, too.  You get a "set" of six served up on a banana leaf, for a ridiculously cheap RM3  (one US dollar).    The cook started helping his father in this exact same patch of ground some 17 years ago and now his own son helps him out (when he's not in Chinese school, though they are Indian).

     Yup, it was a perfect morning in Pulau Tikus until I was almost home.  Then, suddenly, SPLAT!   Suddenly I was wearing bird poop on my favorite outfit!  It even went into my pocket.  I tried to complain to the gate guard at our complex, but he wouldn't hear of it.  "Good luck," he insisted.  "Bird poop bring good luck.  But lizard--no good.  Lizard poop, bad luck, lah!"  It's all in your attitude, isn't it?