Nada de Particular (Nothing in Particular)

Just practicin' for later on . . . .

    Sometimes I have a plot, a theme, an impression of what I want to say in this blog.  Other days (this being one of them), my mind is a blur and my thoughts are all jumbled.  But I still have things I want to share, and this dog in arms is one of them.  Talk about thinking you're a member of the family!  This li'l fellow couldn't be re-homed here in Penang, so he's going off to China to live.  Well-traveled dog, huh?!

Nobody's gonna steal THIS soap!

                                              












    Over at the dying shopping mall near our place, they do have a  pubic restroom and many people use it.  Evidently some of them would walk off with the soap if it weren't chained down.  Appetizing, isn't it?


    The other day I trolled through a different mall, a considerably more upscale one. There was a kids' birthday going on at MacDonald's.  Huge crowd of happy kids, a very energetic Ronald MacDonald, and one rather bemused father, trying to pretend he was somewhere else.  No doubt on the golf course or at home reading the paper, poor guy!

Birthdays at Mac's -- same everywhere!

       And lastly, we had a big 4th of July celebration at the local Hard Rock Cafe -- the most American venue in Penang, I daresay.  We asked the guests to dress up to suit the occasion and this very determined gal justifiably won the price.  I hope that stuff came out of her hair OK!

Best-dressed at 4th of July Party

Sat. Night in the City (George Town)

Another street mural in George Town

     Another day, another street and another set of discoveries and new experiences.  The city is in the throes of the George Town Festival, which means that there's almost always something going on out there on the streets.  Here's another of those murals that keep popping up all over town.

Start 'em young!

      Today I went down Acheh Street and found all kinds of things to photograph.  There was a gamelan display and a really young boy trying it out.  An older lad was patiently showing him how to play it.  And there was another musical performance happening at the mosque next door.  I guess you'd call it a boys' choir, except they were chanting the Quran, I assume.

Boys reciting the Quran to music

       

 

Boots for bound feet, or so he told me.

       
     Then I stumbled into Ben's Vintage Toy Museum.  Anybody who knows me is aware that I like old stuff, though I don't live amongst a bunch of antiques.  So this shop was interesting to me, not only for the toys, but for the other stuff, like the pair of performer's shoes for a person with bound feet.  Now those I would have bought if they'd been for sale!  

Anybody can drive in Penang!

     




     

        On the way home, I saw this couple getting their wedding photos done.  By the way, they're standing in front of a bank, not a church, and the wedding itself will be held at some other time and place.

   So much for not seeing the bride until she walks down the aisle!    

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!

Got Religion?

No alcohol for Muslims, not even in perfume!

    We Americans take our religion seriously, some more than others, of course.  We have certain "litmus tests" that presidential candidates are judged by, often based on their religious views.  Our currency and our Pledge of Allegiance contain references to God, and so on.  Most towns and cities have Christian bookstores and there's a religious element in many of our holidays.


     Each country is different, of course, and it's hard to judge something as personal and intangible as religious conviction.  But from my outsider-but-insider point of view, Malaysia seems like a very religious country, indeed!  We're coming up on the fasting month of Ramadan, which will start on July 19th, this year.  It's both awesome and hard for me to watch so many people cheerfully put themselves through such rigorous religious self-deprivation.  The "hard for me" part comes every time I take a swig from my water bottle during the hottest part of the day and realize that many of those around me won't be able to do that until after sundown.

Compasses for determining which direction Mecca is

   The other day I was wandering through a big hypermarket complex and saw an Islamic book-and-supplies store.  The young male clerk there looked up from his Quran (Koran) study and approved my request to take photos, so I did.  I was simply amazed at the variety of religious goods in that shop.  There were compasses designed to show the direction of Mecca for the five-times-a-day prayers.


    There was this clock, with verses from the Quran inscribed all over it.    There was a really fancy Quran in a padded carrying case, and special book rests to keep the Quran open while you read from it.

Clock with Quranic verses 

Quran in brocade, zippered carrying case

     But the thing that amazed me the most was a software program for your computer.  It was in operation right there in the shop, with the display screen showing the verses in Arabic and a moving hand-shaped pointer to help the student follow along as the verses were pronounced out loud.  So you could see it, hear it and follow the arrow to help you keep your place and learn.  

Computer with Quran reading program operating

I should have expected that such a thing would exist, but nevertheless it still took me by surprise.  


   That made me curious, so I checked my iPhone for Quran apps and of course there were dozens, many of them free. 


    I suspect that if some Americans could see for themselves how fervent Malaysians (and other Muslims, too, of course) are about their religious practice, they would be surprised and impressed.


After all, the Quran Reading national holiday is just around the corner on August 6th!