Each morning, just before dawn, I hear the day’s first Adhan calling George Town’s Muslims to prayer. It’s coming from the nearby Kapitan Keling Mosque, the oldest in Penang. As I’m waking, the lyrical and hauntingly beautiful sound reminds me that I’m in Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion. Not being Muslim or from a place where the call to prayer is commonly heard, it seems equally exotic and comforting. It’s easy to be enchanted by it. Continue reading Kapitan Keling Mosque
Category Archives: Malaysia
Graffiti In Progress
Some call Graffiti vandalism others call it avant-guard or street art. Whatever your personal opinion, it’s hard to deny that this art form can be provocative, entertaining, and beautiful if seen with an open mind.
Sketching George Town
“I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing.” – Vincent van Gogh
The ability to draw is a powerful gift. It’s a means of communicating, daydreaming, developing and clarifying ideas, inventing, sharpening your observation skills, expressing your creativity, even meditating. Most children love to draw, but as we become adults, many of us find ourselves wondering when and why we quit. Perhaps not surprisingly, our son loves to draw. Also, not surprisingly, we think he’s pretty talented for his age. It’s a goal of ours to help nurture his interest, whenever and wherever possible.
As we travel from place-to-place, we enjoy finding fun art-related activities. In the process of researching our trip to Penang, Malaysia, we discovered that there was an Urban Sketchers Penang group and that they were organizing an event that would take place during our visit. The more that we read about the Sketching George Town II event, the more excited we got. The 3-day event would include workshops, talks, sketchwalks, and social activities. Over 170 avid sketchers from at least 10 countries in the region were registered to take part. This was PERFECT! Continue reading Sketching George Town
George Town Shophouses
George Town is the capital of the island and state of Penang, on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. One of the most charming features of this UNESCO World Heritage Site is its well-preserved colonial core that boasts many restored shophouses dating from as early as the 19th century.
These lovely, often colorful, old buildings line most streets, creating a wonderful Old World character to the city. You will definitely find a mix of old and new, refurbished and diamonds in the rough. Here are a few of our favorites.
Penang’s Tropical Spice Garden
Our guide stops along the path to pick and crush a leaf. He hands it to us with a friendly challenge, “Can you name it?”. We breathe in the unmistakable sweet-spicy fragrance that we associate with the Thanksgiving desserts of our childhood. “Clove”, we respond confidently. “Very good”, says our guide. He points out the unopened flower buds on the tree and explains that those will become the dried, nail-shaped, spice that we see in the spice aisle at the grocery store.
Getting to Know Malaysia
For millennia, spices were valued as highly as gold and silver — sometimes higher. Their lucrative trade drove world leaders to wage wars, inspired the Age of Exploration, established vast empires, and helped to create an early form of globalization.
With spices so plentiful and easily accessible today, it can be hard to believe how prized and closely controlled they once were. Pepper was (and is) the most popular and sought after spice. It was so highly valued that there was a time when you could pay the rent with it and the Goths listed it amongst their ransom demands when they defeated Rome. Other spices such as cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg were also highly valued. In fact, the Dutch sold Manhattan (New Amsterdam) to the British in return for a tiny, nutmeg-rich island. Continue reading Getting to Know Malaysia
Meandering Family: Beyond the Nest 