Well, sorry I haven't been as diligent as I had hoped in keeping you guys posted every day. My camera's SD card picked up a virus, so I've been battling this virus for a while. (Note to self: always set the card to "write protect" when connecting it to a strange PC!) I was worried that I might lose all my photos, but they're all safe and the virus is gone (I hope).
Anyway, on my last full day in Penang, I started out by returning to the Protestant Cemetery and taking photos in case I missed any from my previous visits. I was surprised to see a photographer, a bride in a wedding dress, and a few assistants there taking wedding photos! (Didn't see the groom there, though...) I might imagine Westerners doing so, but not Asians, who are often quite superstitious about cemeteries and death.
At one point while photographing graves, I realized my Cambodian krama (the red-and-white cotton scarf I use to keep the sun off my neck and the sweat off my brow) was missing. I went back to look for it, and found it on a grave. I realized that I had taken photos of all the graves around it, except for that particular one. It was almost as if the person's spirit had pulled the scarf off me, saying, "Hey, you forgot to photograph my grave!" Creepy, huh?
Afterwards, I decided to go to the storied Eastern & Oriental Hotel, the fanciest in Penang, which is just around the corner from the cemetery, to splurge a little with a cocktail in the bar to celebrate a successful trip. Sitting in air-conditioned comfort in the lap of luxury as I sheltered from the noonday heat sipping a cocktail was a nice way to pass some time.
Then I walked around town a little more. Here's the Penang Clock Tower:
The walls of Fort Cornwallis:
The Guanyin Temple:
Then back to the hostel. And the next day: to the airport and home.
Soon I'll make another post showing some of my favorite pictures that I have left out.
