Graving and Eating

Penang is known for its food. A Malaysian island, close to the border of Thailand, whose population is largely Chinese, with a significant Indian population, and which, as a former part of the British empire, has a long history of international trade. These add together to form a vibrant food culture with an unbelievable variety of tasty treats.

I started the day with some dim sum at a local Chinatown restaurant up the street from the hostel I'm staying at. A tasty way to start the day.

Then I went back to the Protestant Cemetery to take more photos before heading to the Jewish Cemetery. Penang once had a small but active Jewish community, which sadly has dwindled practically to nothing. Standing testament to their life and contributions here is this small and oft-overlooked cemetery.



As I walked up to the gate, the cemetery caretaker, a kind man, let me in and pointed out a few of the more notable graves. About half of them have inscriptions that are completely in Hebrew.

Then I continued on to search for the Western Road Cemetery. I decided to take a shortcut, and ended up taking a long-cut. I knew what streets I had to go to (Western Road and Brown Street), but forget asking around: the locals have terrible sense of direction, and I was steered wrong. Then when I came to the right intersection, the cemetery itself turned out to be hard to find.

After walking a kilometer each way along Western Road, I came to a furniture store called American Accents. The people there must speak English! I went in, and the nice Chinese couple who run the place told me how to find the place. Even after following his clear directions, I still ended up going on some dead ends. I walked up the road toward Youth Park. A British couple drove by and offered me a lift: they didn't know where the cemetery was, but I told them to keep driving until I saw graves. 50 feet up the road, there they were!!

Now I had to find the gate! Turns out I had to walk all the way back to the main road (Western Road). And there, in an innocuous driveway, right at the Western Road/Brown Street intersection, was the cemetery. The only sign on the road is a faded, easily overlooked sign saying, cryptically, "Jamb Jln Utama Cemetery No-6". Whodathunkit?


No English signs at all, odd for what is supposed to be the largest Christian cemetery in Penang, with the graves of many British colonials and military personnel. It was right there all the time, but it's so hidden (you can't see the graves from the street) that it took me an hour to find it! (This is why I do my graving trips solo...it tries people's patience!)

Here's the gate:


Seems I forgot something...Oh yes: food!!

On the way to the cemetery I found a true gem of a hawker center. On the way I had asam laksa, a spicy, sour noodle soup that's a local specialty.


On the way back, I stopped at the same center and had koay tiao, a fried noodle dish popular through much of Southeast Asia.


Now I'm getting hungry again!!

First day in Penang

I've arrived safely in Penang!

After taking the airport bus to the downtown area, I quickly found a room, and set out on my adventures.

The first thing I did was visit the Protestant Cemetery. It's an eerie place, filled with shady frangipani (Plumeria) trees and crumbling tombs covered with weeds and plants (I identified some Ficus and Bauhinia among them). Odd thing to see the Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa), the Buddha's tree of enlightenment, growing out of some of these Christian tombs.


Here I found the grave of Thomas Leonowens, the husband of Anna Leonowens (The King and I).


Just behind the cemetery is another one, the Roman Catholic Cemetery. Very few of the graves there are still readable. I spent about an hour photographing tombs in order to preserve the information online at Findagrave.com. This way, genealogists, family members and historians can find the information.

Afterwards, I was growing hungry. I rent to Krsna Restaurant, which is the new incarnation of the old Krishna Vilas, a restaurant I visited once 19 years ago. The food was every bit as tasty and cheap as I remembered it, but it's no longer the a dingy hole it once was. Generous portions of rice, dal and vegetarian condiments, served on a banana leaf, for about US$1.15. Can't beat that!


Around town I passed by some famous landmarks, like Kapitan Kling Mosque...


...and Cheong Fatt Tze:


Tomorrow one on my missions is to go to the Jewish Cemetery!

Trip to Penang

A week and a half ago I went with Robert, Kate and Katannya on a spectacular overnight camping trip to Beidawushan. I haven't had the time to write about it yet, so for the time being, please check out Robert's blog Pashan. He has a superb entry, which includes the adventure we had after descending from the mountain. I'll put up my entry after I get back from Penang.

Yes, that's right: Penang. Every year around this time I make a solo trip to Southeast Asia for a few days as a reward for making it through the rigors of the Busy Season. Last year I went to Bangkok. This year, Penang. Now is when fares are cheap, destinations are less touristed, and weather is good.

Why Penang? Because it's a wonderful destination for photography. And because, Penang being a major site of colonial history, I can indulge in my unusual hobby: graving (also known as cemetery research). For instance, I'll be seeking out the graves of famous people like Sir Francis Light (founder of Penang) and Thomas Leonowens (husband of Anna).

I leave tomorrow (Friday) morning. I will report updates from there!

Knife-Edge Hikes

The last two weekends, we hiked Huangdidian and Wuliaojian, two of Taiwan's notorious knife-edge ridge hikes. Huangdidian is near the town of Shiding, to the southeast of Taipei, and Wuliaojian is near Sanxia, to the southwest of Taipei. The two ridge systems are similar, but separated by about 20 miles.

On February 15, we went to Huangdidian. Originally we were planning to hike near Wulai, but the weather was so good we decided to do this hike, which requires good weather.

Here's what the ridge looks like. On either side are steep, bare rock faces.
.

Here's Kat, slipping off the ridge to her doom...! (Just kidding!)


There are a lot of ladders here. (Wuliaojian, in contrast, has few ladders, but a lot of ropes.) Kate, Kitty and Kat.


Robert


A section without safety ropes:


Kitty


Kat wowing us with her mountaineering skillz:


The ruins of an old house we passed on the hike back down:


A night-time scene in Shiding


We finished our day with a meal at a tofu restaurant in Shiding that we had discovered a few months before.

On February 22, we went to Wuliaojian, which is more hardcore than Huangdidian.

Lots of rope climbing:


After a great deal of rope climbing and scrambling over rocks, we finally reach the ridge. Here's Filippo.


Soon after this is the toughest part of the hike: the descent down a sheer rock face with a slope of about 55 degrees, using a knotted rope.


Kitty


Filippo


After this, there are a few more rather tricky rope descents, but they're a breeze after that big one.




Then a hike down through a humid jungle. Here's Filippo contemplating a bird's nest fern (Asplenium nidus) up on the tree:


The fruits of the cluster fig (Ficus congesta). They're edible, but have no flavor. I know: I tried one. They would make good bush food if you were stuck in the wild.


We saw a snake on the hike down! It was a Taiwan Beauty Snake (Elaphe taeniura), a non-poisonous rat snake. No pictures: it got away too fast.

Finally, we reached the road, and walked through a quaint country village:




Just down the road a but there was a farmer lady selling vegetables, Kitty bought some. The woman saw that Kitty was with three foreign men, and said to her, "You're with these foreign guys...aren't you afraid?" We found that somewhat amusing! She then realized that we understood Chinese, and started apologizing. She said "I hope you don't think all of us mountain folk are backward!"

After that, we got to the car and drove to Sanxia, where we ate at Belgian Pie's restaurant.

Amazing Race addenda

Here are a few more locations (all at Gongguan) from The Amazing Race before I finally move on to another topic!

From the show:


My pic:


From the show:


My pic:


From the show:


My pic:


From the show:


My pic:

Taipei and The Amazing Race

One of the few TV shows I enjoy watching these days is The Amazing Race, a reality show in which teams of two people race around the world following clues.

In July 2007, The Amazing Race came to Taiwan for the first time. It can be seen in Episode 10 of Season 12.

The first thing they did was take taxis to the Taipei Train Station, where they found the clue box by the east entrance.

From the show:


My photo:


Then they had to take the High Speed Rail to Taichung, then another taxi to Jiji (a ride of about an hour and a half!) where they had to take a harrowing ride on an acrobatics jeep. I'd never heard of this place before, but some online Googling shows that it's a place called 集集特技村 (Jiji Stunt Village), run by a stunt driver named 吉普阿諾 (Jeep Arnold). How the producers of The Amazing Race found this strange place is beyond me. But the producers have a penchant for the bizarre when it comes to challenges.

Then they taxied back to Taichung and took the HSR back to Taipei for their next task. The next place they had to visit was a teahouse that just happens to be around the corner from where I practice kung fu with Nick. Unfortunately I wasn't there to witness it myself, but I know the location.

The place is the GK Teahouse, right in the National Taiwan University/Gongguan area of Taipei, behind the big Baptist church on Xinsheng S. Road.

From the show:


My photo:


Their task there is to drink a cup of very hot tea, and at the bottom of the cup, printed in Chinese, is their next instruction, which is to go to the Gongguan Night Market (which is very close by - essentially across the street once they get out of the alley).

Asking the way:


Location:


I noticed that the tea they drank was roselle tea. Roselle is a flower, a kind of hibiscus, that imparts a strong, plum-like flavor to tea.

From the show:


What I ordered today:


Now, there's no way anyone in Taipei could hop in a taxi, tell the driver "GK Teahouse", and even hope to be brought to the right place. They wouldn't know what hell you're blabbering about. First, few drivers speak English. Second, the teahouse is not well known. Third, it's a chain with about 10 locations around the city. But all four teams managed to find cabs where the driver knew exactly where to go. Their clue cards must have had the address printed on them in Chinese.

Anyway, at the bottom of the teacups are printed, in Chinese, the words 走到公館夜市找小丑 ("Walk to the Gongguan Night Market and find a clown"). Gongguan is the area on Roosevelt Road opposite National Taiwan University, and the night market occupies the alleys along and behind Roosevelt Road for about a block or two. They find the clown here, in Lane 108:



My photo:


Their next task is to go to Youth Park and walk barefoot along a stone path. These paths are notoriously painful for the uninitiated.

From the show:


My photo:


Nate & Jen are given bad advice by a bystander. She tells them to take the MRT because the traffic is heavy. But the MRT doesn't go to anywhere near Youth Park. They are told by the information desk that they have to go to Ximen Station and take a bus from there. This should have been a clue for them to rethink their strategy. Had they asked at the information counter if a cab would have been faster, as Nate suggested doing, the answer would have been a resounding Yes. But Jen's insistence on taking the subway cost them the game. Ronald & Christina, on the other hand, did the optimal thing, which was to hop in a cab heading the right direction along Tingzhou Rd. That is the quickest way to get to Youth Park from Gongguan.

The street corner in Ximending where Nate & Jen have a rip-roaring fight:


My photo:


They then hop on the No. 212 bus to Youth Park. Even in light traffic, the ride is about 20 minutes. What a waste of time!

After cutting their feet up on the stone path, they take a taxi to the pit stop, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. Of course every taxi driver knows where it is, but few know what it's called in English, so most teams have little luck at first, since the Chinese is Zhongzheng Jinian Tang, which sounds nothing like the English. Thankfully, with the help of some bystanders, the taxi drivers find out where to go.

At the plaza, the teams meet up with Phil Keoghan, the host of the show, to find out if they've been eliminated or not. The last team to arrive, the ones who took the subway to Youth Park, is eliminated.