Annie and Blue in Penang

“Selamat” is how people say “hello” in Malay.  Penang is an island that is part of Malaysia but the people on Penang just say “hello” because they speak English, in fact, in school they teach both Malay and English.  A taxi driver told us that the students spend more time studying American history than Malaysian history.  He knew all about the Boston Tea Party and George Washington.  We were impressed because we do not know much about Malaysian history. 

One of the reasons that English is spoken on the island of Penang is because the island was first settled by the English in the 1700s.  It was the first English settlement in Asia. The main city, Georgetown, was name in honor of England’s George III. The English wanted a harbor on the Spice Route safe from

pirates. Today spices are easy to get but in the 1700s they were very expensive in Europe. When Columbus sailed west and landed in the Americas he was looking for a faster, cheaper way to get to where the spices are grown.  We visited a Spice Garden where we learned about the many uses for spices and their importance.

We loved the diversity of Penang. About 40% of the people are Malay, another 40% Chinese, 10% Indian and the rest a mixture of other groups.  It makes the island very interesting.  The Malay people are Muslim, the Chinese are Buddhist, while the Indians practice the Hindu religion but there are many Christian churches, too. The Buddhist and Hindu temples are very interesting and colorful. Several times a day we could hear the Muslim call to prayer. 

At our hotel, the Holiday Inn Resort, there were Malay, Chinese,

Indian, Europeans, and some from Saudi Arabia. Penang is a honeymoon destination for Saudis.  The Saudi women are completely covered in an abaya, which is like a long coat worn over their regular clothing. Some even have a face veil with only their eyes visible.  When the lady eats she lifts up her veil just enough so they can get the food to her mouth. It is interesting because there are Europeans in bikinis. The Muslim women have a special swimsuit that covers everything but their face, feet, and hands.  One lady had a bright pink one. 

We were lucky to be at the hotel for Chinese New Year. In the morning we received red envelopes with chocolate money in it and a orange all symbols of good luck in the future. There were some people with big drums and cymbals making a lot of noise while other people set off fire crackers. The noise will drive away all the bad spirits. Then there was a colorful lion dance with the noise of the drums and cymbals. The hotel staff had tied small bunches of lettuce high

on the walls.  The lions had to jump up or climb up (there are two people in each lion outfit – so one had to climb on the other – tricky). When the lion gets the lettuce we all clapped. I was another sign of good luck. Afterwards the hotel provided a

platter with small piles of colorful food.  Each food item meant something special – long noodles means a long life.  Then using long wooden chopsticks we tossed the food in the air while shouting “Loh Hey” which literally means to 'move upwards.’ It is a wish for good fortunes to grow during the coming year. It is called a Prosperity Toss. That night there were fireworks.  The day we left was a Hindu holiday. We wished we could have been there to see the Hindu celebration.

Revisiting Myanmar

“Hello” from Myanmar or “Mingalaba” as they say in Myanmar.

 We really like to visit Myanmar and have many times.  We like many things about the country. The people have retained their culture. There are no McDonalds or other American-like fast food restaurants but that may be changing because they now have coca cola which they didn’t before.  We love the beautiful beach in Ngapali.  Our hotel,

Amazing Ngapali Resort was the first hotel after leaving the airport.  We were surprised to see three new hotels being built.  In one place they were building a break wall to hold back storm waves that sometimes happen on the Bay of Bengal. We were very impressed with the ladies who carry heavy rocks on their head. The people still wear traditional longyis which is a wraparound waist-to-ankle skirt-like garment worn by men and women. The women usually have ones that are brighter in color and design.  Many people also wear thanaka on their face. It is a yellowish white powder made from the bark of a tree.  It protects their skin from the sun which is very hot.  It is usually hot in Myanmar.

This year we visited Mandalay and toured the Royal Palace. The

British forced the last king and his family out of the palace more than 100 years ago.  The royal family went to live in India. The palace became a British fort until World War II when it was destroyed by bombs.  Now it has been rebuilt and is quite beautiful.  We like all the open pavilions. It must have been a very nice place to live. We also visited

Mandalay Hill where there are many Buddhist pagodas.  While we were there we saw a pre-school group on a field trip.  The teachers were teaching them the proper way to give respect to Buddha.  They all kneeled down with the bottoms of their feet pointing away from Buddha and their hands folded like Christians do with they pray then they bowed and recited a prayer.  Some things the people in the Buddhist religion do reminded us of things Christians do. 

We also visited the ancient city of Bagan. About 1000 years ago it

was a capital city with over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas, and monasteries but today there are only about 2000 left.  It is magnificent.  There must have been 1000s of people living there but now mainly tourists and some farmers.  In the evening it is a great place to watch the sunset and the farmers leading their cows home from the fields. 

Our hotel, Amazing Bagan Resort, took us to Jetawan Buddhist

Monastic Education Center where we visited an English class.  They have a great teacher, Daw Mya Mya Win, because the students had a good command of English.  English has become an important “connecting language.” We are glad we speak English because no matter where we go in the world we can find English speaking people.  The school has grown from 46 students in 2006 to 375 this year. They even had a computer room. We loved visiting the school. They had some wise sayings. “The golden jar of learning cannot be stolen.”

In the evening Amazing Began Resort had a free puppet show. Wooden puppets were used to tell the stories from Myanmar history and about the life of Buddha but there was also some funny parts.  Before people could read, watch TV or go to the movies puppets shows were a fun way to teach lessons.