Port Klang and Penang, Malaysia 3-20-21-07

Port Klang is about 25 miles southwest of Kuala Lumpur. Our ship docked early on Tuesday morning. We were all excited to be going to see the tall towers of Kuala Lumpur! However, it was rainging!! The night before there was so much lightning, Nicholas got up and closed the drapes as tightly as he could so he did not have to see the bolts coming down around the ship! It was really pretty, not scary. However, he did not see the beauty! The rain dampened our spirits and we decided to stay on the ship. We did not have a planned tour, so it became a school day. The ride into town turned out to be a two hour ride rather than an hour as the traffic was so bad. That made me feel better about our decision. UNTIL, I talked to two gals that found a shoe sote in those Petras Towers that had knock off Gucci shoes, called Mucci's that were fabulous and about $8.00 a pair!! They said women were buying 20 pair!! Oh well, missed that bargain! Our shopping was only on the pier. We got magnets and some silk handbags that are all handmade here in Malaysia. The only pictures we have are these on the pier.

We had a girls night out! Kathleen and I put our dance class lessons to good use. They have ballroom dancing every evening before dinner. We went and had a great time. We waltzed, two stepped, polkaed, cha-chaed and rhuumbaed! Don't know if those are spelled right, but it was great fun.
Kathleen and Joe, from the cast. He is not only a great singer but a good dancer too!Kathleen got this blouse at the Jim Thompson museum in Bangkok! She looked pretty in pink! Roger is one of the gents that tolerates me stepping on his toes!

Our day in Penang waas wonderful. Penang is an island off the west coast of Malaysia. Penang is known as the Pearl of the Orient for it's natural beauty. It has gracious colonial architecture, vibrant Chinese communities, Indian temples and mosques, fabulous beach resorts and unbelieveably great food! It's population is primarily Chinese but they have many Indians and Malays. Our first stop was to see the fourth largest Buddha in the world. The plaster, reclining Buddha. It's fingernails and toenails are mother of pearl, besides that it is plaster and it is huge! Nicholas was right. Way back in Sri Lanka, he did not want to take off his shoes to go inside the temple because he thought someone would take his shoes. He got validation for his thought process when we saw this sign outside the giant Buddha! If you can't read it it says, "Please carry your shoes, as someone may take them"!! YIKES!!

Kathleen found a giant globe near the giant Buddha. She is pointing to Penang on the map.

The grounds around the temple were beautiful. It was incredibly HOT and HUMID! These people do not ever get a break from the heat. The Muslim women looked like they could melt in all those robes they wore.

Some dancing Buddhas. Kathleen and Nicholas tried to imitate them. A dragon. Dragons are all the rage here.

Look in your closests and see if you have any Batik shirts, skirts, dresses, tableclothes etc... We toured the Batik factory today. Amazing how it is done. The Muslim lady here is painting on silk with hot wax. Once she has her desings on the fabric, it goes to painters that fill in with color. There are also Batik patterns that have a cast iron stamp that they use. Nicholas got a chance to try to paint a tablecloth. His tablecloth could be available in many catalogs across the world!
We had to buy a few things! A lot of what they make ends up in beachwear stores in the US. Bathing suit coverups all over the place, dresses and cute shirts for little boys! I'm sure I'll have a Batik night photo soon!!
Tsunami. What a horrible thought. The west coast of this island was hit hard by the Dec. 26, 2005 tsunami. The beach where Kathleen is standing is almost right on the road now. There was a Chinese cemetary on the opposite side of the road that was a wreck from the storm. The headstones and monuments are so old, there may not be living family to repair it. It also is probably very expensive to make those repairs. The Intercontenintal Hotel was right down the street from the Batik factory. It is still closed. It looked very eerie. Lots of dead plants in the window boxes and even the palm trees out front were dying. You caould tell that many homes were a total loss and gone, as there were vacant beachfront areas all along our drive. It was a Sunday when that tsunami hit. Many people were having a day at the beach. Unfortunately, our guide told us that most of the deaths on Penang were children that had gone to the beach for the day with families. Very sad.

The beaches are beautiful Malaysia has a big campaign for people to buy vacation homes here. Barring another tsunami, it would be a fabulous spot. The homes we saw that were brand new bungalows beachside were going for $90,000 US dollars.
Next stop was lunch at the Shangrila Hotel. It was wonderful The pol at that hotel was spectacular.

Thenon to Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. This mansion was built in the last century by a Chinese immigrant who amassed a fortune in Malaysia and Indonesia. It is a traditional house, Chinese house, with many wood carvins and oh so many tables! They had tables in almost every room! It had 38 rooms and 5 courtyards. No A/C though. We took a quick tour and then opted for a trishaw ride. These are different from the Chinese rikshaws as the riders are on the front and the driver is in the back!




Nicholas and me in our trishaw! They are the king of the road in Penang!!

After our full day it was back to the ship for a 6:00p.m. sailing for India! It will take us 3 days to get to India! Lots of water between here and there. This is our last sunset on this side of the world! It has been wonderful, but we are very excited about India! Got to see that cobra!!