a still more glorious dawn awaits...: Penang, Malaysia

we continue our travels now... Leaving Korea was nice, we are both glad to be moving on from there, despite the fact that we will miss the family there so very much! We will see them again, in the not so distant future. The final weeks in Korea went so fast, and with so much going on, that neither of us really had time to let it fully sink in that we were leaving there... for good. Life is changing rapidly now, and we are ready for that. We are free from bosses and alarm clocks, ready to wander aimlessly around new places just to explore, ready to lie on the beach for hours-for day, ready to catch up on some personal journeys, and spend some time with just each other.

Penang has been our first stop, an island off the west coast of Malaysia. The old, crumbling city of Georgetown has recently been named a UNESCO Heritage site and for a good reason! The confluence of cultures here is remarkable, and it is displayed vividly through the architecture of mosques and temples, and tasted through the many varieties of foods that we love so much. Malaysian, Indian, Chinese, Burmese, European, etc. They all make it work here together in a special way. The sounds and sights are new and that makes them seem exotic to us, so we walk and talk and take it all in, as usual.

We are excited for this special time we have worked so hard for. Our year in Korea has allowed us to see so much of this region, and that makes it all worth it!

Now you can see some of what we have seen:

we are overwhelmed by the number of beautiful and huge abandoned, derelict buildings there are in this city. This was once a home perhaps, or a hotel? Not sure. And below used to be a school, on beautiful grounds, now the jungle is reclaiming it. This is a relatively common sight, windows busted open by strong vines and trees growing out of windows. Like a scene from the movie Jumanji!

Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, Muslim Mosques, churches, and likely other places of worship are dotted around each neighborhood, it seems like there are a record number of religious buildings on this island. They are often intricately decorated, playing beautiful music, or burning incense.

I'm sorry to subject all your eyes to this, but I just couldn't resist. First we saw several frog items on the menu, and just skipped on to some naan with curry, chinese soup, or mutton and mint.... and then this display case caught my eye, and let me tell you: these frogs were BIG.

this barber shop was like a scene from a movie, there was one elderly man sitting inside in one of the empty chairs, beating the heat by lounging, and listening to some crackling, old radio.

the house fronts are in-and-of-themselves a sight so be seen. They are often colorful and simple, with lots of plants around.

here is one of our meals. a stone pot noodle and seafood dish with a raw egg cracked in there and below is a soup that Penang is known for called laksa, which has fish, pork (and probably frog), veggies, noodles, spices, and tons of fresh mint leaves in it.

we spotted a flea market in one of the parks in this city and strolled through to see what we could see. Lots of clothing and bags and shoes for sale, some foreign commodities (one guy was selling a box of corn flakes, no joke!), and this guy was selling rad rings that caught Josh's eye, but alas, we aren't in the business of acquiring things these days, so we ended up leaving empty handed.