We saw some amazing things. Khoo Kongsi (a Chinese clan house), Fort Cornwallis, the Penange State Museum, and a massive reclining Buddha.
First stop was Khoo Kongsi. Kongsi means clan house and this one belonged to the Khoo family. The clans were established to look after people who had come from the same village in China. There are several Kongsi around Penang but this is the most spectactular and has been expertly refurbished so it is full of bright colours as well as copious amounts of gold leaf and intricate detail.
There is the main temple and smaller shrines on either sides. The clan would give its members some financial help when they went off to university, and in each shrine, there are plaques to honour all their successful graduands with the person's name and degree.
When we were in one of these shrines, there was a Chinese couple there and I had an (almost) irrestible urge to ask if they belonged to this Kongsi. I resisted by reminding myself that (a) there are a lot of Chinese people and they're not all related and (b) it would be awkward to ask "Are you from the Khoo Clan?"
Anyway, the Chinese man then volunteered that he was, in fact, a Khoo from Kuala Lumpur, and that he was here to check whether they'd put his plaque up. I guess this proves that (a) at least some Chinese people are related, and (b) I save my tact for entirely the wrong situations.
The Penang State Museum sadly (but a little mercifully) did not allow photos, but it did set straight on the history of Penang.
Before the museum, we had tried to work out a basic chronology of the different ethnicities arriving in Penang. While at the museum, we learned that our conversation had included many inaccuracies. Here's an idea of how the conversation went (not naming any names).
"Why did the British colonise Penang when it had already been pretty well colonised by the Indians, Chinese and Malays?" (Turns out it was much more complex than this.)
"They can't have minded the colonisation too much - they put up that clocktower to Queen Elizabeth." (It was for Queen Victoria.)
"That clocktower definitely would have been put up by the colonists, not the locals." (Again untrue; it was paid for by a local Chinese man.)
"It must have been for Elizabeth I because it's too early for Elizabeth II." (See above.)
"When was Elizabeth I around?"
"I think it went Elizabeth I, Victoria, George, Elizabeth II." (It didn't.)
So, the Museum was educative to say the least. Here's a photo from the Minimoto championship that was taking place outside the town hall and a photo of markets.
We were headed to Nyonya Baba Cuisine. Nyonya Babe is the name of Chinese people whose ancestors came to Penang several hundred years ago and who have adopted some Malay customs and intermarried with the Malay people.
Luckily for us, this fusion leads to some great tasting food. I found it to be like Chinese but fresher and fruitier. This restaurant is family-owned and they stick to the traditional recipes. They're also very much into their marinades, includng lime juice and tamarind paste. Mmm.
It was such a big day that I watched HBO instead of finishing the blog, so it's a few days late. I'll try to get up to date tonight.
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