Penang -- Week 23 -- In Search of a Hungry Ghost

Saturday night, we're on a mission:  find the mythical "Hungry Ghost" and photograph the heck out of him.  I'm extremely anxious to see some of that Chinese Opera and we drove past a stage on one of the side streets of Gurney Drive, so we're off. 

Night time on Gurney is fascinating.

So much color, so many people.  Life can be heard, whizzing around, somewhere between the buzz of fluorescent lights and whir of mopeds speeding by.


When we finally reach the stage, it's surrounded by people, but it contains a local cheesy pop singer, no street opera tonight.

I am not sure how the spectators here or the patrons of the immediately adjacent open-air night club with it's own band onstage, can stand the competing songs.  I can't for too long.  It's overstimulating and pains my ears.  The pop performance isn't too interesting, but there is a tent containing a huge, Hungry Ghost figure and it is surrounded by offerings.

I'm snapping away here, completely oblivious to the fact that locals don't care for photography of this event: one might capture a ghost in the photo!


On we walk; we're on a new mission.  We need to finally check out the hawker center and night market at the end of Gurney.  What we find there is unbelievable.  A vibrant city of tiny avenues and boulevards of steel hawker stands with fluorescent lights revealing their brilliantly colored foods and fruit juices.

This is a popular spot to be; patrons are here in numbers.  Techno music provides the tempo and strung lights sway along over tables and tables filled with hungry souls.

The night market is nothing much but a side diversion for those who have filled their bellies but still hunger for other silly distractions.

Mostly it's plastic toys, bubble machines, noisy, automatonic animals that yap, meow, and flip.  There are also a couple of tables filled with the typical knock offs and the ever-present, pirated DVDs.  It's no Batu Ferringhi night market.   It's about eight tables total and no repetition, thankfully.

George doesn't care much for my unsweetened star-fruit juice.

George shares his chicken satay and rice cubes with Regin while I'm totally cheating on my hypoglycemia diet with a plate full of Char Koay Teow.

Penang -- Week 22 -- Hungry Ghosts and Traumatizing Ants

WEDNESDAY - THURSDAY, August 13th & 14th

I am so frustrated that we keep missing festivals and events here.  That's part of what is amazing about Penang is all of the cultural events.  What are we doing here if we keep missing them all, and why isn't anyone from George's work letting us know about them?  I called George at work to yell about my frustration because I just found out that there is a Hungry Ghost festival and it looks like it may have already happened.  Turns out, it's the whole month.  That's a relief!  Now we still have time to go see one or more of the nightly Chinese operas that are all over town.  

The Hungry Ghost Festival is sort of the Buddhist equivalent of Halloween or Day of the Dead.  There are lots of superstitions about staying out past midnight and such, and there is some ancestor worship involved.  Apparently they burn paper maché stand ins for material goods to send on to their deceased loved ones - e.g. money, cell phones, cars, and houses.  George asked his coworkers if the cell phones would be useful to dead people in the afterlife. What kind of cell-phone service would they get there?

This sounds like an awesome and interesting tradition and I am so excited to see some Chinese opera performed in the streets!  I found a schedule of operas, so now it's a matter of figuring out where these places are.

In other news, I am starting to paint again!  I am working on that painting of the Faroes that anyone who has been to my house has seen.  I started it in 2001 or 2002 (yikes!) and never finished it.  Now it's getting kind of close to complete.  

There was blank canvas in the bottom right corner, I just didn't want to finish those boats!  And now that I'm trying to, I know why! What a pain!  So much detail and my skewed/flattened perspective is making it hard to paint all those lines and angles.  Anyway, I have paint on my hands again and I love it.

The bamboo blinds in our laundry room broke.  This big old roll of blinds just broke off and dropped to the ground (inside the balcony, don't worry, no one outside was in danger).  I am glad it didn't fall on me!  That thing is huge!  The maintence guy came by to look at it and he wants to close in the room with sliding-glass windows. 

I have mixed feelings about it.  He says I can still open the windows fully for drying laundry, but having an al fresco laundry room was part of my unique experience -- even if I don't love it, I'm not sure I want it taken away.  

Sorry, can't say the same for the geckos or ants.  I don't think I'll get sentimental if someone comes over to rid me of them.  I would kick my heels with glee.  In fact, they upset me so much that -- even though I killed my back saving the lives of hundreds of tadpoles as a kid (I was that obsessed with animals and believed so strongly in the value of all life) -- I have become sadistic and delight in the fact that hundreds of ants can be swept away with the food they're swarming around.  I love to watch them be shoved around by my mighty broom!  (Insert audio clip of evil laugh here.)

Penang -- Week 25 -- The Hungry Ghost of Merdeka Past

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, August 30th & 31 (continued)
We're on the hunt again for that pesky hungry ghost everyone is talking about. 

There are people lighting candles, joss sticks, incense, and burning piles of paper on street corners and in the streets all over George Town.

 

 

We look and look and can't find any street opera still going on in the evening.  But when we get back to the apartment, we can see Merdeka Eve celebrations going strong on Gurney Drive.  So we put Regin in a wrap and go down to take some pictures and be in the middle of it all.  There are fireworks displays in the distance, on about 5 or 10 points along the horizon where the day's fading light has already long obscured our view of the mainland.  Much closer to us, people light some flares. 

In the street, there are groups of young people riding on their mopeds waving flags and screaming. 

There are cars decorated with flags, and kids who walk by have flags on their backs.  This seems to be going on all night, so eventually when we tire of the car fumes that are so heavy I can taste them in my mouth, we go back to the apartment to crash.  It's after midnight.  Happy Merdeka Day!

Sunday we intend to go check out the Merdeka Day parade down at Queensbay Mall, but by the time we get there, it's long over.  But since we're here, we may as well take part in a favorite Malaysian past time: shopping.  There are sales galore for Merdeka.  There is also a clown which Regin isn't also interested in.

There are flags everywhere.  Here's one inside TGIFridays. 

Mr. Cool:

Penang -- Week 25 -- An Afternoon Walk on Gurney Drive

Week 25
WEEKEND, August 29th - 31st
Lots of things going on this weekend (though that's not so unusual here).  It's the end of the Hungry Ghost festival, so there is stuff going on with that, plus it's yet another long weekend for George since Sunday is Merdeka, Malaysia's national day. 

Saturday we're out and about.  Regin is carrying Ducky with him everywhere.

 

 

Poor Rada has such a hard time staying awake in her guard house.  It's so hot in there and there is so little to keep her brain occupied.  She often gives me excuses about medication making her sleepy, but she's ALWAYS falling asleep.

 

 

We thought we were going to eat at Mr. Pot, but they have mostly just coffee and sweet things.  So then we walked back home to the car and drove to this place we've been before where they have lots of shops and restaurants.  They were having a Thai festival with food, goods, and performances.