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Penang is a state on the northwest coast of Malaysia. Its capital is George Town, located on Penang Island. George Town is about 118 square miles, with a population of almost 800,000 people. George Town was also our port for the day.
Both Gail and Russell were scheduled to escort the three-hour “George Town by Trishaw” excursion. We thought it would be run to ride around (possibly with each other or next to each other) in pedal cab rickshaws. When Gail read the description, however, she learned there would be a one-hour walk during the excursion. Given the hot weather and her sore feet, she decided to change to the three-hour “The Art of Batik” excursion instead.
Gail ended up loving this excursion. She was able to get onto it because some other guests had cancelled. Each attendee was able to create their own batik design on a piece of cloth. While each project had been prepared with the individual guest’s name, the hosts were able to create a new project for Gail to work on.
Batik is originally an Indonesian art. It is a “wax-resistant” dyeing process. You draw designs (dots and lines) in wax with a stylus or stamp. The applied wax resists dyes. So you can soak your cloth in one color, remove the wax with boiling water, then keep repeating for multiple colors. Gail ended up with an absolutely gorgeous and unique piece of batik artwork, which is now hanging on our stateroom wall.
Meanwhile, Russell escorted the “George Town by Trishaw” excursion. As promised, the guests were able to ride around George Town in pedal cab rickshaws. Our guide told us that when Americans ride in trishaws, they are allocated one person per vehicle instead of two people. (Apparently, Americans are generally rather large people.) So Russell got to ride around in an individual trishaw.
The excursion took everyone to several scenic sites around George Town, including Khoo Kongsi (the grand temple of a prominent Chinese clan) and Chung Keng Kooi Mansion (the home of Malaya’s once-richest man). Guests were also able to walk around historic Armenien and Pitt Streets, famous for their street art.
We were smarter this time, and we made arrangements to meet back up after our excursions ended. We made our way (with some difficulty) to the local food market in Little India, where we had our now-usual lunch of spicy noodle bowls. We are getting the hang of this!