Indian Wedding

Posing with the bridge and groom.  They welcomed me as if I were an old friend.

The past Friday was another  public holiday in Malaysia, this to observe Buddha's birthday.    Schools and government offices were closed and the road to Batu Ferringhi where I live on the island of Penang was packed with holiday makers from Kuala Lumpur and other "out station" cities.  I was planning to drive my motorbike into Georgetown Friday night to watch the Buddhist procession from temple to temple, and I was quite looking forward to it.

As it turned out I got a better offer.  My neighbor and good friend, Steven Wong, invited me to wedding of friends of his who happened to be Indian and he assured me it was an event that I would enjoy.  Interestingly we went to the wrong address mistaking the Hall of Caring for the Hall of Moral Uplifting.  (You gotta love the names of some of the places which probably sound more prosaic in the original language before being translated into English.) The first was stone quiet and we observed many Muslims dressed to the nines obviously for a celebration of some kind.  Steven knew immediately we were in the wrong place and made calls to get the correct location.  When we got to the Indian wedding, the music was pouring from the hall, people were chatting everywhere and it was obvious there was a party in the making.

We presented our angpow (wedding gift money for the couple customarily given in a red envelope) to Steven's friend, an uncle of the groom,  at the door and then were ushered through flower filled trellises where family members welcomed us and showed us to the bride and groom.  At first we were seated on the downstairs level of the hall , but for reasons that would become obvious shortly, we were requested to move to a table on the balcony on the enormous hallway.  It seemed the downstairs is where the family and non drinkers were seated.  Up the stairway was where it was happening.  Pretty soon we were offered beer or juice, so of course you know what I ordered.  I mean, for the same amount of calories, doesn't it just make sense?  I was surprised when the beer was Budweiser.  Too bad that I did not take a photo of the can which is the can design from when I started to drink beer back in the late 60's.  I am so accustomed to local Tiger beer and when I found out how expensive Bud is in Malaysia I will stick to my Tiger.   The beer was free flowing and I always had an unopened can waiting for me before I emptied my glass.  By this time the music was cranked up and about every other song was Bollywood style dance number.  Indian music affects me much like Latin music.  I just can't sit still.  The ladies did not dance but the men danced in circles or pairs or all alone.  Reluctantly at first I was dragged to the dance floor and pretty soon it was high fives all around.  One young boy, a nephew of the groom, took a shine to me and wanted me up and dancing all night.

Dinner was served to each table on a  lazy susan.  There was a big bowl of rice in the center and surrounding the rice were mutton, chicken, vegetables, fish, nan and all very delicious.  I think I was the only Caucasian in attendance and I had plenty of attention, everyone wanting to know if the food was too spicy  and if I had enough to eat.  There was wedding cake but I did not go for that.

After dinner bottles of Chivas Scotch was placed on the tables and the party continued.  I was negligent taking photos but I can blame it on the Chivas.  There are a few which I will publish here.  Some of my new friends had even persuaded me to go onstage and dance with the professional dancers, but luckily my Penang stage debut was upstaged by the families' welcoming speeches.  It was such a colorful night with great music, delicious Indian food, abundant drink, another of the kind of experiences that make me live to travel.

Steven Wong was my first new friend in Penang and he has helped me feel at home here.

This was the food for the wedding.  Delicious chicken curry, mutton vindaloo, veggies and basmati rice.  I am hungry just thinking about it.

Hey Y'all

As I have mentioned previously, Malaysia was a part of the British Empire until about 50 years ago.  The English spoken here is very British, quite different from how we speak in the US.  I have found myself using words like "rubbish" and "car park" instead of "trash" and "garage."  Language peculiarities are another facet of living here that I find ever so amusing.
Over the years having lived in so many places I have developed an accent-less speech pattern to be more easily understood and it is not until I get more comfortable with my surroundings that I naturally start using southern idioms  like "fixing to ..." and "eating supper."  What I really miss is the easy toggle between "you" and "y'all".   I have not figured out yet how English speaking people not native southerners communicate an individual "you" or a plural "you".   It is a conundrum I've tried to solve for years, alas unsuccessfully.   My great-nephew, James Renfroe, who has lived most of his life in Seattle but went to Valdosta State University until he graduated last year told me before he left south Georgia he was going to take "y'all" back with him to Seattle and teach his buddies there how to use it. I am planning to be back in Georgia in the fall and one of the many pleasures will be freely communicating.

Hello to all.  I think I may have figured a way to resume blogging on my new computer and I am glad to be back in contact with you via blog spot.  I am sorry for the long interruption but I replaced my HP laptop with an Apple several months ago and I honestly have had a very difficult time learning to use this new operating system. It may seem like a flimsy excuse but it is the truth.  Now I have to get back into  the routine of updating and taking photos.  I have become complacent and lazy during my downtime.  Now that I am back I will try to do better.
So much has happened since I last wrote.  I will hit a few highlights.  I was in Penang for Christmas and had a lovely day with English friends who invited me to spend the holiday with them. We had a typical English Christmas dinner with roasted chicken,  leg of lamb, Yorkshire pudding, trifle and poppers.  I brought eggnog that I made combining recipes from several sources and I added enough brandy that everyone seemed to like it.

Jackie Honey and her daughter Corrie invited me for Chritmas dinner.  It is an English custom the break poppers and wear silly paper hats on Christmas.  Seems very Charles Dickens.  Corrie's boyfriend Paul is not pictured because he was busy cooking at photo time.

        

            Some of the CHristmas day spread                                                           

Early in January I had to exit Malaysia so that I could get another 3 month visa.  I went to Bangkok to visit my old friend Tosh Asada who is now living there.  David Cheng, another friend who lives in  New York, met me and we had a fine time exploring that bustling city together.  It was the first time that my two very dear friends had met and I was a little apprehensive that there would be some friction.  Fortunately they were quite compatible and I was interested to hear their very insightful conversations about me.  

                            David Cheng and Tosh Asada chatting on the ferry in Bangkok

Mister Ed posing in front of an unusual sculpture at Bangkok Art Center

It was children's day in Bangkok and this boy was showing me something about Muay Thai boxing

I got back to Penang in time for the next major festival in this multicultural city.  This was the mega Indian festival call Thaipusam and it occurs when several planets and stars align, something like the dawning of the age of Aquarius.  Devotees fast and pray in preparation for the finale when they pierce themselves with huge fish hook looking wires or swordlike daggers and then proceed trance like through the streets to a huge Hindu temple where they are absolved of their sins.  In all my experiences this is probably the most bizarre I have ever seen and I still cringe when I think about those swords passing through people's tongues or cheeks.  Yikes!  I took a million pictures and here are a few.

After Thaipusam came Chinese new years and sadly I was out of town for the big night when my Chinese family here invited me for their traditional new years dinner.  It was quite an honor to be invited and I was so disappointed that I had committed myself to go to Langkawi Island at that time.  Langkawi is a duty free port accessible by 4 hour ferry from Penang.  I went with an English lady  friend, Marian Grove, who was here for the winter and her son and his girlfriend.  Since alcohol is very highly taxed in this Muslim country I took advantage of the opportunity to buy duty free Baileys, Jack Daniels and Malibu rum.  

Marian Grove from London dressed in sari for a night out

Since then not too much has happened.  I bought a guitar and I am relearning to play a little bit.  I try to hike 8 miles and swim 30 minutes every day.  That pretty well takes up my mornings.  In the afternoons I usually nap, shop, go to cinema or run errands.   I added another year this month so I am a little closer to social security benefits at age 66.  Thankfully I am very healthy.  I  became a little worried about my stomach a few weeks ago but I had it checked out and the doctor told me there was no sign of any serious problem.  He advised abstaining from coffee and spicy food.  I asked how I am supposed to eat non spicy food in Penang.  My life is good and I  appreciate every day.  When I was in my 20's I envisioned myself living something like I am living now.  So I guess it is all coming together.  

Thanks for reading and I will do better with blogging now that I have found out how.

 This is one of my favorite hiking trails.  It is in the jungle just uphill from where I live.

                                                          I swim every day and I have found swimming laps with a  snorkel.   

Celebrating my birthday on May 13 with my friend Shah Sukur.  I wanted Mexican food but it seems there is non in all of Penang so we had Italian which was a fine second choice.