The short break



Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang


This year's eid and merdeka came side-by-side in a perfect calender month. A poignant coincidence as I celebrated the death of my life's first career during the country's independence day. I mostly felt numb. Made a lot of references to work and colleagues during the holidays and feeling so strange that I didn't have a blackberry to check for messages from the bosses.

Life was still for almost a week. I guess my parents sensed that I would be nursing the loss by whisking me away for a family holiday in Penang.

Mostly I don't like family holidays. Being in a single-child family there is plenty of opportunity for awkward silences and strained overtures of planned itineraries. But this time, I was glad for the solitude it afforded me. I was in a town I didn't recognise and didn't care to get to know. Everything was familiar yet strange, trying hard to look pretty but failing at the edges.

On either side of the holiday I had time with the extended family. Cousins and nieces and nephews all crammed together in my grandmother's ancient home all trying to talk over each other. That was the nice part of the break. The attention on everything else but me. Other times I just buried myself into this new book I can't stop reading. About black maids in 1963 Mississippi that can make me cry actual tears and laugh out loud all under 5 minutes.


Verandah, Suffolk House, Penang

Penang itself was inexhaustible. Constantly churning as rich Penang-ites try to turn the island into something resembling closer to a cosmopolitan while ordinary folk cling to the old traditions of nasi kandar, wet markets and white colonial buildings in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. Still there is money in the air, of that I have no doubt. What else could explain the hot soup of roads crammed with imported cars and gleaming new apartment towers soon to be outdone by new upcoming ones still under construction.


Scenes of Penang

 

English afternoon tea at the E&O and Suffolk House

 The highlight of my trip was the Suffolk House and the hotel we stayed in, the Eastern & Oriental Penang. Both very old and lovingly restored to their full 1800s colonial glory. I love colonial architecture and its clever use of space and windows to allow its occupants to remain cool despite the sweltering tropical heat. Rooms tend to take their time to unfold before you so that enough air can dance in and out without making you feel that you've plonked yourself into a steamer.

Suffolk House used to be the residence of British Governors and other important colonial officers. We were told that it was probably also the setting for many an expat social scenes in those days and though the actual building was smallish in size, there was a modest hall in the middle of each level that hinted at how central those events were in the lives of the occupants. The property has been lovingly restored by donations from private individuals and various corporations. It was a little tricky to get to but once there, it was worth the trek. Try the afternoon tea to calm the nerves a bit and just stare out onto the green lawns for a minute to help clear the head.


View of the Suffolk House tea room and the upstairs verandah

On the whole I would not say that Penang left much of an impression on me but I suspect that it's the sort of place that grows on you. The food was good but I didn't get the chance to sample as wide a variety as I would have liked. Give it ten more years and I also think that the island will surprise us so much more.

***

Back in KL and the first thing I did when I walked into my house is thank the heavens that I live on my own. More quietness and all my things left undisturbed. But mostly, I'm glad I can be left alone for the rest of the weekend. I took off my trousers and walked my heavy heart to bed.

Tomorrow will be better. The sun will come out again and make things look as different as they already are.