Passage to Penang
IT was my mom’s first trip abroad, she was excited to be living in a foreign land. She would often reminisce of her life with my dad in Penang, saying it was the best years of their marriage.
They had a driver who would address them as “master” and a Chinese nanny who spoke to their eldest daughter, Ella, in Chinese. They lived in a nice neighborhood where rich Malaysian businessmen had summer homes. Despite the upgrade in lifestyle, life was simpler for them then, less complicated, no distractions. They spent more time together as a family and relied on each other for emotional support.
Forty-two years later, my mom thought of returning for sentimental reasons. What was originally a weekend trip with my dad, became a family affair with my second sister Niña and her daughter Nikki, me (the youngest of their three daughters) and my husband Nacho. Niña and I were born after my parents had moved back to the Philippines, so stories of their life in Penang remained a myth to us.
There are still no direct flights from Manila to Penang. From Cebu, my dad, mom, Nacho and I flew to Manila to meet up with Niña and Nikki. Last June, we boarded a Philippine Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL), spent the night, then took a quick one-hour Air Asia flight to Penang the next day for our family weekend getaway.
My parents could no longer recognize modern day Penang. The initial itinerary was for them to visit their old neighborhood and wax nostalgic. But with almost the whole family in tow, we had to spice things up. As the family’s designated travel concierge, I did some research months before our trip.
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, or The Blue Mansion, came highly recommended by our veterinarian. It is ‘One of the 10 Greatest Mansions in the World’ according to Lonely Planet in 2011. A 19th century mansion of the late tycoon Cheong Fatt Tze, it was restored to its original form in 1990. Today, it has 18 beautifully conserved and restored suites, each uniquely special, decorated with precious family heirlooms, equipped with modern amenities and opulent luxury befitting a tycoon’s home.
With my nine-year-old niece in tow, I was a little worried. What was a kid to do in Penang? Surprisingly, there were plenty fun museums to check out. At the Upside Down Museum, everything was displayed upside down, ushers acted as photographers and stylists, directing guests where to stand and how to pose, taking Instagram-worthy pictures. The 3D Trick Art Museum used both perspective murals as well as life-sized figures that protruded from walls. When taking pictures, you become part of the exhibit, offering a unique and different experience.
The streets of Penang are renowned as a food paradise. Forget about the comforts of air conditioning and be prepared to scour every nook and cranny for the best must-eat local street food. We enjoyed the char koay teow (flat rice noodles sautéed with bean sprouts, tofu, shrimps, and vegetables), chicken and pork satay with a really tasty peanut dipping sauce, Hainanese chicken rice, oyster omelette, an assortment of squid and fish balls, among others.
Equally outstanding are the locally-grown fruits like durian, mangosteen and rambutan. The meat easily separated from the seed, they were plump, sweet and juicy!
We hired a van and guide for a trip down memory lane. First stop was my parents’ old address in Jesselton Crescent. A beautiful neighborhood with treelined streets, big houses with huge lawns and gardens, we found their exact address, but where a different house now stood. We stopped by and said a prayer at the Pulau Tikus Catholic Church where they used to attend Sunday mass. They also showed us the Penang Adventist Hospital, where they went for medical consultations, and the Penang Botanical Gardens, where they would hang out on weekends.
The entire of George Town has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. Officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) as having cultural, historical, scientific or some other form of significance, it is legally protected by international treaties. The aim was to retain the original architecture of the buildings. Our guide mentioned that in Penang, the people are more afraid of Unesco than their local government. So for an interior designer like me, I enjoyed the British colonial buildings and Chinese shophouses in their natural or restored forms.
Street art in Penang was popularized in 2012. I remember in one of the seasons of Amazing Race Asia, teams were tasked to find particular street art around Penang, pose and take a picture to get their next clue. So it became like a mission for Niña, Nacho and me to find as many as we could and compose different poses for the photo.
As a finale to the weekend, Pa treated the family to a fine dining experience at the Indigo Restaurant at The Blue Mansion. Lunch was a three-course prix fixe menu. It was an unforgettable dining experience and a great way to end our stay at the Mansion.
For my parents, the visit to their old neighborhood was the highlight. For Niña and me, what was once a myth became reality. We could only wish that my dad’s expat contract was extended so we could have experienced living there too. But for my mom, just revisiting Penang 42 years later was a wish come true.
*My mom, Alice, inspired me to travel at a young age. Growing up, my dad, Roger, was the frugal one, who did not like to spend on traveling, especially abroad, but he traveled a lot on business trips. Shortly after my parents got married in 1972, he received an offer to work as an expat for Intron Industries in Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia. They lived in Penang between March 1973 to 1975.