Like everything good and fun, Abbi's reign as princess of Penang eventually had to come to an end. Prior to putting her on the plane this week we tried to squeeze in a last couple of fun meals and adventures. Such as what was initially pitched as the "seafood extravaganza sendoff"
which quicky became the stuff of legend, by virtue of the following learnings:
1) Perhaps the waiter knows best when he says "you're ordering way too much food." Despite American expat overconfidence and gluttony, we reluctantly had to concede at meal's end that he was right.
2) Family style and split the bill equally is a mistake if you've come to the party "not that hungry, or just feeling like some chicken". It's a bonanza if you've ordered a giant cauldron of river prawn curry soup. That you thought was for two, but was actually scaled up for the entire party of 15. Also, the river prawns were actually the first to enjoy the soup as they were added live to the cauldron and underwent a very spicy demise. There was much table debate about whether this was more or less humane way to go.
3) When the menu prices are primarily listed as "market", it's easy to handwave away and say "food is cheap in Penang, I'm sure it will be fine". And honestly, it was fine, and 100% worth it - the creatures were expertly prepared and delicious, the table conversation was fun. Also, instead, we could have bought Abbi a new motorcycle for the price of the bill. To be fair, motorcycles are cheaper here. And split 15 ways - no worse that a nice night out in Portland.
The month of Ramadan concludes with the Hari Raya celebration - we took advantage of a couple of days holiday to go to Kuala Lumpur for a long weekend
The biologist Abbi had been lobbying to visit the bird sanctuary that sits right in the middle of the city. It did not disappoint, tons of variety in the birds and even a few that you can pose with
We also checked out the aquarium - don't recommend this on a holiday Saturday. And some batik painting - definitely enjoyed this - so much so that we're looking to try and do this again here in Penang. Tried a couple of cool restaurants. Also ate at this place. Which you may recognize.
And if you look closely, you might see a small tear sliding down my cheek. Five Guys isn't my favorite burger place back home by a long shot. But at this moment...it was perfect. Because everything was exactly the same as in the US...down to the cajun fries seasoning and the ketchup (sounds trivial but its not) and Social Distortion blasting thru the restaurant speakers. Don't get me wrong, traveling to exotic places and experiencing new cultures is fantastic. But after 8 months of exotic, a perfect cheeseburger nearly brought me to my knees.
In her final week, took some dad-Abbi time exploring Georgetown - some street art, some street performers, and the food that went with it
Jo is back in Oregon for a couple of weeks, leaving me lonely but also able to do a few things that aren't her cup of tea. Or at least not the cup of tea her left hip appreciates. So yesterday I went up Penang hill. I didn't take a picture at the top because it was pretty hazy. I did take a picture to chronicle my mood after 30 minutes of straight downpour
Also met this handsome tortoise in the middle of the trail. We had a moment together discussing our common pace up the hill.
My calves might be a little tight today
I'll wrap this up with a little feature I'll call "road signs you don't see every day" - spotted on my way down the hill, since I elected to walk the road since the really steep trail had gotten slippery in the rain.
Why shouldn't there be a little artistic license given for warning of falling rocks and breaking trees? I give the Penang hill road signs four stars
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