So I've been here for just over a month now, and definitely enjoying it.
George Town is fab. It's got a huge concentration of people living in it, and it's definitely very busy, but it feels safe and welcoming, and it smells amazing from all the incense that's burned!
I've been learning a lot about the history of George Town, because I've been researching to write the information boards for Suffolk House, which is a big kind of stately home that's been restored and opened to the public. It's interesting to see how George Town acquired such a mix of cultures, but it can't explain the harmony with which they live together, which is actually pretty awesome. There are really diverse populations of Muslim Indians living next to Chinese graveyards where people worship their ancestors, right across the street from a Thai Buddhist temple. It's a brilliant mix, and they all co-exist without violence or too many problems at all. I don't know how they've managed it but a lot of other countries could do with taking a look. Apart from anything else, it means that the food's great!
I'll put some pics up soon but I've done a few tourist things...went to see the Koon Kongsi Clanhouse (very ornate, very gold), the Tropical Spice Garden, Sun Yat Sen house where one of the instigators of the Chinese revolution lived, and a Muslim museum. I also went to Pangkor Island where David and Rebecca have another house which is usually used as a hotel, and that was breathtaking. It's so jungley and lush it makes you feel like you're in a commercial for Hawaiian Tropic or something!
Other than that I've just been hanging out with Tessa baking muffins, playing monopoly and bananagrams and going swimming and to the movies (and driving the automatic car which is basically like driving a dodgem). I've also been writing a lot of letters for the Penang Heritage Trust about swiftlet farming and trying to get fundraising, so at least my brain isn't turning to mush just yet :D And a friend from Mae Sot came down to visit on his way back to the States, so it was lovely to catch up with him.
Hope you're all well X
