"Are You Kidding Me?" (dedicated to Elaine and Bill for Jazz Fest)

We were in Penang, Malaysia during the first weekend of Jazz Fest--
what does one say during that venerable time frame when walking the streets of a city far, far away and sees the following:

a bar called "Voodoo", another called "Uptown", a street named "Magazine", a street vendor("hawker")selling Fried Oysters, a stairway rail with carved Fleurs de Lis (plural?), cab drivers who talk your ear off, and a menu at our hotel bar touting "Cajun spice"--all in a country where spice is the essence of food (and it was a delight!).

Their typical eating places are "coffee shops" which are especially Jazz Fest-like in that they are comprised of numerous stalls with food of every type you can think of...and you can't be mediocre to be inclueded either!One of the stalls ran out...must be a local favorite! The city was bursting with families from all over the immediate and further away countries for their Labor Day celebrations. The lines at the food stalls were reminiscent of....

All aside, Penang is a wonderful cosmopolitan city and its George Town section has the grand feel of the Vieux Carre, but of all different cultures--Penang has many high rises, beaches and a mind bending botanical garden-a high speed tram up and downa Penang hill--(a mountain we walked up half way, but "hit the wall" and had to hitch a ride for last 2 miles )and a true global melting pot of cultures which seem to get on very well together--- Mosques near Hindu Temples-Chinese culture is also prevalent--Toss in the fact that Malaysia received independence from Great Britain in 1957 and you get a true gumbo.--Didn't know this place (Penang) even existed and we're supposed to be educated!

A local Family at a "coffee shop" adopted us. We sat and talked for an hour. They treated us to local Satay. Delicious and different than the Satay we eat in Thailand. Cab drivers and shopkeepers, staff and restauranteurs all welcomed us and bragged on their city. We sat and drank tea at a tea shop with the 19 year old daughter of the owner. She left college to work in the familiy business. We had a wonderful conversation and learned something about tea and the art of tea pot artistry in China. Not too many Americans. Yet, we never felt like foreigners.