Penang, Malaysia: Settling In

We ended up settling in Penang by happenstance. Our original plan was to hop south through the Thai islands and make our way to Penang, which is in northwest Malaysia (just under Thailand), and head to mainland Malaysia from there. But being on the go all the time was getting pretty hard, and Robby and I had a heart to heart about what we needed, which was to settle in one place for a while. So we scrapped the islands, and as I read more about Penang, I was convinced (and then convinced Robby) that we should stay there for a month. Two days in, we extended our stay by another week. We loved everything about Penang – the food, the culture, the architecture, the art, the people, the weekly festivals. It is a place filled with history and culture and incredible food, and the icing on the cake – nearly everyone speaks English.

This first post is going to be all about us settling into life in Penang. In the next post or two, we’ll share more about the art and food, and the touristy and fun things we did there.

Where We Stayed

Penang is not a coconuts-and-palm-trees kind of island. The eastern perimeter is all city and the interior consists of green hills and jungle. The main city in Penang is Georgetown, and we stayed just north of Georgetown in an area called Tanjung Tokong, which is close to the expat neighborhood. We stayed in a 3 bedroom/3 bath apartment (with an oven – we paid more to have an oven), on the 40th floor of a building that has two enormous pools, an exercise room, and a playground. This is the first apartment we stayed in that had no reviews on Airbnb (it was new) and we were pretty worried about that, but it was hands down the best place we’ve stayed on this trip. The views from every room were stunning and included views of mainland Malaysia, which is only about 10 miles away. We spent a lot of time on our balcony relaxing and admiring the views..

Setting the Kids Up

First order of business was to find activities for the kids. We enrolled Ari in a short-term preschool. Many families from Korea, China, and Japan spend extended time in Penang (anywhere from several months to a year) so their kids can learn English. We found a small English-speaking preschool that caters to these families (as well as local families) that was a 10-minute walk from our apartment, and enrolled Ari three days a week. She wasn’t thrilled at first but grew to really love it and looked forward to her school days.

While walking to the market on our first day in Penang, I noticed a small music studio called Cornerstone Academy in a shopping center just across the street from our apartment building. So I hopped in, and signed Reed and Ari up for piano lessons with Ms. Sue. Reed had lessons twice a week to brush up on his skills and learn a few songs, and Ari had a lesson once a week. They both adored Ms. Sue and their lessons in the studio.

We explored another huge shopping center near our apartment building and discovered a gymnastics studio and a martial arts studio. Ari took gymnastics classes 2-3 times a week, and Reed alternated between Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai boxing classes 5-6 days a week. He has never been all that into martial arts but he really enjoyed both classes and is looking forward to finding a studio when we get home.

Ari and Miles both knew how to swim before we left but they weren’t very good. So we took advantage of the pool and signed them both up for swim lessons 1-2 times a week with a fantastic teacher. They now swim like little fishies.

All of these lessons were incredibly cheap and affordable, but they were also serious and good. We felt really lucky to be staying in area that gave Ari and Reed some time away from us and with kids their age.

Homeschool

Having Ari in school and some semblance of a schedule helped Reed and I find a pretty good homeschool rhythm. We had school every weekday morning for 2-3 hours, and then were free to enjoy our day. We were getting really bored with the 5th grade social studies book that we brought with us, so I found a great resource: Teachers Pay Teachers, where, as the name implies, teachers can buy resources from other teachers. I bought a social studies activity set from an incredible 5th grade teacher from Oklahoma, and it has made the teaching and learning so much more interactive, fun, and enjoyable. Hats off to homeschool parents; it is rewarding but hard!

Penang hails itself as the Silicon Valley of Southeast Asia, and has a very sophisticated science and tech scene. The city hosted a very impressive science fair that was open to the public. Robby and Reed went and had a really great day admiring the kids’ science projects and tinkering in the hands-on stations hosted by corporate sponsors. There is also a pretty great science museum in Penang called the Tech Dome that Reed really loved.

Eating In and Dining Out

Robby was really happy to be back in a fully equipped kitchen again, and it was so great (words cannot express how great) to be able to eat good home cooked meals. There was a large grocery store next door that carried a lot of foods from home and fresh fruits and vegetables, and we were there every other day.

We also loved grabbing quick meals from the hawker stalls, kind of like outdoor food courts. We’ll talk more about the food in our next post because it was a big and delicious part of our time there, but briefly, Penang is a melting pot of Malay, Hindu, and Chinese cultures, and the food reflects that. We couldn’t get enough of the pan mee (flat noodles with anchovy broth, and topped with crispy fried anchovies, shiitake mushrooms, and vegetables), char kuey teow (a flat noodle dish that can best be described as a mix of chow mein and pad thai), beef rendang (beef stew made with spices and coconut milk), and dim sum, among other foods.

Weekly Festivals

A weekly newsletter called Penang Free Sheet highlights all the goings on around town, and it was easy to keep track of the multitude of art pop ups and festivals. On Saturdays, we went to the Hin Bus Depot, an art and events space, to check out their art exhibits. Ari made a friend whose grandma owns a little shop there, so we went back a couple of times so they could play. We also bought a cool piece of art.

On Sundays, the city hosts an event called Occupy Beach Street, where Beach Street in Georgetown closes down and food stalls and carnival-like activities are set up for kids.

There was a literary and art festival in the park, where free kids books were handed out and authors told elaborate stories to tents full of kids and adults.

The street food in Penang is some of the best food we’ve had on this trip. We were very lucky to be there during the Penang Street Food Festival, a two day event during which two major streets in Georgetown close down and hundreds of food stalls line about four blocks. We ate so much. It started to pour during the festival, but it was still packed. Robby and I ate under an awning while the kids danced in the rain.

Getting Date Nights Back

We were in a pretty big apartment building with security, so Robby and I felt comfortable leaving Reed to babysit the little kids so that we could spend some time together. We went out a few times, usually to a restaurant walking distance from our apartment. But one night we ventured a little bit further to a street called Love Lane, a bit of a touristy area with a whole lot of restaurants featuring many different cuisines. We passed one called Holy Guacamole, and sat right down (we miss Mexican food). We didn’t expect that they would get the Mexican flavors right, but the food was very good. We were impressed. After dinner, we walked through Georgetown a bit, ogling the architecture, and had some drinks at a cool little dive bar called Junk.

Making Friends

We met and became good friends with a family from Japan. Shiori and her 6 year old son, Jinta, rented an apartment in our building for 3 months, and Jinta was enrolled in Ari’s school to learn English. Our kids don’t speak Japanese and Jinta did not really speak English, but the kids loved each other and had a great time playing together.

We typically host Thanksgiving dinner back at home, and we were looking forward to keeping the tradition. We invited Shiori and Jinta and their friends who were in town visiting, and we also invited our friend Marshall to join us for dinner. Marshall was our cab driver one evening, and we got to talking about hiking during our ride with him. He said he would love to take us on a hike; we took him up on that offer and spent a day hiking through the forest with him (more on that in our next post); and he joined us for Thanksgiving. We kept it simple: two ducks, Robby’s famous Caesar salad, sweet potatoes, and stuffing.

We arrived in Penang with very few expectations, but we left with so many great memories and we reminisce often about our time there.

Thoughts and Musings

Malaysia is a Muslim country but Penang is a mixture of Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim. Nonetheless, we heard the call to prayer five times a day. There were two mosques near our building, so it became our daily soundtrack.

The Malay people we met were so friendly and could not care less about our religion, but the Malaysian government (particularly its prime minister) is openly anti-semitic and hostile to Jews and Israel. Israelis are not allowed in Malaysia without special permission from the Malaysian government, and it is unclear how that permission is to be obtained. Malaysians are also prohibited from traveling to Israel. Their passports specifically say: “This passport is valid for all countries except Israel.” I have feelings about this – very strong feelings – and at first questioned whether we should go to Malaysia. But a government’s leader or policy does not always represent the views of its people (I’m looking at you, United States), so we went and we are glad we did.

The Hindu swastika is ubiquitous in Penang. We know it is a positive symbol in the Hindu culture but it was hard to see it around all the time.

Getting around Penang was remarkably easy. We used Grab (Southeast Asia’s version of Uber) to go everywhere, and most rides were between $1-3. Drivers were incredibly friendly.

We potty trained Miles in Penang. We bought a potty from a local kids’ store. We did not have any of the potty training books, but we found a You Tube personality who reads children’s books aloud, and in her repertoire is the potty book that I love and used for Reed and Ari. I muted it and read it to Miles every day. I hated every minute of potty training – we were basically homebound for more than a week, and it is no fun in the best of circumstances. But I am so happy we got through it. We are done with diapers for good.

We have a bin full of Legos that the kids play with all the time, but at one of the malls in Penang, we found a place called Blok where, for a few dollars an hour, a kid can rent and put together a Lego set. It’s a pretty brilliant concept. Reed was in heaven.

Mr. DIY: our favorite store in Penang. It can best be described as a cross between the 99 Cent Store and Target. It was so cheap, and we picked up fantastic art supplies for the kids there. We also stocked the kitchen with cooking supplies from there, and spent much time wandering aimlessly through the aisles.

Pro tip: if you ever find yourself settling for a short period of time in a new country or city with kids, visit a local thrift store. There was a charity thrift store right next door to our building, and we bought the kids some toys and puzzles for very cheap. When we left, we donated them right back.

This post was long. Thank you for making it to the end, and for reading along! Penang was a truly special place for us, and we look forward to sharing in our next post all the fun to be had there. xo