Today was full of adventures all around Penang island. We started out by going to the Tropical Spice Garden. This facility contained different sections with spices, poisonous plants, coffee and tea plants, and multiple short walking pathways. The group of people I have been finding myself going around to do things with has been Melissa (my roommate), Fiona, and Amber. The four of us girls walked around the spice garden together, taking many pictures and learning more about the plants that make our food flavorful.
After leaving the spice garden, we made our way to the Batik Factory. Batik is a type of dyeing that is applied to a whole cloth. The batik style can be applied to clothing and household decorative items. Batik is either done through block printing or by hand painting. The Batik Factory we went to is the last of its kind. When we first got there we were able to watch a demonstration of how block printing and hand painting are done. Block printing is difficult because the pressure must be applied precisely each time and the design has to line up with the previous print. Hand painting is difficult because it takes a long time and requires precision. The Batik artists have creative freedom to design and paint in whatever colors or designs they choose. Because Batik is a type of wax resistant design, the paint can easily spread to an isolated area without crossing over the wax barriers. After seeing how Batiks are made, we were able to go into the showroom and buy merchandise made by these talented artists. They were selling everything from shirts, skirts, dresses, and scarfs to table clothes, table runners and bandanas.
Our next stop was the Tropical Fruit Farm. This farm grows numerous types of fruit and has a store where you can buy fruit and try fresh fruit juice. The first thing we did was all pile into the bed of a truck and get transported into the fruit farm. The first difference I noticed between the Malaysian lemons and limes versus those of the U.S. is that their lemons and limes are green and look almost the same. We saw pineapple, dragonfruit, lemons, limes, figs, and some fruits I had never seen before. Once we returned from walking through the orchards and fruit plants, we were able to return to the main store and get a fruit platter and fresh juice of our choice. I decided to get a mixture of pineapple and mango juice. The fruit platter was amazing and allowed me to try fruits that I had never tried fresh before. While we were eating our fruit, it started to rain. Eating our fruit while looking out over the valley with the rain was a calming moment.
Our fourth stop of the day was the War Museum. During World War II, the Japanese brought the Malay to Penang island to be tortured and killed. The museum allows the public to see the underground tunnels and bunkers used during World War II. The fort where the museum is now was abandoned for 60 years. We started our tour by going into an ammunition storage tunnel that was nine meters underground. We then had the option to go through the crawl space and experience what it would have been like for soldiers to navigate small spaces in the dark. Perhaps one of the most sobering parts of this museum was the ax display with the original ax used for beheading from 1931-1935. Our tour guide pointed out that there is still blood on the ax all these years later. In addition to the ax site, there was also a guillotine memorial. The ropes were hanging at the place where the Japanese executioner, Suzuki, beheaded P.O.Ws. Following ancient samurai tradition, after beheading the prisoners Suzuki would dip the dripping blood from his sword into his wine bottle. There were also original card sets and a piano used by the British soldiers. The next tunnel we entered was the British Army underground command center. It is a bomb-poof structure that is able to recycle the air supply if all the doors were closed during a gas attack. The bunkers were dug through the ground with the ceiling being reinforced by cement, soil and sand. It was then plastered with steel plates. The bunker today is still in its original condition and a meter thick with no cracks. When we were leaving the War Museum, Dr. Sutter, the honors director, made an observation to the group. Right next to the War Museum was a large sign advertising paintball. The paintball facility is located right next to the War Museum. If this arrangement was in the U.S many veterans would be very offended and it would not be acceptable. The War Museum is remembering what happened and honoring the dead. However, right next door is a facility that uses guns and paint to mimic a battlefield. This discussion was a reminder to look around for more observations on the trip that may contradict what is culturally acceptable in the U.S.
Our last stop for the day was a snake temple. I’ll be honest, when I heard we were going to a snake temple I thought there would be massive snakes slithering along the ground. However, there were only a few small snakes resting on a red tower. The snake temple is a Chinese temple. Medicine men in Chinese culture use snake venom to help unclog blood. The most common snake used is the diamond head wrangler's pit viper. The venom from this snake is an anecdote for snake bites. While we were waiting outside the snake temple for the rest of the group to finish, I was able to talk to Dr. Sutter about some business aspects. Across the street from the snake temple there were warehouses and factories for companies such as Osram and Bosch. I have never heard of Osram but we do have Bosch in the U.S. I got to thinking about what goods from Malaysia get exported to the U.S. I also wondered if these companies would be around in fifty or one hundred years. Although labor is much cheaper in Malaysia, I wonder if U.S. consumers will continue to need products from Malaysia. It is common for an individual to move to the U.S. from Southeast Asia in order to work and earn money. U.S. dollars can go a long way in Malaysia. In Southeast Asian culture there is a generational need to care for grandparents. I began to wonder if it is better for these individuals to go work in the U.S. for most of their lives in order to send money back to Malaysia. The reality is that many people do end up working in the U.S. for most of their life just to support multiple family members living back in Malaysia.
After a very long day of traveling around Penang island, we ended with a meal at a vegetarian restaurant with the hospital CEO and some individuals from the church. Instead of using tofu for meat substitute, this restaurant used fruits such as jackfruit to create a meaty texture. We were able to try multiple dishes that the CEO ordered for us to try. After leaving the restaurant, we walked through a small outdoor shopping center on our way back to the bus to head back to the hotel for the night.
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