Loose Ends: Penang, Melaka, Phuket and Hoi An

Throughout the past year, Laura and I have taken advantage of Singapore's strategic position to explore some nearby locales whenever we had the urge to get out of the country for a weekend (a feeling that happened often, but there are only so many places to visit...). Since these were only short, weekend trips, we didn't really have much time to encounter a great deal of calamity, but I did manage to take a few photos and get a brief feel for what these places were like.

Penang, Malaysia

Penang is like a poor man's Singapore, which is understandable as both were British colonial trading posts established roughly around the same time. But while Singapore eventually took the lead in terms of international prominence, poor old Penang was left to it's own fate. As a tourist, this comes as an advantage, since I got a sense of what Singapore might actually be like today if it hadn't been overrun by free market corporate whoring and government controlled urban planning. As a result, there is a certain flavor in Penang that's missing in Singapore, and I'm not talking about the Laksa. With a similar demographic to that of Singapore, there is a heady mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay that is apparent in the food, music, architecture and art, and a result, Penang resonates with similar notes to it's southern cousin, but with a greater old-world charm.


















Melaka, Malaysia

About a four-hour bus ride from Singapore (depending on the queue at the border), Melaka is similar to Penang in that it was historically home to much of Malaysia's Peranakan population (families of Chinese an Malay mixed ancestry). It was also a key port for both Portuguese and British colonies, adding yet another element to the flavour of the city. Being a long weekend, the city was packed with tourists from Singapore and other parts of Malaysia, which meant that if we wanted a chance to sample the food at the legendary City Satay we would have had to queue for three or four hours at least. Instead, we wandered the city in search of restaurants that would live up to the city's reputation with mixed results. I did, however, pick up a pretty awesome Ninja Turtles T-Shirt. We spent the weekend there with a few friends from Singapore, and I blame our decision to all stay at the Holiday Inn as being instrumental in Laura's refusal to look at anything other than the mid-range options in the guidebook.

















Phuket, Thailand

This was one trip we put off for a long time. The crowds, the dodgy sex-scene, environmentally unsustainable resorts, and quite frankly, the prospect of spotting nude Russian sun-bathers, had for the longest time made Phuket the kind of destination that time and again made the bottom of our list. But, sometimes it's hard to pass up a good deal, and sometimes a good deal trumps your better judgement and sense of ethics. $40 each roundtrip to spend a weekend in Thailand's tourist hotspot was too good a deal to pass up. Phuket certainly lived up to our expectations in some respects (we did see some topless - and ugly - Russians), but we did manage to find ourselves a remarkable stretch of beach that captured the essence of what Phuket tourism seems to promote, but more or less fails to deliver on most parts of the island. I'll forego mentioning where this little nugget of sand is in hopes that it retains the beauty that has been preserved in spite of the destructive march of progress that has spoilt so much of this once tropical paradise.







Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated in central Vietnam. Formerly a busy international trading hub, the small seaside town now focuses its business on tacky souvenirs and expensive restaurants. Hoi An's biggest draw, apart from its antique charm, is the plethora of tailor shops that custom make clothing more or less on the spot. One of the most remarkable talents these tailors (and shoemakers) have is the ability to take any existing article of clothing or photograph of one, and make an identical replica. Getting clothing made in Hoi An was a big priority for Laura, and as it turned out, me as well. Apart from our daily fittings, we indulged in meal after delicious meal in several of Hoi An's fantastic eateries, which had the effect of finally turning me on to Vietnamese cuisine. Needless to say, we left Hoi An a few pounds heavier than we arrived.