A case of Serendipity

Truly life is full of surprises- some are pleasant and some may not…but it all actually depends on the beholder. The experience that I am about to share is a case of discovery by accident, in short -SERENDIPITY.
On our 6th month stint in Penang, my husband and I had already done much site seeing. In fact we drove around the island in just one day and there you get to see almost everything there is to see. But there is one thing that we’ve yet to do together to appreciate Penang Island’s beauty and that is to climb those hills. I’ve heard from an acquaintance about Pinang hill where she showed me the picture she took from atop. At that time I didn’t bother to ask where and how to get to there…. Well, one Saturday morning, my husband suggested we go hiking…and I said, yeah. Let’s go to Pinang hill…but how to go there? That’s the big question…lazy to Google or ask anyone, we dismissed the idea and decided to hike the hill from botanical garden. So off we went to botanical garden and parked near the entrance. A parking attendant approached us and asked “ how many hours?”…we said “ one hour” …then we paid him the amount he asked. With only a bottle of water we commenced our hike.
I’ve hiked that hill before with my former colleagues which I had a hilarious experience with the old Chinese man at the halfway shed speaking to me in different Chinese dialects just to stop me from feeding the monkey.

During that time I wasn’t really paying attention on the path we took but I thought it won’t be problem…we won’t be lost. Just like going around Penang island, you’ll never get lost…you may be traveling in different routes but you’ll still arrive to your destination…it’s just a matter of time.

Now going back to our hike… It was very steep, muddy and slippery. Although my pair of Bata rubber shoes was doing fine nonetheless a pair of hiking boots would really help. It was funny coz during my first attempt, I managed the climb with little difficulty but this time… every few meters I was ready to give up and go down. But I say, “rest if you must but never give up”….that’s what I kept on saying after every few minutes. I stop and rest when my head feels like exploding. Unmindful of the path we took, we must have taken a different turn coz we saw a big rock which I had not seen during my previous climb where ‘P. HILL’ and an arrow was scribed on it. Hah! My husband and I looked at each other….we have the same thought. What does the ‘P’ stands for? Is it the Pinang hill? We’re thrilled to know and get there…but the first thing in our agenda is get to that halfway shed - our sojourn.
As we had made a different route than I did before, I was feeling hopeless to find the halfway shed until a whiff of burnt coffee touched my nose- we must be near, I thought. So we went on and with the guidance of our noses, we finally reached it. What a relief it was. As if the shed was a plush oasis. So now we …Rest. Rest. Rest. While there, I did not feed the monkeys anymore as I know the policy already. In front of the shed was a tar road that still leads upward.
Remembering the sign we saw on the rock, we asked the old man tending the shed what it meant. And he replied “Pinang Hill” and pointing up at the tar road direction as the summit. WOW! What a surprise. After wishing to climb Pinang Hill, we were actually on it already…Isn’t this serendipity? The old man continued saying, its only 15-20 minutes more to climb up the top. Isn’t that great? 15 minutes and we’ll be there at the summit….for sure we could make it in 15 minutes as it was an estimate from an old man… for sure we have more strength and vitality than he does- we’re so much younger. Our sapped energy has been recharged and revived after the rest and knowing that we have a wonderful discovery. Although we run out of water long way back, we thought we wouldn’t need anymore as it’s only 15 minutes more to go….that’s not very long. And we thought tar road is much easier to climb than the dirt pathway. I could almost hear my heart t singing… high ho! High ho! Off the hills we go- out of the excitement to see Penang City from the top ….but Oh My God! The second surprise came and that is, it is harder to hike on the tar road.….now my mantra needs to be more convincing… “ rest if you must but never quit” ….we didn’t notice the distance we’ve walked but we’ve been walking more than 15 minutes already…yeah we did rest but shouldn’t be more than an hour..Yes, it was already 15 minutes over an hour and yet no summit in sight. The road was long and winding. We kept on asking each other if we really heard the old man correctly…”did he really say 15 minutes?” …”yeah he did or maybe he said 50 minutes”…what the heck….we were fooled or should I say we were fools to believe that the old man is weaker than us…we underestimated the strength of these old men who just goes up and down the hill so many times a day. And to prove the point at the very moment that my husband and I were arguing about the 15 or 50 minutes, an old man carrying some gallons of water just went briskly past by us…and we were like…ha???…speechless. That was the 3rd surprise.
We got challenged! We don’t want to be defeated by those water- gallon- toting old skinny Chinese men, who by then was so ahead that we only see his blurry figure from a distance. We marched on and on but actually mostly crawling. I was really almost crawling…and then finally we heard voices…it must be the top. To my mind those people must have climbed so early coz there were not much people climbing with us or past us…in fact I only counted 5 people or so who walked past us. Anyway, one last turn, we saw what appears to be the top already….Hurray! we made it… dehydrated and exhausted to the max, we looked tattered and worn out. It’s okay, it’s what happens when you climb a steep and high hill. On that last stretch, there were some big cameras on tripod with big long zoom lenses set-up along the slope pointing to the forested area. There were I think two sets of it… I saw the men handling the camera were dressed in fatigues, though rugged, they didn’t look bedraggled or anything like who had walked a distance at all…well I thought they must be veterans in climbing this hill to be composed like that…my husband was now running to the top while I took my time….it was like a plateau….a Hindu temple came to view. The further we walk the more perplexed we got. There were a lot of people there already…like a bus -full of people. And what’s more stupefying is that they were all so well dressed up…like going to the mall and some in high heels and all. My husband and I looked at each other again- so scruffy and muddy. How could this be? Sure there was a tar road but it was limited to authorized vehicles and there were no buses going up…it would be very unsafe. We walked further and there unfolds the last surprise for the day…. A TRAM. There is actually a tram that ferries the people up and down the hill…only coming from a different foot of the hill. So we could not take the tram to go down coz it will take us to other part of the city and we’ll have to take a taxi to get to our car….speaking of car, when we descended and as soon as we reached our car, the attendant quickly approached and asked for additional fee. We complained and he said in his broken English , “hey! you came ,the sun was up and now the sun no more.”…well, we can’t argue anymore. It took us almost 9 hours with only about an hour stay at the summit to go up and down the Pinang hill….quite an experience that I will not do for a long, long time. there is a lesson to be learned here other than what I’ve mentioned already and that is it is sometimes better not to know where you’re going and what you are going to embark coz it makes one brave to go on. Just like our climb- had I known how difficult it was before the ascend I wouldn’t even start.

Lost in translation 2- the Chinese encounter

Penang is like a slice of pork belly where there is a good blend of lean meat and fat interlayering each other. In Penang you may enjoy the convenience of city life and could bask in the grandeur of nature at the same time. It is very common that people during weekends go hiking, running or hill climbing after a stressful workweek. Hill climbing was the passion of my former colleague and being an expat in Penang and new to the place I was grateful that she invited me to join her one weekend. It was also the beginning of my appreciation of the true beauty of Penang and got motivated to get physically fit. On that particular occasion we went up the hill at the Botanical garden which I only later knew that it was Pinang Hill. It was indeed a very challenging climb for me as I had never climbed a hill that steep and high ever before in my life. I am in my mid 40’s and was relatively inactive at that time wherein the most physical activity I did was shopping and conducting training at work. Being anemic adds more to the degree of difficulty. With anemia I easily get short of breath and feel dizzy. But kudos to me I manage to reach the place which they call the halfway shed.

In the halfway shed, an old Chinese Malaysian man was manning the place- cooking some coffee, tea and serving it to the people whoever wants among those who stop to rest at the shed. He does it for free but anyone may donate any amount. There were also some biscuits in the can that we can take…it weren’t the best tasting though but goes well will coffee anyway. I did enjoy it.

But! oh my god, my god…Monkeys surrounded the place. I had not seen monkeys in the wild ‘up close and personal’- uncaged. I got so excited, I was thrilled to get closer to it. I thought the best way to get them closer was to lure them with food…Hhhhmmm…aha! the biscuit. I took a couple of biscuits and throw the first piece near the monkey. And yehey! It picked up the food- now it’s closer. At this time I notice that the old Chinese man appears to be talking to my colleague in Chinese language of course, but he was not looking at her. Strange? maybe that's how they converse around here. Anyway, I toss the second piece and the monkey was closer then, I was getting giddy of excitement. I heard the old man was still talking but my colleague was somewhat still not paying attention to him. I toss the last piece of biscuit and the monkey was sooo close – it was sooo cute.

But what the ….What’s the matter with this Chinese man? He shooed away the monkey that was so close already. He even used sling shot, isn’t that cruel? He maybe altruistic in serving those free coffee but I think it doesn't give him the right to be cruel to the animals. And he talked nonstop…. He was talking a lot, maybe he was just friendly to my colleague who was disenchant. Then finally at this point I heard a reply from her, of course in Chinese too. But I heard the word Philippines mentioned. So what do you think?... I must be the topic of their conversation. I turned my gaze at my colleague and asked what they were talking about? She said, “ The Chinese man was telling you to stop feeding the monkeys”. I said “ and then”. She said “ well I told him you are from Philippines”. I said, “yeah I think I heard that and so what else?”. She said “ nothing more” and I said “ what? He said so many things, that couldn’t be all. Please tell me what else he said”…” well, actually he only told you to stop feeding the monkeys, first he spoke in Hokkien but you did not reply or react, so he said it again in Cantonese, but you still didn’t stop luring the monkeys so he said it in Mandarin, yet you didn’t stop..that’s the time I finally told him that you don’t understand any of those languages/dialects”. Hah! I was stupefied…Then the old man talked to me in English finally with this, “Even the Africans can speak Chinese but you Chinese looking don’t speak a single Chinese word, isn’t that a shame?” Then my mouth dropped to the floor.

It was funny because my colleague just let the poor old Chinese man kept on going and going, she did not intervene…which she knew all too well that I don’t speak nor comprehend Chinese.

And hey about the feeding monkey thing, there was actually a signboard saying “DO NOT FEED THE MONKEEYS” that was hidden from view- it was facing the cliff. I wonder who could read from there. It was supposed to face the shed but some crazy people turn it around. We’ll my colleague could have told me but she probably saw how excited I was that she just let me be for my happiness and enjoyment. He he he… it was fun.

Lost in Translation 1- a funny experience in a foreign land

Two years ago, being a subcon QA manager for an MNC in the Philippines, I was frequently deployed to Penang, Malaysia where most of our subcons were. During those visits, where it sometime took 3 weeks at a time, I was always chartered to our subcons and back to the hotel. In those rides, I often fell asleep so I never learned the street names that we pass by.
One Sunday, one of my hosts invited me to their church wherein she fetched me from the hotel and drove me back then. Since I found the service very enlightening I decided to go the next Sunday, but I couldn’t remember the address. However, I could recall the landmarks and hotels around it, so I took a taxi in front of the hotel where there’s a plenty and just described the landmarks to the driver.
The driver was Chinese and was very friendly. His English was also clear. He managed to bring me to the place after a few trial turns.

When the service ended, I did not see my friend there who had brought me the previous Sunday, so I went out to the corner of the street and alas, there were no taxi waiting or passing by. Good thing I had a business card from one of those taxi I took when I went from my hotel to Gurney plaza. I dialed the number on the card and a thickly Chinese accented guy responded on the other end. I didn’t mind, as long as he can fetch me from where I was. During that time I had just learned the colloquial way of addressing the elderly so I said; “ Uncle could you pick me up from Penang Christian Church”, then he replied which was so hard for me to understand but I believe he was asking the street name. So I said “ I don’t know the street but it is behind Northam hotel”. But he thought I was at the Northam hotel instead. So I tried to describe all the other landmarks but to no avail, he still don’t know where I was. I tried to look around for signage – lo and behold! There it was the name of the street just right in front of me. I know the word Jalan meant street (it is similar to a Filipino dialect that also means street) so instinctively I know that the word beside it is the name of the street. So I quickly gave the name of the street to the person on the other line. “ Uncle, I am at the corner of Jalan Sehala”. But he replied to me in a more irritated tone and made it harder for me to understand what he was saying. So I assumed he was asking me where I was going to, so I replied the hotel where I stayed. He asked again where I was which irked me, that I raised my voice and said, “What, Uncle? You don’t know where Jalan Sehala is? Blah, blah, blah.” I think it took more than 10 minutes of talking to the taxi driver trying to tell him that I was at Jalan Sehala when a Taxi finally passed by and I was able to hail it. I said to the driver on the phone “never mind Uncle, there is a taxi here already”. Then I hang up.
I was so relieved to get back to my hotel that I did not bother to think back on my conversation with that taxi driver on the phone.

The next morning I took the STAR newspaper hanged at the door of my room. I love to read the thumbnail section where pictures of some bizarre occurrence are posted. There, I saw a picture with the sign ‘Jalan Sehala’ but to my bewilderment was that the place looks so different. I wondered why would two different places have the same street name…it got me curious so when I went down to the lobby I asked the front desk…and she said…Jalan Sehala means One way street. Then I broke into the loudest laugh I ever did in my life.

Walk-a-log

Time to take a walk & enjoy the good weather. Speaking of weather, climate has changed so much. Typhoons become more frequent & widespread, even here in Malaysia which has never experienced earthquake had recently encountered one. With all this, it's not hard to imagine the world coming to end. But we can all make it change its course by doing our part in environmental protection through recycling, reducing waste, repairing stuff instead of buying new, reusing things apart from its original use. Well, we all got to contribute...I got to prepare now for my walk..... Nov 15, 2009, around 10:30 AM...quite late already for a walk..but good thing the sun is hiding behind the clouds...its bright sky but the sun is not piercing hot. Getting ready...I wore an ensemble of brown and beige color shorts and cool and loose blouse. Now, I'm off...I walk from my condo to Tesco and which I guess is around 2-3 kilometers or so..I like to take a walk alone..it gives me time to think, enjoy the view and feel the breeze. Although, living alone in Malaysia gives me a lot of "me" time...but my "me" time when I walk is so much refreshing and relaxing than staying home and having the internet and TV at my dispense. This is the path of my walk ......

I go around our building.. cross an open muddy road towards the highway. Pass by residential area, then to commercial, then I reach Tesco.

Along the way, I pass by my former place...the very first condo I stayed at...Ivory plaza. After getting through the muddy road I reach a clean and safe sidewalk. The highway on the right and USM (University of Sains Malaysia) on the left. The cobblestone-like pavement helps me with my thinking process. The pattern mesmerizes me and makes me create images out of those cracks and crevices. Saw some birds perched on the USM gate…there's a lot of that here. Really a lot . I feel like a kid when I see flock of birds...as if I've never seen one before.

I reached a park cum football field which is in front of the second condo I stayed after Ivory plaza. This is Taman Pekaka. Taman means Garden and Pekaka is crow. With all the trees around, it's nice and cool and breezy place. Sometimes I stay a while here…just sit on the grass and let all the worries melt away. But this time I tried to take pictures. Look at the picture I took of myself….even with the pre-set timer of my camera…could never get the right pose on time…ha ha ha…I have not learned how to set a longer time yet…that's what you get for not being a tech savvy.
It's 11 AM now. It's a good time to have brunch from either one of my favorite kedai makanan (restaurant). One is Subaida for a unique Roti Canai - uniquely Malaysian cuisine. This time I opted for my favorite Chinese Dimsum place –Maxim . However, it's packed as always and I was kind of not in the mood to wait for a table…so I took some Char Siew Paw for take away….after I got my Paw on hand...I went on my way. Across the street is Tesco but you get to pass by the Hindu temple. So I took some pictures too. It's a small temple but it's as intricate as the big ones. Such an interesting structure…with those figures carved and put together onto the tower. Those banana trees on its entrance just reminds me of my school days (in the Philippines) where we always use the same decor during the "Linggo ng Wika" (National language week) celebration.Finally Tesco…where I take a rest ..sit down, go to the restroom and shop- my stress reliever... I took a short stop here this time… and went further down to McDonalds' for lunch.
It was 12 noon on my cellphone chronograph by the time I got to Mcdo. I ordered "fillet-o-fish" meal which was supposed to be 5.95 ringgits at 12 noon. But I was 20 minutes early based on their wall clock so I paid it for 8.95 ringgits- what a rip off. Nonetheless I enjoyed my fries. After my lunch…with a few more sips of my bottomless coke- it is really nice that McDo here offers refillable cokes, we'll Philippines does have refillable gravy though which there is none in Malaysia; there is no single drop of gravy here at McDo…(That's why it worries me, when I think of bringing my daughter over here who only eats gravy with rice at McDo)…
I was up and walking again. This time getting back home... I was desperate to take picture of myself to document this walk that I even took a picture of my reflection on the glass walls… good thing those shops were empty …Took some of the nice views on the way back…which includes my legs with my beat-up Bata shoes- Malaysia brand shoes....very dependable pair of sneakers I would say.
Finally I reached our building and inside my house. Time to take a rest; eat Mangosteen- the so called Queen of the fruits. They say Durian is the King. I'm glad Mangosteen is abundant here that it is cheap…that I can afford to buy a basketful of it… unlike in the Philippines that it's so expensive that I just only wish for it all the time…I remember when we go to Tagaytay to bring some customers there for lunch or dinner when I was with Amkor back then…and always you see those beautiful Mangosteen hanging along those side fruit stands along the highway…oh, how I craved for it- all the time saying to myself, " I'll buy next time" and that next time never came. Now, I am not deprived of it.

Well…That's how I spent my Sunday morning….. hope you all had a good one too. Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed as much as I did writing it.