The Good, The Bad and The Weird 2

 

The Good, The Bad and The Weird

Here's another post observing the good, bad and odd things that we're experiencing here in Malaysia. Please bear in mind theses are personal observations.

The Good: 

Food! Oh my the food here is diverse, cheap and mostly very good. We've eaten some fantastic food since arriving, including a spectacular Korean red stew, some really great shawarma (veggie of course) and some excellent curry. We've not really gone much further than two local hawker markets - one just around the corner and another on the way to Straits Quay. Everything has been excellent for far.

 

Not the most photogenic food - nor the best food stylist either, but this Korean silken tofu stew (left) was delicious. I have yet to work out why one would serve chips with a fruit salad though...

The Bad:

Stray dogs. This is a particular problem in Penang and seemingly across Malaysia in general. The problem is that dogs are shunned by some section of the population for religious reasons and this means that no-one tackles the problem effectively. The dogs themselves are rarely aggressive, unless you have a dog with you, but it is always a background worry with any predatory wildlife that shares its habitat with humans that there could be conflict. There is also the fact that they really don't have the wherewithal to survive and thrive. They are mostly mangy and unhealthy looking, despite the locals' attempts to look after them. There are animal sanctuaries all over the island and people frequently take them in, but mostly they look kind of sad and a bit scared.  

The Weird:

This one is probably better suited to the 'Good' category, but from my point of view, as I'm just getting used to the way Malaysia works, it is just quite different - the prevalence of diverse religions that are clear, visible and seemingly sitting alongside each other comfortably. If there is any undercurrent of conflict then I haven't seen it, but it's early days yet.

This range of cultures and religions on display is exemplified by roadside Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu shrines and temples and the number of Mosques and Christian churches in close proximity to one another. It's fascinating to approach a corner and nearly miss your turn because you're gawking at a golden statue of Vishnu or staring at the minaret of a beautiful mosque or 18th Century church spire, or, as we did last weekend, walk up a wooded hillside to a Taoist temple.

Also there are prayer offerings left at the side of the road, these, I assume, are part of traditional Chinese spiritual practice, but I'm not entirely sure. Still fascinating though.

Here, in a busy garage (I needed two tires for the rental car) a big cauldron is filled with prayers that are burned. I'm not sure that fire and highly flammable materials such as are found in a garage should really be mixed... but nothing exploded so that's okay I guess?

Here is an example of  roadside prayer offering where apparently Iced Gems are offered up to the spirits... That's brilliant! If I were a spirit I'd be pleased - I love Iced Gems. They must have quite some value too as I've not seen them on sale anywhere, so presumably they're hard to come by.