I spent the weekend with Bree’s friends from college, Nicole and Robin.  They are a bunch of goofballs and it was hard to leave them after the weekend was over.  Nicole’s parents have a vacation home on a highrise that overlooks the surrounding mountains.  The mountains cradle a city called Georgetown and elegantly rolls itself out onto the straits of Malacca.  At night the lights shimmer and color the conversations had by old friends with a simple elegance.  By the end of the weekend I felt comfortable sitting there and listening to stories of Bree in college.  I loved being compared to people in her life. This was the first time I got to meet people who knew her before I did and the comparisons to other people made me giggle.  “Oh you remind me of so-and-so” Nicole would say about me. She decided to call us with “The Contra-Couple” as in - contradictory, which I find absolutely hilarious - it’s fun being the outsider welcomed into this family of friends.

To start the weekend off right, I got to spend a few hours with the most amazing woman in the world.  It had been a few months since I had seen her in person and looking at her for the first time in her home country, shocked every fiber of my being and made it hard for me to breath. I remember the feeling being something like a first date, but there’s this wealth of experiences to draw from.  It was so silly. I wanted to touch her but I didn’t know how. Just like a first date, I was waiting for an excuse to put my arm around her. Looking back now, I can’t help smiling to myself. We sat for a good while and got comfortable with each other before deciding that another hour in that Mcdonald’s cafe in the middle of an international airport was just too long.  

We called a taxi and started on our way to meet her friends. The air between us was starting to normalize a little more but I was still super nervous.  I wanted to make a good first impression and that is something that always provokes my anxiety. I pride myself on making sure that everyone is having a good time, which is awesome, but I know that it can also trigger my anxiety into having to perform.  I would never ever, ever never, trade this for anything else; but as Bree likes to tell me, “you don’t have to”. So we sat in the taxi and held hands. Holding her hand in silence calms me and quiets my super loud train brain.

One of the first signs to me that I was in love, was the feeling I got when we held hands. I can specifically pinpoint it to the back of a taxi after a date to the Field Museum in Chicago.  I wanted to perform, I wanted to make sure she was having a good time, I wanted to keep her interested in me; but instead of all that, she held my hand and all of my worries disappeared.  I didn’t feel the need to perform, I knew she was having a good time, I was having a good time. I was happy. I didn’t need to do anything. That is always a feeling I get when I’m with her and it makes me feel safe and whole.  So while I would never trade away the need to perform, I love the balance I have found with her. I believe the two are connected somehow but I don’t know how to put it into words so I’m just going to leave it at that.

I met her friends and we came to agreement that we were all extremely hungry.  We piled into the car and immediately headed right off to the Penang International Food Festival.  Turns out Penang is trying to break the “Guinness Book of World Records” for: most food trucks in a single event.  I’m not sure if they won but I know who did; US. There were so many food trucks! We walked around and smelled the food being cooked and fought off the urge to eat everything we saw.  Or at least I was. Bree seemed to be having a much easier time staving off the onslaught of food trucks. I succumbed to the attack and tried food all over the park. Some Satay here, some Fried Oysters there; over the weekend I probably gained a solid 5 kilograms!  It was the first time I had ever tried Fried Oysters!! A Penang delicacy. The oysters are fried up with egg, special sauces, and spices. It is so goooooooood!

I felt a little bad going around and trying all the different food, but Nicole and Robin egged me on and made me feel a lot better about gorging myself to death.  We all started to find a pretty easy rhythm. We spoke the common language of “goof” and that created a connection between us. This is my best attempt to decode the language: Sometimes one of us would say something, we would think it sounded peculiar so we would take a word from the sentence and manipulate it into something monstrously silly.  Once we found our language, the night went on like that for hours, until we felt sufficiently full. There really were a lot of food trucks. We pulled away for awhile to listen to some live music until we felt like we could move again. Then we began our journey back. We walked into a department store because of a sale and, you know, why not? The girls got busy looking at the sales while Robin and I were more interested in getting to know each other.

I found out that Robin is a pretty prolific dancer and that he hangs out with the arts community in Kuala Lumpur.  We started talking about the struggles of artists and self fulfillment (some of my personal favorite conversations) and I shared my experiences with Chicago.  We stayed like that for a solid hour or so while Bree and Nicole would show up and ask opinions on a particular dress or skirt. I was lost in the buzz of conversation and people running around catching the deals of the day.  It was a nice feeling. I felt more and more connected to Bree’s past and welcomed into a group that has known her much longer than I have.

The ladies were finished and we decided to leave the festival.  While in the car I got to see Robin’s goofy lil’ gangsta side come out.  It was really something hearing him pretend to be a Hip Hop artist while listening to old 90’s and early 2000’s Hip Hop hits.  We settled on Childish Gambino after a while and I got to talk about my undying love for Donald Glover. (I could go on forever about this god of a Renaissance man)  There’s always a special feeling of driving at night that is so soothing to me. Watching the lights pass by makes me feel immortal.

We made a surprise stop at Thai Pak Kong Temple!  The moment we parked the car and crossed the threshold into the temple, the blue and purple lights surrounding us transported me to a fairy kingdom.  I think I stood and stared at this one single tree for a solid 10 minutes. Holding Bree there with me felt magical. I could have stayed in that feeling for another hour or so, but Bree politely shoved me forward.  I lagged behind Nicole and Robin because I wanted some alone time with Bree and turn this majestic temple into a cute date. So we lost the others and walked around holding hands. We talked about how nice it was to see each other after 3 months of no physical contact.  There was a moment where everything was just perfect. Next to the temple was the ocean and deep over the ocean was a lightning storm. The blue and purple lights reflected off of the waves of the ocean that crashed onto the rocks of the temple. The lights mixed into the open black  ocean in the background and every once in awhile the lightning would strike and illuminate the picture. Again, I could have stayed that way for a good long while, but Bree was starting to get tired of dragging me around everywhere. I broke away from the sight and followed her. We all met up with each other outside the temple and followed the masses to Robin’s car.

By the time we got back to the apartment, it was very late and we were exhausted.  We also had a pretty packed agenda planned for the next day so we went our separate ways and got as much sleep as we could.

The next day started early and we got up and moving, but feeling rather sluggish.  So of course we needed to stop for some coffee before heading to the Kek Lok Si Temple.  

After fueling ourselves with the sweet, sweet bean juice that runs our lives, we made our way for the temple.  We parked and started the climb. Now that I’m around a cohort, I realize how much of a kid I can be. We walked up the stairs and through an alleyway leading to the temple. On the way, we were passing all the shops full of simple knick knacks and I kept stopping and looking at all the little figurines.  I was having the time of my life being a nuisance to the rest of the group, but nothing was going to prepare me for the shops run by the temple just a little further up. After we passed most of the novelty shops that had no connection to the temple we walked through the beginnings of the temple that seemed to be under some heavy renovation.  In the midst of the construction there were the remains of what looked to be a pond, but now there was a solitary bench that appeared to be like a bus stop in the middle of this steep incline. I imagined some sort of “Spirited Away” type life, where the spirits would wait for a spirit bus that would take them up the mountain and into the temple.  I laughed and shared my thoughts with the group but I don’t think they got the joke, or rather, didn’t find it as humorous as I did.

Moving forward we got to the true beginning of the temple and found a little garden overlooking the cityscape with the first breathtaking view.  Here was the first novelty shop actually owned by the temple. After asking the lady about some of the artifacts in the shop, I found that all proceeds went to the temple and fed the monks and staff living there.  Now that I knew that, I REALLY wanted to buy everything. How often do you get the chance to see a novelty shop that actually goes directly to the church. The first thing I bought was a prayer candle. As the custom goes, you write a simple prayer for you and your family, light the wick and put the candle in a little fountain with the other prayer candles.  The candle was shaped into a cute little lotus flower. I wrote strength with a magic marker, lit the tiny lotus flower and put it in its new home. I walked around for a bit more, looking at the trinkets being sold and my eyes locked on to a talisman that had the chinese signature for dragon on it. I was born into the chinese year of the dragon and I love that stuff.  My two animal connectors are the Dragon and the Lion. I’ve always felt a deep connection to these two because I feel like they both accurately describe me (and they are both super cool). So I bought one, and I’ve been wearing it ever since. We walked around the garden for a bit more and it reminded Bree of my Uncle John, who has been sending her pictures every day of his garden over messenger.  I love that he sends her pictures and I think its cute that they have been connecting over flowers. I took a picture of a flower and sent it to him just to make him jealous of the garden I was walking through now.

Done with the garden and the prayer pond, we moved on.  We passed by some giant golden buddha statues and some cool war-like things that had some crazy eyes that contorted themselves into some wild positions.  I loved the artwork. We came to a meditation chamber and a couple of monks working outside. There was one that was writing some beautiful Chinese signatures on roof tiles.  We asked what it was for and she told us that it was for the restoration of the roof to the temple so of course I bought one. Then, because I have been meditating a whole lot more since my experiences in Yogyakarta, I stepped inside and meditated for a while.  I opened my eyes after a while and I was surprised to see Bree there praying right next to me and my heart floated a bit out of my chest. We stayed there like that for a while until we both nodded to each other in agreement. It was a good idea to join back up with Nicole and Robin and move on.  

There was a lift to take us all the way up to the top of the temple, so we decided that instead of walking up the rest of the way (we were tired) we would sit down and wait for the lift.  While in the novelty shop I saw this teapot/cup combo that I am regretting not buying. Going through this memory is killing me right now, because the teapot was perfect. Ughhh. Why did I not buy this Teapot!  I knew I had already spent a good amount of money on this trip and it wasn’t even half over, I’m glad I was responsible, but God how I’m kicking myself for not buying it right now.

Anyways, as we stepped off the lift, we saw the temple in all its splendor.  Walking around the compound we walked into another meditation chamber and I bought Bree a prayer candle and we stood for a while under the giant sleeping buddha.  Standing there, our breathing became synced together and we stayed like that for some time. Outside we joined with my new friends and walked to the main statue. Right below were two intimidating warriors looking as if they were about to do battle.  Like most of the art that we’ve seen up to this point, the two looked contorted and this contortion highlighted their muscles making them look extra, extra intimidating. Nicole came up with the best joke of the day: “It looks like they are getting set to play the most intense game of Rock-Paper-Scissors”.  And that is exactly what they looked like they were doing.

We left the Warriors doing battle with Rock-Paper-Scissors and came to a group decision to begin our descent.  While waiting for the lift to take us down, I started a fun conversation on the nature of religion and its worth in a modern world.  Because of my recent delve into Hinduism, I have been thinking a lot about religion, faith, and their place in a world that is shrinking.  As cultures start to integrate into each other what will happen to cultural identity? People are changing, and young people are traveling more than we ever had before, this knowledge of other religions and cultures are starting to challenge our beliefs that we have taken for granted before.  I know that I for one, can say that my world view is changing. Should people put a stronger hold onto religions and identities or should we release the grip and embrace the changes? I know that through discovering Hinduism I found a stronger connection to my own thoughts on Catholicism, which I hold as my own cultural and religious identity.  I know that by thinking about other philosophies I can grow my own opinions and choose what works for me to find which road in life I want to walk on. The more I challenge myself with opposing views the more confident I feel walking down the path I choose. But that’s my own opinions built by the culture I grew up in. I don’t want to speak for other cultures, because the more I learn, the more I find out that I really know nothing outside of my own personal experience.

The lift showed up and we made our descent.  Past the meditation chamber, past the Giant gold Buddha, past the garden, and past the “spirited away” bench.  At the base of the mountain, Bree surprised me with a little lotus prayer candle. 😊 I wanted to bring one with me, but I figured I had spent too much.  I decided that I would start using this candle to focus my meditation. Tried it out the next morning. I liked it.

Nicole and Robin wanted to start the food portion of our tour in Penang.  We then walked to a nearby ‘warung’ and tried out some Laksa. The place has no name but is famously referred to "that laksa stall on Jalan Pasar near the Kek Lok Si temple" and di sangat eeeennnnak.  Turns out it’s a type of sour soup filled with veggies, rice noodles, and fermented fish.  I took one bite and was blown away. It was rich and savory that had a depth of sweet and sour that left your mouth salivating even after swallowing.  Even describing it now, I can feel my mouth salivating in anticipation. Turns out that to cook good laksa, you need to make a stew out of fermented fish and slow roast for at least a day.  The secret ingredient to sour soup that gives it its signature sweet and sour taste, is tamarin. We sat there for a while and it looked like Nicole, Robin, and Bree were having a good time watching me enjoy a Malaysian staple.  But they weren’t done with me. I still had more food to try. I was already full but since I was enjoying myself I figured “what the hell, I don’t mind gaining 10 pounds this weekend”.

We took the car out closer to the city center and came to a giant marketplace full of food vendors.  We walked into a bustling crowd consuming food with alarming portions of a variety of delicacies. Upon finding an empty table, Robin and Nicole went off to forage for a feast  while Bree and I sat patiently for our juices. This was a luxury and I enjoyed every minute of it. Bree and I sat there staring into each other’s eyes and holding hands while reminiscing about moments we shared in Chicago.  In between the memories, we shared that comfortable silence.

After a little bit of time, they came back with so much food.  I wasn’t hungry, but I ate. Penang Rojak, Curry Mee, and Char kway Teow, it was enough to roll me out of the common area.  These are all foods specific to Penang but are variations on dishes created by neighboring countries.  Rojak is a sweet and savory dish from Indonesia; curry, of course comes from India; and Char Kway Teow which has its origins in Hokkien.  I’d like to say that the food in Penang is a melting pot of a whole bunch of cultures. The food seems to be equal parts Chinese, Indian, and Malay.  This combo mixes three of the most favorable and spicy foods together into a delicious combo and I suggest anyone reading this to try this if you are ever in this part of the world.  We walked for a while to work off this food baby gestating in my stomach. For some reason, I couldn’t tell you why, I bought some dessert pastries on the way to the car. I guess that once you succumb to a feeling, you might as well continue further down that spiral.

When we got to the car, Robin then drove us to Armenia Street which turns out to be a huge thriving arts community.  I didn’t realize it, but Penang is known for some prolific street art.  People have been putting graffiti on the walls in the alleyways for several years now.  More people show up and put graffiti over the original graffiti and large murals begin to form by this process of repainting.  In some cases, people will take found objects and strategically attach them to existing spots on the graffiti-ed walls to make something of an installation.  This whole street seemed to be a tourist favorite, and with good reason; some of the art was funny, some powerful, and all beautiful. There were little shops on the street selling art and I fell in love with some of the paintings inside.  I have to give a shout out to the Lebuh Armenia Art Gallery because this place was an amazing find.  Walking down the street, we found this gallery with really great prints of local artists that all looked great and very affordable.  If you keep walking down the street you’ll see some fun shops and Pak’s on the street with all their items on display, but the Lebuh Art Gallery was the best one we found.  

Nicole and Robin told us that the main prize at the end of the street was China House.  I had told them about how much I loved coffee so they took me to this place that has everything you’d ever want (plus coffee).  There is a bar in the back with live music, in the middle is a library with a whole bunch of games, near the front is a bakery with some 20 odd cakes and brownies, upstairs is an installation art exhibit, and in the front is…. A coffee shop.  I went up to the front of the shop to look at the coffees available. I didn’t see any pour over options but since this place had everything else, I asked if they could do it. The said they could brew anything I’d like as a manual pour over coffee in a V60.  They had some Bolivian coffee that smelled pretty good, so I went for that choice. I came back to my group and saw that we had taken over a table near the library. Every table gets a large sheet of paper to cover the table and if you hunt around you can find all the crayons you could possibly want.  We started doodling things while everyone had cakes come fresh from the bakery. There was no reason we should have cakes but there they were. We were so full and tired from the tour around Penang that we could barely hold a conversation anymore and the doodling and coffee was the perfect remedy. This is where Nicole decided to call us the “Contra-Couple”.  She’d seen our banter all day and thought it was cute how we were so utterly different in literally every situation. I liked the name. Bree and I shared a giggle to ourselves. I know I love my banter with her and when I know she’s going to think something I do is silly and unreasonable, it just makes me want to do it more. I love how we interact with each other alone, but when we are around people it just shows how different we are.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We finished and we didn’t want to go back to the apartment just yet.  We wanted some live music but the the bar was too crowded for our taste.  Instead we just went for a walk down a jetty. We came to the end of the pier and sat down.  By this point we were all pooped. We had a pretty full day of walking and eating so we just languished in each other’s company.  There’s a certain magic that will happen when people get comfortable and the magic was all around us. We all sat together in a comfortable silence overlooking the Malaysian mainland.  I sat there holding Bree and playing with her feet while we all took selfies. Conversation would come and go, and pretty soon several hours went by. We decided that going out again would be just too much.  Besides, the mood was much more relaxed now and none of us really wanted to go to a crowded bar. So we bought a couple of beers and headed back to the apartment and drank on the rooftop. At night the view was amazing! We stayed at the top till about 1 am talking about her friends from college.  I was so happy to hear her talk about her past and connecting to old friends. I felt very full and satisfied on all levels, so going to bed was welcomed.  

The next morning we all woke up and left Penang.  It was hard to leave but I knew that what I was taking from the island was more important: just a couple of goofballs in a car.