LWE 17: 2020 Hindsight Pt 1

It was to be a landmark year and it started off well enough then it all came crashing down and years from now we will look back and say ‘I survived 2020’. At least those of us who did survive it will say so.

Many haven’t. As I write this, over 1.8 million didn’t make it past the year, 500 of whom were Malaysians. The vaccines are still months away for most so these counters won’t stop ticking over for some time yet. Perhaps at this time next year there will be quite a few people still who will say ‘I survived 2021’. 

Casting my eyes back though, and ignoring for a moment the metaphorical mass of the pandemic continuing to gallop along in a deadly chase, I do see that collectively as a people we have actually progressed. If nothing else, the crisis has exposed many flaws, lies and misconceptions, and stripped bare many images we have had of ourselves and the people around us.

America has probably been the most surprising - oh how the mighty have fallen!. That shining beacon of freedom and liberation denuded to reveal a framework of insatiable greed and shameless selfishness. Decades of Hollywood-fed images of bravado and derring-do cast aside as people could not only not survive a nuclear holocaust in their personal bunkers, they could not even handle breathing through a few thin layers of fabric.

OK, others much more eloquent than I have written about all that, so let me not walk in the shadow of those giants but instead trudge through a field of my own memories and pick out some of the things I have learnt, highlight some of the events that were significant, and mention some of the people who have made an impact on me in the last 12 months.

Here are some of my more significant memories of 2020.

A Different Chinese New Year

We decided to go down to Singapore for this new year. Mei’s dad was getting on and we thought it would be good if we spent this one with him. And we did, and had a great time. Mark, Megan and Michael were with us too - Megan being the big and very happy surprise as I had not seen my daughter in 2 or 3 years. 

The first day of Chinese New Year was unforgettable. Not only were we, and Mei’s siblings and their families there, but for the first time in many years other relatives turned up all at the same time so we could even grab a huge family picture.

The old guy was visibly happy and that was very nice to see.

It was the last time we saw him in person as he became very ill just a few months later, had an operation, failed to recover well, and then was gone.

We could not travel down due to the travel restrictions. At the time both countries required a 14-day home quarantine and we had no suitable place in Singapore, and Mei would not have been given permission to return to Malaysia anyway. So we could not be near as he went for his op, and could not even attend the wake and funeral. We instead had to make do with pictures sent by Mark and Michael who attended and were kind enough to think of us and to send us our only visual link with the proceedings.

The last holiday of the year, at the beginning of the year.

Well, OK maybe it wasn’t quite the last one but it was a big one. My Australian nephew Ashley got himself married in February and they had a Malaysian do as well as their Aussie one, as his wife CY had some family connections here. So the whole lot of them turned up in KL just as some of us did in Sydney the year before for niece Charmaine’s wedding. 

My brother Joe and his wife Hilda also trooped up to Penang to spend a few days here afterwards, as did my aunt Marianne (we call her Lai Koo as she’s the youngest sister of my late father) and my sister Margaret. Mei and I were thus busy running around taking them to see some sights, eat various local dishes and generally have a good time.

Mei and I had been in KL for the wedding and we drove back to Penang with Lai Koo and Margaret. The two ladies were pretty excited at the prospect of a ‘Road Trip’ even if it only took a few hours. And of course Mei and I were happy to play host in Penang. 

I’ve always been rather fond of my father’s youngest sister, and also of my own eldest sibling of course. The two are separated in years by just a little more than Margaret and I are, actually. And we all 3 share an artistic streak. Lai Koo and Margaret are both into quilting and were responsible for the beautiful and meaningful quilt I received in KL. This amazing piece was made from clothes worn by, or just material used by, my father, my mother, my aunts Marianne (Lai Koo) and Helene, my nieces Meilian and Melanie and Margaret herself too. The batik backing is from Lai Koo and the binding (the trimming piece) bicycle pattern was a brilliant personal touch. 

It’s not often that I receive such a deeply meaningful and personal gift and I was - and still am - very grateful indeed for the many hours of work that went into this. 

Taking family around, on the other hand, has never been hard work. Indeed it was an immense pleasure and I enjoyed not just taking Lai Koo and Margaret around but also getting to know my aunt a little better.

A few short weeks later, the Movement Control Order came into play and we were all stuck at our respective homes and Margaret had gone back to hers in Switzerland. Lai Koo was back in KL and at one point stressed out because her grandson was suspected of having contracted Covid-19. An anxious few days followed before it turned out the test had returned a false positive and the young man was cleared. During those few days though, Lai Koo and I were exchanging messages regularly and it was nice to be able to offer some comfort in difficult times.

Isn’t that one of the things family is supposed to be there for?

The Northern Chronicles Chapter 2

I’ve been in Penang a few months now and am rapidly settling into life here. The Tank with her Selangor number plates maintains a visible clue as to my identity as does my inability to converse in Penang Hokkien, but I have generally been taken in rather than taken advantage of when buying stuff or ordering things for the new cafe we’re setting up. Overall it’s been really quite good.

How good? Well, for starters, I’m typing this in a pub a few minutes drive down the road from where I live. Bailey’s is a little place that serves good Kilkenny which, though a very nice beer, for some reason makes me sleepy. I do enjoy it though. Bailey’s also has live football on TV and just the sort of atmosphere I like. In many ways it reminds me of Rennie’s when I used to live in PJ and The Yard when I was in Singapore. Both neighbourhood pubs populated by regulars and managed by a barkeep who knew how to make you feel welcome, when to engage you and when to leave you to your thoughts . Yes, it’s good here…


Let me list, in no particular order, some of the other good things here and why I’ve taken to Penang in such a big way.

Friendships

I’ve established some really good friendships in the last year and sometimes it feels like Ive been here decades rather than just months. The people I’ve met have embraced me and taken me into their fold almost like I were a long-lost cousin returned home, or a childhood friend come back to the hometown after years abroad. Perhaps I should not compare, and I concede I made some good friends in Singapore in the 25 years there, but there’s something touching and gratifying in the number, quality and depth of the relationships I’ve made in just the last 12 months.

OK so they can be a little silly, but they're good people to have around.

My new friends here have accepted me in a way and at a depth few, if any, of my Singaporean friends have achieved. And hey, I am one who works at friendships. I think this speaks volumes of the kind of people Penangites are. They may have a reputation for being Kiam Siap* but what I have found is a generosity of spirit that is touching and endearing.

Driving

Yes, Penang drivers are among the craziest in Malaysia. But, short of having an accident, they’re also among the most forgiving. Yes, they’ll create 5 lanes when there are really only three, and yes, they’ll cut you up on the left and swing in from the right, but when you need to get somewhere you’re not quite in the correct lane to get to, they’ll let you switch lanes. No fuss, no horning, no agro. It just works. I find my journeys in The Tank are usually stress-free and quite calm ones. In the last few years in Singapore, I’d gotten quite cranky every time I drove. Now, 800 km up north, I find I’m almost always quite the opposite. What is, simply is and I have little desire to thump another driver on the head for being such a (perceived) prick…

Scenery

Penang isn’t very large but has amazing geographical and societal variety. There really is a little for everyone. There’s the heritage area, the shopping centres, marinas and beaches, hills galore, more hills, and then even more hills!, a national park, plenty of hiking and mountain biking trails, plantations and paddy fields, orchards and waterfalls, fishing villages and homestays… I love drawing the living room curtains and sliding open the living room balcony doors every morning and taking in fresh air and the view of the often-cloud-draped hills nearby. And cycling around where I shall soon be working, Balik Pulau, brings me close to padi fields, the seaside, fishing villages, kampungs and more.

I love seeing this view every time I draw the living room curtains.

Agression. Or the lack thereof.

I always thought Hokkien was a rather rough-sounding dialect. Then I heard Penang Hokkien. Less authentic and original than the southern counterpart which I have become used to hearing, it is also a softer-toned language with more rounded sounds. As an example, ‘eat rice’ in southern Hokkien is Chiak Png - the ‘Png’ sound in particular being a hard, sudden stop with the feel and weight of a command - to me anyway. The Penang equivalent is Chiak Poi, which is altogether softer and gentler and carries an air of invitation and grace. I’m very used to not understanding conversations that go on around me. 25 years of being surrounded by Hokkien and Mandarin conversation, and not being party or enlightened eavesdropper to either has made me more aware of tone rather than words.

The same applies to Penang in many ways too but the difference here is that I find sounds of conversations here gentler and less seemingly confrontational or agressive. Penang Hokkien is partly responsible, but so too, I think, is how Penangites generally carry and conduct themselves. The pace is slower of course (except the mad motorcyclists) but it’s also how social etiquette is different. People are less afraid to make eye contact and to acknowledge each other. Sitting in a coffeeshop, strangers are generally more willing to smile or at least nod at each other. It’s a refreshing change I’m enjoying greatly.

Cycling

I don’t actually cycle as much as I would like to, but I must say I feel safer cycling around Penang - even with the mad drivers and bikers here - than I have ever felt in Singapore. There are cycling lanes, dedicated cycling lanes and trails everywhere which are great fun to ride on. I no longer have a usable mountain bike and running around on skinny 28mm tyres on my current bike means sandy or gravelly trails are a little nerve-wracking, but I still find that the diverse scenery and the friendiness of people in general make for a great cycling experience. My fitness has tapered off so much in the few years since my Celebrate Malaysia ride that I am not really capable yet, but I intend to be fit enough soon, to tackle a round-island ride. Soon… Meanwhile I happily ride 25-35 kms around the Balik Pulau area, discovering new trails and villages and more.

So we hammed it up a bit, but isn't it nice to cycle past padi fields?

Food

Must I even elaborate? Lonely Planet voted Penang top street-food destination in the world for 2014. Enough said.

Street Art

Must I even elaborate? When Penang began seriously gaining international attention these last few eyars, Ipoh, Johor Bahru and even SIngapore began to try and emulate the street art culture of Penang. JB had a serious faux pas with this when Ernest Zacharevic’s Legoman Mugging piece was not appreciated and was whitewashed. Singapore has her own issues with legislation and needing everything to be registered and allowed and so on. Penang, meanwhile, just quietly goes on being wonderfully creative. I mentioned to a few Singaporean friends that the infamous SKLo, the young Singaporean artist who pasted humourous stickers on pedestrian crossing buttons and who got eventually done for vandalism, would have been right at home in Penang. One of them opined that in Penang, she would have been ordinary. And I think that sums it all up really. Penang is a widly creative place where thinking artistically and creatively is the norm.

And this brings me to an idea I have expressed a number of times recently - that the truly great thing about Penang is its self-confidence. This is a city/state with a history it is not embarrassed about. A place that instinctively knows and understands at a very deep level who and what it is. And where it’s headed. One that has a clear picture of what it represents and what it stands for.

For me, someone moving back after 25 years away and dealing with so many uncertainties and variables as I reestablish myself, building on a solid foundation like I find in Penang sure feels darned good.

The Northern Chronicles Chapter 1

The view from my new place.

Mei and I had been thinking we’d retire somewhere in Malaysia. Despite 25 years away, it’s home for me of course, and it’s not far from Mei’s ‘home’. Factor in all the other reasons - food, relative affordability, nice people… and even when you balance that out against a political climate that isn’t very encouraging, crime that is prevalent, public transport that is non-existent and so on, you still get a pretty good argument for a retirement in Malaysia.

Our plans were also to set up some sort of Eco-friendly B&B so Malaysia was an obvious choice. We’d looked initially at Ipoh and had even made a couple of trips up to look at property there but eventually set our sights elsewhere. Yes, Ipoh is a lovely place, and yes, it’s Cantonese, and yes, the food is fantastic, but it’s just a little too old, tired, and perhaps even faded. More importantly it was no longer on a busy tourist trail and if we wanted a sustainable retirement business, Ipoh, despite its attractions, could not quite make it.

Melaka was our next choice. It was, after all, one of my favourite cities in Malaysia. Turns out ‘was’ became the operative word. IN recent years, I reckon Melaka has somewhat lost its charm. Development that has ignored the historical heritage and natural attractions has become a turn off. Land reclamation, for example, has destroyed some of the seaside eateries’ attractions. The Portuguese Settlement has been affected too, and has also suffered from a lack of proper guided support. It seems to me that in trying to provide a little to everyone, Melaka is simply failing to provide an excellent experience for any one.

Then it came time to smile… My Senyum Sajalah exhibition in Penang at the end of 2013 gave me my first extended experience of Penang. I spent over 10% of 2013 in Penang, researching, chronicling and eventually exhibiting. It was a wonderful time and I made new friends whom I know I will have around me for many years to come. 

“It seems that when you’re on the right path, the Universe conspires to help you on the way”

I remember telling Mei one day that we could forget Ipoh, Melaka and even Johor. Penang was the place for us. She came up for the exhibition and spent some time with me and agreed. And so we took the first steps towards settling up North.

Among these were exploring some business opportunities. It was at this time that I discovered things in Penang move a little slower than I am used to. Our negotiations for some business premises began in January and it wasn’t until June that that our plans had to change because the location became unsuitable for a variety of reasons. We quickly found another and finally signed the lease a few weeks ago.

It seems that when you’re on the right path, the Universe conspires to help you on the way. My friend Newton had accepted a job overseas and left a few weeks before my arrival in Penang. He generously let me stay in his apartment. I also had to sell my Singapore-registered Honda Airwave as it didn’t make sense to keep it here. You can read about the wheels elsewhere on this blog. She’s a 30-year old Volvo 240GL Wagon. I’ve affectionately dubbed her The Tank.

So here I am now, making my first steps towards settling in Penang. I’m slowly prising open this oyster and discovering the pearl within. The first steps have been good and when I turn back and look at the footprints I’m planting here, I feel very happy and proud.

Farewell dinner with my old yoga mates.

We had a great farewell dinner at New Ubin Seafood in Singapore.

My son, Mark (on far right) joined us for dinner.

Just one of the many loads I took up in my trusty Honda Airwave.