Leaping forward Penang style

by Skyler Gilbert (United States of America)

A leap into the unknown Malaysia

We stepped out into the thick moist air. Air that had our t-shirts clinging to our bodies within moments. Above us were lush green leaves and our shoes slapped watery puddles on the broken footpath. Seven pairs of shoes sloshing their way together. Seven people who were more than a little bewildered. We were going on an adventure. An international family adventure, and in true explorer spirit, we had booked an apartment in a decidedly non-touristy part of Penang. It felt all kinds of fun and brave while I was dreaming up our big adventure, but the actual leap was proving to be more confronting than I’d expected. My husband took a firm grip on our two-year-old and we walked in a line formation. I kept a wary eye on my kids as they navigated the broken slabs of concrete that ran along-side the deepest drains I had ever seen. A sheer drop to death awaited any incautious walker, of course, my kids are not particularly cautious and so my heart would freeze with fright every now and then as one of them would laugh and peer over the edge. As we made our way slowly towards the local market, the occasional scooter would shoot past and we could hear unfamiliar chatter. Finally, our family reached the main street. Walking down a road and crossing the street, no big deal, right? Not so on our big adventure. The road was a crazy cacophony of traffic – scooters, cars, buses, bicycles…all dodging each other and honking and swerving. Oh wow, this was surely a world away from our small-town home in Australia. We held hands and formed a line, then we stood there stupidly for quite a while. What to do? Finally there was a gap in the traffic and we gave the oncoming car a wave and a smile, that did the trick, we crossed calmly…nah, just kidding, we ran for our lives and made it to the other side, not daring to think about the return journey. All that remained between us and our culinary dreams was a park and a dumpster, no worries! I took a deep breath and walked on, thinking about all the reasons we had chosen Penang as our destination for adventurous family travel. Food. It was all about the food. Named as being the street food capital of the world, Penang is famous for hosting a large variety of the best Asian dishes that can be found. But perfect street food was not the only thing on my mind, I wanted to reach for something more, I wanted to stretch our family. Deep inside me is the concrete and stubborn belief that there is more to discover in life. That diversified experiences and new wonder will create deep richness to our souls. That getting out of our norm will give meaning and instill creativity and inspiration. I believe this. Stubbornly. Maybe stupidly, and yet, there it is, driving myself and my young family to ever new and difficult situations. But as we passed two homeless men in the overgrown, littered park, and as we were stepping over a particularly disgusting pile of who-knows-what on the ground next to the dumpster, I began to question the wisdom in leaping to a place so totally unknown. I didn’t see any other foreign families with 5 blonde children ages 2 – 13 traipsing around the local neighborhoods of South East Asia, maybe we had made a mistake and leaped too far? Finally, we entered the covered street market, and my feelings quickly changed. There was an energy that was fun, busy, warm and flavorful all at once. Owners of different stalls called out to each other or called to customers as children giggled and ran underfoot. Sauces, noodles and spices sizzled and stewed, emitting great billowing clouds of delicious smelling steam. There were strings of warm fairy lights suspended across the canopy. It was such a fun atmosphere that we didn’t mind so much when everyone turned our way and openly stared. Daring adventure and culinary discoveries had entered our lives in a little-known street market in Penang. We would keep on leaping.