Bad traffic. Amazing food. Very hot. Top three things that describe Penang. All three played a role in ruining my ideal Friday afternoon!
Since I had to go back to the fabric store to complete my transaction, I ideated a baby excursion of strollering around the very pedestrian friendly Campbell street to a dim sum place that a coworker recommended followed by fabric pick up. This all did hinge on being able to park close by, since this little human still does not regulate body temperature and it was going to be high noon.
We executed a smooth sequence of feed, fresh diaper and sleepy transition to the car seat, but as soon as we got to the outskirts of Georgetown, I could feel my plans slipping away. Friday lunch traffic was bad, an ill omen for parking. Sure enough, once we got close to Campbell Street, it was clear that Friday afternoon meant many more people out and about. There was no chance for parking on Campbell or close by.
Malaysia’s answer to oppressive heat: malls. That too was our answer to too hot and too hungry but still wanting to stroll. We headed to the closest mall, technically there are three clustered together in the middle of Georgetown: 1st Avenue, KOMTAR and Prangin malls. I’d never been to 1st Avenue so that’s where we headed. Malls are very successful in Malaysia but 1st Avenue was much sadder than Gurney Plaza or Queensbay Mall. Empty storefronts, even in the food court which was bustling with a younger crowd on their lunch break.
Ordered all our food from one stall, China Kitchen, so more mainland flavors, and got drinks. Horlicks ais satu, barli ais satu (one iced Horlicks, a malty British meal replacement mix and one iced barley water, a simple sweet drink usually served with a bubble tea straw so you can suck up the barley grains on the bottom) for 7 ringgit ($1.7) total.
Not wanting to dally too much with the increasing forecast of Friday afternoon traffic, we headed back to Campbell street. Ken pulled over and I ran across the street to the store where the yeye recognized me after a beat and thanked me for coming back 😅
6 half meters for 40 ringgit ($9.80), not bad but if I was in the US or Japan, I would have just gotten fat quarters. That isn’t a thing here. For any other baby fabrics, I will probably be ordering online, most likely from China.
Baby fussed a bit getting out of Georgetown, the magic car ride doesn’t work when you’re stuck in traffic. As soon as we hit more open road, he fell fast asleep.
Maybe blog will give me accountability to actually get this busy book sewn, stay tuned!
Bonus content:
Coming out of the shower the other day, a bug on the floor gave me a jump scare. Bugs always jump scare me but since I’ve had two coworkers in the same building have varying degrees of cockroach visits, I’m more sensitive than usual.
It was a harmless cricket. How did it get to our unit 13 floors high? Ken set it free on the 7th floor common area where there are trees and plants in planters. Bye little guy.
Still picking away at the puzzle.
Ken cut an apple last week and found a seed already sprouted. A bit surprisingly, I haven’t gotten any houseplants since moving to the apartment in November but now we have a baby human and a baby plant.
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