Grateful

I'm grateful to be back home. As great as Penang was, there's never been a place like home, just as they say.

Here are some photos from the trip:

 Rather blue skies.

 The Charlie Brown Cafe.

Coolness.

 Huge lanterns and huge skies.

 The last time I saw a lion dance was when I was barely a teen (or something like that). 

This time, I realise that this traditional dance is actually a gymnastic performance that tests stamina and flexibility. And so, bravo, lion dancers!

I like this sign.

***

And of course, there's the food. Splendid food found almost everywhere. Here are the best four I had, based on my humble opinion and preference (not in order of goodness):

Char kuey teow.

Oily, but yummy. Totally Penang.

Too much can however be slightly indigestible. 

Still palatable, but indigestible. 

Wantan mee a.k.a. tok-tok mee.

Not a true Hokkien dish, but because I've missed it, I'm biased.

O chien.

What can I say? 

It has oysters, and I love seafood.

Banana leaf rice.

Again, not a Hokkien dish, but Indian.

Absolutely stunning flavours, and the first I'd ever had. 

Everyone else thought it was not spicy at all, so I kept quiet and pretended it was only a bit spicy. 

Haha.

There are plenty of other foods, of which I didn't fancy all of them. I did enjoy lam mee, char hor fun and char kuey kak though. Oh, and I tried the most amazing biscuits ever. Biscuits, as in, neither American nor British biscuits. The latter is the kind we Malaysians are more familiar with eg. Jacob's Biscuits. These however, are pastries. Visitors to Penang always buy a box or two or three or four (depending on how many people you'd like to pamper) of tambun pia back home. These aren't the same. I don't know what they're called formally, but you could dub them 'salted egg biscuits' perhaps?

They are wonderfully tons of times better than tambun biscuits (tau sa piah). 

The layers of pastry are flaky. 

Crispy on the outside, with the gradual transition to a soft and rich centre filled with soft brown mung bean paste surrounding a salted egg yolk, as orange as the sun. 

The balance of saltiness and sweetness is strikingly perfect, and the pastry is simply...amazing.

Needless to say, the ones I bought home are gone already.

***

One of the best parts of this Penang trip was the fact that I was doing practicals. Some might think it a nasty thing, having to work/study during the holidays, but I relish the opportunity and I've enjoyed the experience. It's like a dream. I get to work this close to horses, to learn to care for them, to get to know them.

Landmark. 

The sturdy, gentle, old horse who took me on his back twice.

Whose coat I rubbed and brushed and wiped.

Whose large cheek I kissed when I bid him farewell.

I miss the horses. But again, I'm grateful for all that. And I'm grateful to be back.