Exploring Penang

Yesterday Rattu and I hired a cab to explore Penang. Rattu (a student from Bhutan - the first Bhutanese ever at USM) was particularly eager to visit some Buddist temples. Our first stop was a Chinese Buddist Temple (in Rattu's word "same god, different face"). I was bemused by the carved statues outside the temple - the bench gives you a feel for the large number of whimsical characters outside the temple.

After touring the temple we waited for our cab driver. I had a great laksa - I am still recalling it with great pleasure. (I had a laksa in Singapore several years ago that was too fishy for my taste. After that I decided to stick to Kuching/Sarawak laksa. Yesterday's laksa was different from Kuching - but just as memorable).

To finish off the record for yesterday here is a picture of Rattu at a waterfall.

Today I spent a long time meeting with someone who will help me get data from Chinese dialect organizations. I will try to sort out the conversation and add some insights tomorrow.