“Love, we’re living in a hotel room again,” I said this morning. “No one’s going to take our laundry away, and you had to go get coffee….I miss Bali…. I miss having a house. I miss our large, separate closets. There’s no breakfast when we wake up. We don’t even have breakfast!”
It was bound to happen. Bali withdrawal. You can ignore it for a few days while everything seems new and exciting, but eventually it catches up. At least it always has for me.
“Bali Withdrawal Syndrome is a serious medical condition you can get from extended exposure to Bali. Sadness, longing and the inability to enjoy whatever isn’t Bali can result. Left untreated, BWS can develop into shaking, crying and total decompensation when faced with dishes, laundry, bills, and other aspects of reality. If you or someone you love is suffering from BWS, talk to your doctor about Airline Tickets.”
Unfortunately, the drug companies haven’t come up with a pill and some of us just suffer quietly. And not so quietly at times.
Because of my history with BWS, I knew it was possible that whatever destination came along next might get the brunt of our feelings. Originally, we intended to go to Singapore where I have suffered through BWS many times. Singapore is so starkly different from Bali that it’s like going through shock therapy in a safe environment. In a weird way, Singapore is almost distracting and therefore, it buffers the symptoms.
Because Conlan had spent time with me in Singapore before, he wanted to see something new. We changed our plan to come to Malaysia first and then return to Singapore later.
We’re enjoying Penang, but somehow we’re not terribly attached to it. I can’t rule out BWS.
Penang is a pretty and fairly relaxed place. The beaches are gorgeous and the climate and environment feel like neighboring Thailand – which can be seen from the island’s north shore.
Penang has character, culture, rough edges, imperfections and a lot of activity without any pressure. The main city of Georgetown is easy to traverse on foot. The recipe seems right – but the results feel underwhelming.
More developed than Thailand, less developed than Singapore, Penang and Malaysia in general take on the strange quality of being developed without being first world. It lacks the modernity of Singapore, Hong Kong or Bangkok while missing the third world charms of most of Thailand or Bali.
From the many buildings with their peeling paint, decay and charred sides, it’s easy to imagine Penang in its heyday. The port that’s modest by today’s standards was probably huge and bustling by the standards of the 19th century when Under British rule it became the key port of the Malacca Strait. Colonial times must have been interesting in Penang.
Today, instead of trading rubber and spices, Penang has several IT companies with large offices and plants outside the main city. The northern shore is largely devoted to tourism and condos for the wealthy. Although Penang certainly hasn’t fallen into poverty and despair, it lacks the energy and enthusiasm that a city or an country on the rise might have.
All this to say there’s nothing wrong with Penang. It’s lovely, interesting and almost sweet. We’re just not in love.
It’s not you, Penang – it’s us. We’ve been going through a rough time with the BWS and all. You’re exactly the right island and a real catch for the right people. We had the same problem with Samos, Greece where we went right after our month on neighboring Patmos. Maybe you’d like Samos’ number or email?
Two days ago, we thought long and hard about Malaysia and our plans here. We came planning to spend time in at least two places – most likely Penang and Malacca.
However, everything we’ve read says that Malacca is all about it’s colonial spice trade history – and not so much a vibrant present. Colonial history mildly interests me and has no appeal at all to Emily.
So, we’ve decided to move along with our travels.
Saturday, Emily and I head back to Singapore where we’ll spend six days in the city state that represents the world’s largest engineered social experiment. On Friday the 29th, we’ll go into a new territory and cultural sphere for us both – Vietnam, starting with Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon.
Conlan who deeply desired a beach break and some time to relax on his first vacation trip of the past three years decided Tuesday to go to nearby, very lush and tropical Langkawi Island. It’s hard for us to move around too quickly with our work – especially during the weekdays. So, he’s spending a couple of days there himself. Tomorrow, I’ll take the ferry over, spend some final time with him before he flies to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow night and from there to London the next morning.
Less than a week after arriving, we’re already wrapping up Malaysia. Emily and I spent a few hours today rapidly acquiring the three items we get in ever country – a cookbook, a decorative item for our future home and a dress for Emily. We managed to get all three in the span of two hours – a record for us.
We can’t explain why Penang and Malaysia don’t “click” for us. But there’s no need to fight it. With just over two months left of our trip, we don’t want to squander our most precious resource of all – time.
Singapore, we’ll be back Saturday with a lingering case of BWS. You know what to do.
Sent from my iPad
