Malaysia was unlike any other port for a couple of reasons. We sailed to Penang, and due to the size of our ship, were unable to dock at the port. So we got to and from our ship by "tendering," which meant taking little ferries back and forth, that ran every hour. The novelty of tendering wore off after the first time, as we quickly realized how it affected your planning each day. I'm sure the students were more annoyed, because if you didn't catch the last one at 12:30 a.m., you were stuck till the next morning.
We're hitting the rainy seasons in a number of these countries, and Malaysia did not let us down. It poured the first day, but even in the rain Penang is a beautiful place, with a combination of old and new architecture, little traffic, and a charming Chinatown and Little India. The highlight, though, was the food. In addition to restaurants on every block, there are numerous "food courts" where vendors set up under large tents, you choose the food you want (I just pointed to pictures) and they bring it to you. Malay food is a combination of Indian and Thai, and generally spicy. My bill for anything in the food court was the equivalent of $1.00, and in nicer restaurants, where I'd have a glass of wine, along with atmosphere and terrific service, I'd spend a whopping $10.
A group of six of us left on the second day for three days on Langkawi Island, a little paradise that was a 3-hour ferry ride away. We stayed in a resort, surrounded by.....yep, more amazing restaurants, and probably the nicest beach and pool I've ever seen. Tourist season doesn't start for a month, so there were only a handful of people around. We had rain the first two days, but I ignored it and ran outside, and swam in the pool and ocean anyway. The sun finally appeared our last day, so we got a late checkout, and at least returned to the ship looking like we had been to a beach. I appreciated the lack of activity in Malaysia, especially after India and before Vietnam.
A few people have asked what happened to my library job, since apparently my blog suggests I'm on the longest vacation of my life. So I'm attaching a photo of Molly and me (the librarians) and our 5 student employees, although we are drinking smoothies at the snack bar and there don't appear to be any books. Perhaps I'll be more convincing at the end of the voyage, when for 18 days of sailing they'll be nothing to photograph but the library. Molly and I actually do keep the library open from 8 am - 11 pm daily when we're sailing, and we alternate early and late days. We mostly check out travel guides and reserve readings, but we also assist students with researching papers, since they have access to all of the UVA databases. I think the faculty and I felt there would be more faculty research going on, but after the first week, they realized how hard it was going to be to cram a semester's worth of material in half the normal number of class days. It's odd how we all shift gears constantly from ship to port and back again, especially in this last half of the voyage, with just a few days in between each place. So back to the library, and on to Vietnam!
Pictures: Molly and me and our library students; view of the beach from our Langkawi resort; the pool; the beach; me, Molly, and Christine (sociology prof.) having breakfast across the street from our resort.
