today, we went to an orchard and spice garden. We saw so many plants & flowers and I have so many pictures and no ability now to identify them all. Penang is know for durian, a fruit that "smells like hell but tastes like heaven." Smells so much that hotels have signs in the lobby telling guests they are not allowed to bring durian inside. We were all a little relieved to find that it is not currently in season! Our guide told us we must return to Malaysia in June or July to taste the famous durian. Will do ... It is referred to as "King of the Fruits". Mangosteen is "Queen of the Fruits" and Rambutan is "Prince of the Fruits", but they are also currently out of season.
We saw bananas:
pineapple:
nutmeg:
(did you know that you can poison someone with nutmeg?)
some weird kind of apple:
asian figs:
ginger:
and lots of pretty flowers:
At the spice garden, there were also lots of beautiful plants, again most of which I can’t remember to identify:
some kind of endangered palm, maybe?:
There was also a tsunami memorial. Our guide yesterday told us that 47 people perished in Penang in the tsunami, the guide today said 68. Low, by all comparison but very sad nonetheless. There are many hotels along the beach here too, but they had time to be warned. Hotel managers in Bande Ache had notified folks here and they were able to clear the beaches. The people who perished were all fisherman. Like the stories of other areas, here in Penang, the water receded before the tsunami arrived. Fisherman went further in to catch the fish that were hopping around on dry land. They were not warned. When the wave hit, they were dragged out into the sea. A lot of fisherman here are still living in temporary government housing over two years later.
