Tea, tea and more tea

Today was the day of tea...and other activities, but it was the tea that really stood out. We found these gorgeous glass kettles that you use to boil water when making tea (like real old loose tea leaves tea, not tea bag tea dust tea) when were in KL, but thought it would be too difficult to travel around the rest of Southeast Asia with a glass tea kettle and when my bag flew out of the side of the bus on our way to Taman Negara, we were happy at the decision to NOT purchase such and item. However, the thoughts of this lovely tea pot continued to find their way into our heads until we found this quaint little tea shop and cafe down one of the streets near our seedy hostel. We must have gone back 100 times to look at all the tea kettles and compressed tea that is so delicately wrapped in colourful and intricate cloth-like paper in these eye pleasing round and flat discs...and we got one. It is glass and has a tiny picture of two Chinese fisherman on the hillside under a tree, possibly heading to the lake to catch some fish perhaps. Then, the lovely tea man (who is only 27, yet looks like he is about 12, invited us to partake in his daily morning tea ritual and drink some 20 year old tea. This was such a treat and he taught us all about the differences between compressed tea leaves and the dreaded and unacceptable tea bags and then began this enchanting tea ritual that involves so many tea set pieces of delicate china with various designs and set on top of a stone-like slab to absorb the boiling water. He removed some compressed black tea leaves from a wrapped disc of tea and added a small handful to a bone china mug with a tiny lid to keep the steam inside. The first batch was washed away down the side of the gray stone slab, as it may be tainted with various non-threatening toxins, but this may effect the richness and flavour of the the tea. The second and third batch was shared by me, Alex and the tea shop owner. We drank and drank listening to him tell us stories about his grandfather and how he has been a tea connoisseur since age 8 and realizes that he is a very young tea aficionado, as this profession seems to be dominated by the older Chinese generations. He has so many happy memories of his grandfather and has such a pallet for tea...it was a treat to watch him light up when he brought a bubbling hot cup of black herbs to his nose and smile with such glee at the thought of pressing the thin white bone china rim of the mug to his lips sipping the essence of the tea. Bless, you know Al and I were trying so hard to taste all the intricate flavours he described to us, but it was just lost on us...me with the pallet of a dog and Alex who hates tea in all forms. We should have won Academy Awards or Baftas for our portrayal of wide eyed Westerners trying aged compressed tea for the first time, but needless to say, it was a once in a lifetime experience and we learned so much. We left the Tea Shop a bit smarter about tea and in a really good mood, no doubt the caffeine high from the endless cups of herbal tea digesting in our bellies and off to Penang Hill we went. Unfortunately, Penang Hill is under some sort of construction and closed indefinitely so we had to make a quick change of plans and head to the Botanical Garden on the longest most painful bus ride of our lives...the number 10! Now, how spoiled are we, there was air conditioning, we had seats and it was so clean, but the route was dreadful. Once we got to the Gardens though, all was forgotten, as we were met with sprawling greenery and so many interesting paths to choose giving us endless choices for hours of walking pleasure.
Now, for a riddle. How can you tell the difference between a local Malaysian and a Mel and Al while walking through the Botanical Gardens in Penang? Well, the local Malaysian is carrying a monkey stick of course, while Mel and Al have backpacks full of monkey-loving snacks such as bananas, peanut butter and crackers. Let this riddle set up the scene for the incident at the Botanical Garden. We are trying to save money and purchasing groceries at the local supermarket and taking picnic with you is a great way of doing just that. We found a lovely little spot under a pagoda like apparatus to sit down and have a yummy picnic lunch of peanut butter on crackers with bananas for dessert. We watched as dozens of walkers/joggers whisked by us with sun hats and walking sticks briskly moving for some cardiovascular fitness when we heard a rustle in a nearby tree...then another one...then Al saw some leaves drifting back and forth from the sky gracefully down to the earth! Hmmm, what could that be and then all of a sudden we were under attack by 20 or so monkeys after our delicious monkey delicacies. Some walkers saw this and came running over screaming in some language and swinging their walking sticks (which we now know are monkey sticks - like pig sticks - above their heads and bashing them around the monkeys feet scaring them off giving us time to pack up our extremely monkey friendly lunch and escape. Commence 3 hours of fear fueled brisk hiking around the gardens with a side of starvation. Despite all of this drama, we did enjoy ourselves tremendously and thought, "what a great story," which is what we usually think everyday while travelling. After our lovely afternoon in the Botanical Gardens, we decided to head to Queensbay along the water and walk around the very posh mall. We were able to get a yummy vegetable ramen soup and found the lovely tea pot for twice as much as what we paid for it which made us smile! There was also a delightful treat a of tone deaf karaoke competition in the mall as well so it was dinner and show for us! We took the long way back to the hostel, not to avoid the prostitutes, pimps and deviants, but to avoid the racist Buddhist monk that has been slightly stalking us. We walked along the opposite street parallel to our hostel and were hiding in this very Internet cafe in the back corner, but he found us and sat himself down to lecture us about meditation and chakras. It was painful, but we made it through and have a nice 10 hour bus ride to Thailand tomorrow to reflect on all we learned during our time in Penang...well during our whole time travelling really, as this has been the biggest learning experience we have had in a long time!