the E&O - "the shining jewel of penang"
sorry for the delay in blogging, we simply couldn't be pulled away from the seaside pool to blog...
a few days ago we flew to the island of penang in northwest malaysia. thanks to the exchange rate in malaysia, for less then the cost of our generic and boring hotel room in singapore, we are staying in the most amazing hotel we have ever seen (our three room suite - the bathroom is like one giant room in itself - overlooks the pool and the ocean, and we have one of five balconies on the property - sheer luck!).
dan enjoys a malaysian sunrise from our balcony before his daily dip in the pool.
the Eastern and Oriental Hotel was a sister hotel to the Raffles in singapore in the 1800s. it was redone a few years ago and then again as far as the pool is concerned after the tsunami of 2004. i'll be honest, this isn't our usual scene, but, oh man, do i wish it was. this is, by far, the cream of the crop as far as amenities, service and location are concerned. noel coward and marlene deitrich stayed here. add to that list jordan and dan and well, that tells you the amount of luxury for your buck.
everything is white, with dark wood where appropriate for a colonial outpost (furniture, library walls, bar). one gets the distinct feeling that meticulous attention to detail was paid when recreating this homage to english imperialism. i love everything but the nightly bar band. i could take that woman in a karaoke sing out any day.
as for the staff here, we love everyone we have come in contact with. the first night our waiter taught us Potauk - a malaysian card game. it was just an okay game until he said "now why don't you make it more interesting? if she wins you buy her dinner..." this is the way important decisions are made here in penang. then we met kelvin, the second top mixologist in the country of malaysia, who promised to make us one of his prize-winning Penang Heritage drinks. the doorman considered our choice for dinner last night sub-par and very smoothly told us as much suggesting a much better and more authentic seafood restaurant where we enjoyed black pepper crab - eaten with our hands, though much less deftly than the locals.
this is all very lovely, but it leaves us feeling conflicted. while on one hand the luxury and service is unlike anything we have experienced, on the other hand we can't help feeling uncomfortable about living like this when it is clear, by walking the streets, that the locals don't. the island is actually quite diverse and interesting. in our next post - exploring the island with a local: from "stupid foreign millionaires" to a fishing village in the mangrove swamps.
a few days ago we flew to the island of penang in northwest malaysia. thanks to the exchange rate in malaysia, for less then the cost of our generic and boring hotel room in singapore, we are staying in the most amazing hotel we have ever seen (our three room suite - the bathroom is like one giant room in itself - overlooks the pool and the ocean, and we have one of five balconies on the property - sheer luck!).
dan enjoys a malaysian sunrise from our balcony before his daily dip in the pool.the Eastern and Oriental Hotel was a sister hotel to the Raffles in singapore in the 1800s. it was redone a few years ago and then again as far as the pool is concerned after the tsunami of 2004. i'll be honest, this isn't our usual scene, but, oh man, do i wish it was. this is, by far, the cream of the crop as far as amenities, service and location are concerned. noel coward and marlene deitrich stayed here. add to that list jordan and dan and well, that tells you the amount of luxury for your buck.
everything is white, with dark wood where appropriate for a colonial outpost (furniture, library walls, bar). one gets the distinct feeling that meticulous attention to detail was paid when recreating this homage to english imperialism. i love everything but the nightly bar band. i could take that woman in a karaoke sing out any day.
as for the staff here, we love everyone we have come in contact with. the first night our waiter taught us Potauk - a malaysian card game. it was just an okay game until he said "now why don't you make it more interesting? if she wins you buy her dinner..." this is the way important decisions are made here in penang. then we met kelvin, the second top mixologist in the country of malaysia, who promised to make us one of his prize-winning Penang Heritage drinks. the doorman considered our choice for dinner last night sub-par and very smoothly told us as much suggesting a much better and more authentic seafood restaurant where we enjoyed black pepper crab - eaten with our hands, though much less deftly than the locals.
this is all very lovely, but it leaves us feeling conflicted. while on one hand the luxury and service is unlike anything we have experienced, on the other hand we can't help feeling uncomfortable about living like this when it is clear, by walking the streets, that the locals don't. the island is actually quite diverse and interesting. in our next post - exploring the island with a local: from "stupid foreign millionaires" to a fishing village in the mangrove swamps.
posted by jordan at
4:58 AM
2 Comments:
Anyone else having a bit of trouble reconciling that picture of my fat cat brother in his swanky hotel bathrobe with their mental picture of him as a long-haired, Teva-wearing, backpack-carrying, acutely socially active granola crunchy teenager?
By
Rebecca, at June 05, 2008 4:00 PM
Yes, I'm having trouble reconcilling it too. The picture was staged for maximum impact. :) This is my first time traveling in the devloping world since I was a poor student and I am feeling conflicted about our posh accomidations in light of the way people live in these countries and the way I have traveled in the past. Perhaps if I can get my thoughts organized I'll post on the subject. Of course, that would take away from time lounging on the beach...
By
Anonymous, at June 06, 2008 7:33 AM
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