The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: OFF TO GEORGE TOWN ON PENANG ISLAND IN MALAYSIA
Those sedatives from the stitch up on my head imparted an extra long sleep although feeling refreshed, I had a splitting headache which was addressed by Bobby Jr. giving me some canine aspirin given to him at the Taman Negara National Park veterinarian station.
By the time our butler Keith had brough breakfast to our State Cabin I was feeling chipper despite an itchiness caused by the cone on my head which had to remain in place for another day.
Sir Reginald Nicomshire stopped by after breakfast to check in on my health and ask Bobby Jr. if I was able to join him on a Vespa tour of George Town. My happy bark was my answer. “Let’s go!”
Around 11:00 the train pulled into the Seberang Perai train station and we had a brief underground walk to the ferry dock which would transport us across the Strait of Malacca and take us to George Town. When heading down the gangplank to our waiting Vespas in George Town a wall of heat and humidity just about bowled over all of us heading to our Vespa’s. Thirty-eight degrees with 95% humidity.
Each of myself, Bobby Jr. and Nicomshire had a Vespa driver. They had set a basket for me on the rear of the seat while Bobby Jr. and Nicomshire grabbed on to their Vespa driver.
I must have been some sight sitting on the back of a Vespa in a basket with a cone over my head. Pedestrians clapped and some whistled when they saw me whizz by.
George Town was in my mind simply that; a town but what can you see in a few hours if you want to avoid the heavily travelled tourist path.
Our first official stop was at some “cultural centre” for a puppet show and to look at some artisanal goods i.e. cheap souvenirs. Yes, and there were Viking Cruise people galore in tight fitting polo shirts with huge guts spilling out, fanny packs and Tilley hats causing Bobby to say, “Let’s get the hell out of here and see some of the real George Town.”
The first stop was a local marketplace with cheap Chinese goods and clothing on the outside but an impressive fish and meat section and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Whole carcasses of beef and lamb hanging on hooks and chickens and ducks too. More interesting than some sterile supermarket. Not a gringo in sight!
You wouldn’t think a visit to a cemetery would be on a tourist’s agenda but then again we are not Viking Cruise people so we visited the English Catholic and Protestant cemetery a marker of British colonialism. Bobby Jr. read the inscriptions on the gravestones and so many young children died. The inscriptions told a story of British colonialism and there was a mausoleum with absolutely no markings of who might have been interred there.
All of us enjoyed the shade of the graveyard but even with it being so close to the water there was no breeze.
Somewhat lambasted by the heat and humidity we stopped at a 7-11 nearby for a cold drink. The air conditioning was so ferocious I more or less dragged Bobby Jr. out of the igloo to enjoy a Japanese carbonated drink called Vida sweetened with stevia. Bobby Jr. poured some of his Lychee flavoured Vida in a bowl he had brought along for me and I lapped up half a can. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a cold drink so much!
We then tooted over to City Hall and an administrative building, perfect examples of British colonial architecture. Then a marker for those soldiers who died during World War II in a death march building a railroad for the Japanese.
After three hours all of us were, as you humans say, toast! We sat on benches overlooking the Strait of Malacca and the high-rises of Seberang Perai.
At 15:30 we were back on the ferry.
As we walked to the train I saw a huge contingent of trucks, antennas and a milling crowd. The general manager of the Eastern & Oriental Express operations in Malaysia, who had been travelling on the train with us, ran out to warn us the international press was waiting for Cuddlecakes, the legendary, courageous and most stunningly handsome West Highland Terrier who defended British royalty from a savage tiger attack.
This was it I thought. Madame Fong has outplayed herself and she’ll go down in flames kamikaze style!!!!
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