Hi All,

  I haven’t been writing much but I have been off exploring.  Sometimes I just don’t know how to narrow down all of my photos to pick ones to send.  So I get stuck.  I’ve also been reading and painting and there’s only so much time in a day when you have to walk to the wet market for vegetables and chicken or off with Randal to collect the small fan motor for our dehumidifier.  All that walking in the heat makes me need a nap!   But Elizabeth and Jane and I have done some exploring while Jane’s school is on vacation.  And though we always enjoy our time together, sometimes the adventure doesn’t quite go as expected.  Like who knew the batik factory had burned down?  It was still on the map.  But it was a fun day and here’s the story. 

Ru

Doramac

Elizabeth, Jane and I Have and Adventure

First things this morning Randal and I met Elizabeth and Patrick and we walked yet a new way through George Town to meet Jane and Roger for chicken rice. It’s Saturday morning so it’s chicken rice. That’s the Saturday morning ritual. Brian and Terry from SV Cherokee joined us this morning too. Brian and Terry were some of the very first cruisers we met in 2008 on the Indonesia Rally and we toured Rinca Island, home of the komodo dragons with them. We have not seen them since the rally ended. After breakfast Jane, E and I caught the 101 bus to Teluk Bahang on the northern part of the island to visit some batik facilities. The road went along the coast and the traffic was light so it was quite nice. Randal and I had thought to possibly bike this road but when two buses met on a curve on this single lane curvy road, ours always slowed down because the road is quite narrow with no shoulder. We did see bikers riding the opposite direction which was the downhill direction but it doesn’t look appealing to me. Our bikes are at a local shop being over hauled so we will ride some, but mostly around town. The bus ride took about 35 minutes and cost 3.40 ringgits, about $1 U.S. A taxi probably would have cost at least $20.

We planned to visit the batik showroom and then walk just a bit down the road to the batik factory shown on the map. Photos were allowed in the demonstration area but not in the showrooms.

I rarely see women dressed in these heavy black robes with the small slits for their eyes so I do find them fascinating.

A hotel had ordered these pieces which were to be made into uniforms. The image is hand drawn and then outlined with wax which keeps the paint dye where it belongs on the fabric.

His mom is the batik worker and he wanted his photo taken too.

The different stages of the process: Elizabeth takes a photo and Jane looks on.

Even the dark background is painted mostly with a large brush but a smaller one is used for the close work.

We left what called itself the Craft Complex and headed over to the Batik Factory.

A huge sculpture of pitcher plants filled this rotary.

We saw lots of these plants in Sebana Cove. They would trap insects in the water and then eat them. At least I think that’s the story. In the distance you can see the mountain of the national park.

This funny guy was across from the rotary.

You can see the sign for the Penang Batik Factory. The pink building across the road is the library which we did visit. We visited a library in George Town on Thursday. It was pink also.

A marching drum band.

We had asked for directions to the Batik Factory from women selling cold drinks near the rotary. They told us it was 5 meters down the road. We walked way further than that so asked directions from the teacher. She sent us back the way we came. When we got back to the library (I can now recognize the Bahasa word for library) we asked directions again. Finally someone knew the answer. It had burned down so most of the work had moved into the craft complex we had already visited. So we went to the library instead and that will be the next email.