Sunrise over Penang.

0750: A sunrise is a beautiful sight to behold. Wuan and I woke up early to catch one. The dawn sky was beginning to brighten. The sun was already a few degrees above the horizon. Scattered clouds obscured it partially. The sight of its shimmering reflection on the sea spread warmth inside us. Waking up a wee bit earlier was worth the effort. It was indeed a magnificent spectacle, especially from where we were, high above everything else with an unimpeded view all the way to the horizon.

Breakfast at Gurney Hotel Coffee Bean.

0917: One of the things I did not do the last time we were at Gurney Hotel was discovering how an egg benedict really tastes like. We headed down to Coffee Bean which was just beside the hotel. I do not know if their Eggs Ben is the same since I do not know one from the other. It was not exceptionally good but times better than the awful hawker food we had at the food court opposite Eon Bank at Burmah Road the evening before. Wuan had Chicken Sandwich which was slightly nicer than the eggs I had.

Old lamp post at Gurney Drive.

0950: Having filled our stomachs, we headed out to explore the length of Gurney Drive, again. It was low tide. The sea had retreated a good 60 meters out. The exposed mud emanated a stench not unlike that of a sewer. The sun was pleasantly warm against my skin. I have not felt this kind of sensation for a long time and loved every second of it. It was fun going out with Wuan again after such a long time being apart from each other. She asked me what that structure that was standing forlornly by itself at the edge of the beach was. It used to be a lamppost. Most of the others had toppled over through years of neglect and erosion of its foundation by the sea.

Egret looking for food at Gurney Drive.

0958: Wuan spotted a lone egret wading close to shore looking for food. We were all excited. We have never seen one at such a close range. Wuan climbed down to the beach to take closer shots. I jokingly told her that I would keep a lookout and warn her of any foaming white tide rushing towards us. She went up right to the shoreline of the rising tide and started snapping. The bird was not intimidated by her presence. At one stage, it even stopped what it was doing and seemed to strike a pose just for Wuan.

Kite seller and customers at Gurney Drive.

1005: We parted ways with the egret and crossed path with a man hawking colourful kites of all sizes. Their long multi-coloured tails fluttered cheerfully in the breeze. Watching those little kites rising and falling with the wind induced a feeling of light heartedness in us. Wuan and I sat there for a while, enjoying both the gentle wind and the sight of the little bits of cleverly crafted paper brightening up our morning.

MPPP enforcement officers at Gurney Drive.

1052: MPPP enforcement officers had set up a roadblock at the junction of Jalan Pemenang. Vehicles were prevented from going up to where Gurney Plaza and the roundabout were. We wondered what the reasons for the roadblock could be. A little further up, we noticed silt collected in puddles on the pavement. It was drying up fast under the heat of the sun.

Bird in mud at Gurney Drive.

1100: Wuan and I debated whether that bird was stuck in the mud and was dead or it was just standing still there sunning itself and waiting to ambush its lunch. We observed it for a while under the blistering heat. When it became unbearable, we moved on. The bird was still as motionless and we were none the wiser whether it was alive or dead. We kept looking back, hoping to catch glimpses of it moving, however fleeting. It was still as stiff.

Cleaning crew at work in Gurney Drive after the Tsunami.

1106: Further up the road opposite Gurney Plaza, it was evident why the road was closed. Another round of cleaning up was in progress. There were water tankers from Propel in their bright luminous orange, one from MPPP in their uniform blue and one from PLUS in white. The technicians manning those vehicles donned jump suits of similar colours while the MPPP crew were ubiquitous in their yellow T-shirts and black pants. There was even a cute little street sweeper truck with brushes on its underside. Upon closer observation, the workers were busy shooting jets of water down drains to unclog the silt and debris that got stuck inside.

Hard at work cleaning Gurney Drive after the Tsunami.

1111: At the roundabout, firemen were hosing down the road while the MPPP crew were busy sweeping away the silt with their lidi brooms. Cleaning what the tsunami left behind was no easy task. A skid loader was also used to scoop up the thick mud in certain spots where it was virtually impossible to hose and sweep the grime away.

Oriental Restaurant at Gurney Drive.

1115: The most obvious sign of the destructive force of the tsunami was the collapsed wall of the Oriental Seafood Restaurant. Tables were upturned and the floor was covered in a layer of thick mud. The height of the tide could be measured by the muddied wooden railings of the covered bridge leading to the restaurant. It must have risen at least 3.5 meters from the seabed when it hit that part of Gurney Drive.

Dried mud at Gurney Drive after Tsunami./em>

1124: The dried mud produced some interesting patterns. How far had those that inundated Gurney Drive travelled? Were they swept in by the force of the tsunami from around the vicinity of the epicentre to Penang or from nearby seas? Are these muds toxic? These questions beg for answers.

Tsunami cleaning crew taking a break at Gurney Drive.

1129: The cleaning crew were stopping work for the morning. Wuan and I guessed we have had enough of the sun too and headed for the cool sanctuary of Gurney Plaza. Those two hours in the sun certainly made us a shade or two darker. And we did not have any sunscreen on. We loitered around the shopping complex, cooling ourselves down and window shopped.

Fish & Co at Gurney Plaza.

1252: Lunch was a shared platter of tuna salad with Wuan at Fish & Co. It tasted a tad too salty. We also had a mocktail called the Pink Passion which smelt faintly of some body shampoo that we had used before. I think I shall stop using fruity fragranced shampoo from now in order not to mess up my olfactory senses again. It really killed the pleasure of that drink. A short while later we hopped over to Nandos and had one half chicken in hot peri peri marinate. Surprisingly, for one who is averse to anything spicy, my mouth was not burning. Nevertheless the chicken was nice. So was the coleslaw.

Casuarina trees along Gurney Drive.

1550: As we made our way back, traffic was at a crawl as the road to the roundabout was still closed. We rested under the shade of a casuarina tree and took in the sights and the salty breeze that was still blowing. People were beginning to fill the promenade. Some couples even sat by the edge of the beach oblivious to the danger and possibility of Penang being hit by those devastating waves again.

Northam Tower by night.

2044: We stayed in almost the entire evening, nibbling on the buns and snacks that we bought from Cold Storage earlier. The television was on. CNN kept running footages of the devastation and flashed the death toll repeatedly. A catastrophe of this proportion was just too overwhelming and difficult to comprehend. The entire world had never experienced a tragedy like this and I hope we never will again.

Gurney Hotel, Penang.

The suite at Gurney Hotel had been booked well in advance. We were apprehensive initially. The staggering number of deaths reported in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India were daunting enough. We had heard and read that Gurney Drive was pounded by the tsunami. We were not sure if any life was lost but the fatality elsewhere in Penang had us worried. The thought of Penang being hit by aftershocks and another tsunami weighed heavily in our minds. Yet, we were curious, wanting to see for ourselves the real situation there. Wuan and I checked with the hotel several times and were assured that the hotel was still operating.

View from the hotel’s pool deck – crawling traffic below.

Like babies, we took small cautious steps when we reached the hotel with Peter’s family whom Wuan had invited to join us. We looked around. The sea was calm. The road was clean. Evening strollers wandered leisurely at the promenade. There were no hints of anything unusual except the traffic. Crawling vehicles snaked the length of the road as far as our eyes could see. We guessed a lot of them came to see the gravity of damage the tsunami wreaked. We Malaysians are a curious lot. We slow down to watch motor accidents but seldom stopped to offer help. And now we visit disaster areas for the same purpose.

Shadow of the hotel against the calm sea.

The view from the hotel’s pool deck on the seventh floor was breathtaking. Small boats bobbed in the distance. Tankers and cargo ships anchored in the middle of the channel. The sun was setting. Birds were returning to roost. The strong cool breeze that was blowing in ruffled my hair. Indeed, it was the Gurney Drive I had always known. I had come to get away from the grim footages of destruction and death continuously being broadcasted by CNN. Still, I could not shake off that feeling of gloom and doom. Those images distressed me greatly, as was the death toll that continued to rise by the hour. We retired early that evening, exhausted by the macabre events of the past two days.

Today was a special day of sorts. In the afternoon just now, I was going to apply for the MyKad. As usual, when going out, my hair would be pulled back and fastened into a pony tail with an elastic band. To make sure that it did not get dishevelled, I gelled the front firm. Satisfied that I looked good enough to be photographed for an identity card, off I went with Peter to the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) branch at Sungai Ara. It was packed to the brim when we arrived. Not wanting to wait in the heat, we decided to try our luck at the Balik Pulau branch. It was equally as packed. We figured that everybody must be taking the opportunity to get their MyKad done during this school holidays. I told Peter that I will get it done after the school term begins next year to avoid the crowd.

The kampung road at Permatang Pasir.
(Photo taken during an earlier trip there on March 16, 2004.)

The kampung house where Peter bought the air nira.

We then went to Sungai Pinang to fetch Peter?s parents. His father is Mum?s younger brother. On the way, we made a detour to Permatang Pasir to buy nipah palm toddy, also called the air nira. It is hard to find air nira in Penang as many mangrove swamps have been reclaimed for development. To get the air nira, the inflorescence of the nipah palm is cut and the sap allowed to drip into a container. The sap is collected twice a day, once in the morning and again in the mid-afternoon. It takes many inflorescences to produce 1 litre of air nira which looks cloudy. It ferments fast unless refrigerated. The air nira is slightly pungent but sweet.

Peter talking to the pakcik.
Nipah palms are in the background.

We had to traverse a narrow tarred path to reach the kampong house that sold the air nira. It was RM15 for a 5 litre bottle. Peter paid for one bottle and booked another. As he did not want the air nira to ferment, he left it there and told the makcik there that he would return to collect both bottles after we picked up his parents. On our way out of the kampong, we happened to bump into the pakcik who had just finished harvesting the air nira for the mid-afternoon and also told him that we would be back to collect both bottles later.

Titi Kerawang.

Petai tree.

There used to be a stream beside the clump of bamboo.

Century old durian tree towering above all.

One has to climb down steps made from rocks stacked into the hillslope to reach my uncle?s house. While Peter went to fetch his parents, I waited by the roadside and took some photos. There was the towering 50-foot petai tree by the roadside and an old durian tree that is more than 100 years old and reaching almost 200 feet into the sky and is still fruiting. There was what used to be a stream by the roadside which was cemented up when the road was widened. I used to catch little fresh water crabs and fishes there. Now, it is just a big longkang.

Fragrant leaves.

Air nira @ nipah palm toddy.

I specifically asked Peter to pluck some fragrant leaves for me. I do not know what it is called. Mum used to add these leaves with the bedak sejuk that she made to make it nice smelling. I will be leaving them all over the apartment. These leaves will still give off its nice fragrance many months later when it is all dried up and shrivelled. When I reached home, I got Peter to fill the air nira into a 500ml mineral water plastic bottle for me. I took a sniff of it and was put off by the pungence. In the end, I returned all of it to him without drinking any. I did not manage to apply for the MyKad but I am satisfied that I have some nice photos to show for a pleasant day out. It was not a day wasted despite the circumstances.