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In 1903 a Reverend Murray was visiting
and one morning woke up with the insane idea of cycling round the
island. Being told that much of the 45 mile journey was through jungle,
across fast flowing streams and up hills was no deterrent to this man of
the cloth and off he goes. He headed north along the road that leads to
Batu Ferringhi, a familiar enough journey today though in his time the
sea would have been clearer and he wouldn’t have been overtaken by
speeding buses on those tight corners but that’s progress I suppose.
Here they went on an impromptu tour of the Penang Ice Works which he
described as ‘full of interest and instruction to the visitor.’ To me it
sounds as exciting as an evening playing computer games but each to
their own and in the good Reverend’s defence I would point out that
refrigerators were a few years off yet. The manager also pointed out
that recently another small group of cyclists had attempted to cycle
round the island but had turned back, defeated by the terrain. Ah, but
the Reverend believed!
At Teluk Bahang they turned inland, much
as one does today, for the journey to Balik Pulao. Two streams needed to
be crossed, two bridges had yet to be built so the plucky threesome had
to dismount and carry their bicycles across slippery planks of wood.
Then recent rains had flooded the narrow road, such as it was, leaving
the intrepid threesome to cycle through energy sapping mud. Eventually
they had to walk as the going proved impossible for the wheeled machines
they possessed. Still, it was cool and pleasant and the team took
advantage of a pool to wash off the dirt and relax their aching bones.
They needed it. The next couple of miles
were in one direction, up. Two miles seemed like twenty and I bet at
least one of them thought ‘whose bloody idea was this anyway?” Of course
by this time it was the hottest time of the day and they noticed how
silent the surrounding jungle was. The monkeys, the birds, even the
butterflies were sleeping the hottest part of the day away leaving three
panting, perspiring, peddling English cursing alone. The way down was
just as steep and just as painful and by the time they reached Sungei
Penang they were no doubt thinking no one deserved a 30 minute breather
as much as them.
Holy Name of Jesus Church in Balik
Pulau, studiously ignored by the good rev.
Image ©
www.thespiceislands.com
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Additional
Reading:
This article is based on an
original which first appeared in The Straits Chinese Magazine
Vol 7, 1903. While the magazine maybe hard to find it can be
found in it's entirety in Glimpses of Old Penang as well
as a back issue of the Penang Heritage Trust Magazine, issue
# 80. You can visit them in 26a Lorong Stewart, Georgetown. |
They finally reach Balik Pulau, their
halfway point. The Reverend describes it as a ‘village of considerable
dimensions.’ Our man of the cloth makes no mention of the Holy Name of
Jesus Church that was built in 1854; maybe they were on the wrong side
theologically speaking. They rested 3 hours here where they visited a
tailor to repair their clothes and had some lunch though whether it was
laksa balik pulau was not recorded. The thing with Penang is it
is famous for food and today people make the same journey, usually by
car, just to sample this dish of rice noodles, fish broth, mint leaves,
slices of pineapple, chillies and onions. So, instead of commenting on
the church or what he had to eat the Reverend sympathises with the
plight of the European Police Inspector who, stationed here far from
friends or family, often treks through the jungle on unlit tracks
dispensing justice on willing or unwilling Malays. ‘All honour to such a
servant of the Empire’ is how Murray describes the policeman. How the
Malays describe him is not recorded and so rarely is.
After this rest and flag waving the merry
band set off again. A steady ascent at Ginting Pass is ‘rideable’
followed by three miles freewheeling down hill which must have been a
joy in the early evening. They stopped for 15 minutes at Bayan Lepas,
near where the airport is today, where they enjoy tea and toast. The
final 11 and a half miles were a breeze, they sure as hell aren’t today
with those interminable road works there, with a spectacular sunset,
past a Chinese temple that was built in 1850. The temple is on many tour
groups itinerary today as it is home to various venomous vipers and tree
snakes doped by the incense that hangs in the air.
Twelve hours after leaving Georgetown the
Reverend and his gang arrived back exhausted but exhilarated. Today
there are still wild elements to Penang, opportunities to escape the
clogged roads and malls. Much of the centre of the island would be
recognisable to them with a bridge or two added while little side tracks
lead down to beach side kampongs linked to the 21st century
by the postman and the internet but still distant from mess of the urban
lifestyle. |
