From Penang With Love

Training, Tracking, Teaching and Tutoring are all part and parcel of my specialties. I have been tutoring a student from Kazan, Russia in reading, writing, listening with a focus on speaking. Jamal is a outta-sight student who will be returning to Russia early in June. We have been working together using the New Cutting Edge book as a framework. However, I say it and I live it,"Don't teach the book, use the book to teach."

In an effort to apply speaking in a real world setting, we took the show on the road to Penang. It is also know as the Pearl of the Orient. Being a top tourist destination, many people speak English on the Island. We started our journey with a brief visit to our friends at SK Kampong Berangan who were hosting a Dr Muda program. We set off from there on the road to Jeli, which is the last petrol station before entering Ancient Belum Forest. 

Belum is home to many wild exotic plant and animal species. It also home to couple herds of wild elephants who have laid claim to this neck of the woods for centuries, dating back to the Pattani Sultanate. There are remnants of a trail system that used to stretch from Pattani to Malacca which was the main route of trade for these seafaring sultanates. They were centered on opposite seas: South China sea and the Straits of Malacca. Hence, the importance of this land route based on elephant transportation. Due to changing times and shrinking habitat, the herds have been limited to this haven.

The road in Belum has many signs warning drivers of the presence of elephants and tapirs. We took a photo opp at one of these warning signs as a novelty. Belum is a breathtaking old growth forest which ends in Girik. The scenic sights don't cease there. There are the rolling hills from Girik to Kulim. There is a large patch of an industrial park in Kulim. Then you drive through a significant swathe of verdant paddy fields when the urban landscape of Penang sprouts up. 

Jamal had a chance to practice his English at the tremendously delicious Kapitan Restaurant. He had an occasion to read signs in English at the impressive Masjid Tanjong Tokong. No visit Penang can be complete with visit to Batu Ferringhi Night Market. There he had an opportunity practise his improving speaking skills with all the hawkers as we shopped for souvenirs. We saved the historic UNESCO World Heritage Georgetown for last. Jamal commented on how it reminded him of St.Petersburg. We exited the Island and headed back home to Kota Bharu.

I earlier mentioned Tracking as one of my skill sets. What is tracking you ask? I have been traveling through Belum extensively over the past couple years. Even though my aspirations to be the 'elephant whisperer' are most likely delusional, my ability to track elephants in Belum is spot on. There is a stretch of road I have dubbed 'elephant alley.' If you go there at the right time of night, the probability of spotting one of these curvaceous critters is high. Fortunately, Jamal got to see 3 young elephants scamper into the jungle. Jamal revealed his parents called him 'Jumbo' because he use to watch that movie all the time. It was yet another sweet memory to a spectacular day.

"Some people are in the educational biz, but I'm in the biz to educate." - Khidar 'AB' Abdullah