Curry Muncher for a Day...

Just when I was starting to get a little too comfortable on the island, fate served me up a little surprise vacation. Although I hadn’t planned on leaving the island until October, the Indonesian Consulate had other things in mind. Apparently, mold caused the invisible they use on my visa entry stamp to fade off, leaving me know choice but to leave the country. My destination, Penang Island, Maylasia home to the famous Penang Curry among many other fun experiences I recently enjoyed.

Upon my arrival to the airport had the great fortune of selecting Mr. Ming as my driver. On a 10-minute drive to the embassy he managed to teach me every variant of racial slur the Malaysians use forn the many immigrants to their country. Among a slew of other racist terms he taught me, Ming informed me that “In Malaysia we call the Indians, Curry Muncher, because they are always eating the stinky curry.”

I had only heard rumors about a place in Penang called little India that is famed for having some of the most authentic and delicious Indian Curry in all of Asia. After sorting out my visa at the embassy, my stomach was grumbling, and all of the restaurants smelled more and more appetizing by the second. I couldn’t hold out for Little India, so I decided to go for the renown Penang curry at a local café. Incredibly flavorful and delicious, it was only missing one thing I was craving, Naan!!!

After stuffing myself, I figured it was time to fins a place to stay. I had been told by the co-owner of the lodge, a long time veteran of visa runs to Penang, that the best place to stay was the backpacker’s district in Georgetown, a convenient 5 min walk to little India. After walking around for a minute to find quite a few places full up, I stumbled upon the Love Lane Inn. For 18 Ringgit/ night (About 5.50 USD) I got a ‘cozy’ room with a sink, fan and queen size bed, everything a man needs. The Penang Curry and a day of traveling turned what I intended to be a quick nap into a 4hr sleep.

I woke up refreshed with the smell of curry tantalizing my nostrils once again. I grabbed my camera and set off to sniff out what came to be the best Indian meal of my life. Along the way I saw a beautiful mosque, one of the most famous in Penang.

In the end, it was not my nose that really found Ros’s resteraunt, but I judged by the packed house of Indians eating curry and steamy naan while watching world cup, that I was probably in the right place.

With the giant selection of curries I didn’t quite know what to choose. I only had one night in Penang, and so the pressure to pick the right dish was at an all time high. To be honest, my restaurant/curry selection process was one of the more stressful moments I’ve had since I came over here….That tells you how mellow life is on the island!

Anyways the owner of the shop, Ros, saw my bewilderment and came quickly to my aid. She asked me what kind of curry I like, how spicy I liked it, and so on…. She then proceeded to make me a special concotion based on my request. I said I liked Tikka Masala style curry with chicken, and liked it with lots of garlic and PEDAS SEKALI (Extra Spicy!). She grabbed some masala sauce, deboned some delicious looking tandoori chicken, grabbed some fresh onion, garlic and vegetables, went back into her magicians booth of a kitchen and closed the curtain. 10 min later I was delivered a steamy piece of garlic naan, a bowl of blood red chicken curry with tons of garnish’s, and a plate of rice on top of a banana leaf. By this point I was salivating so much I could have used a spittoon.

The first bite of curry exploded in my mouth with a rich creamy masala flavor, quickly followed by a bombardment of various chili flavors. Ros, looked at me for a reaction…I gave her a Big thumbs up.

It was so tasty I wanted to grab her by her shall right then and there, thrust her into her own Tandoori cart and keep her in a closet in my room. Unfortunately the tandoori cart was missing a wheel, so she got lucky, and I left her with many thanks and the only tip I have given for food since I have come to Asia this year. No doubt, the best Indian meal of my life.

Surf Banyaks - Bay of Plenty - Gunturs - Banyak Island Lodge

My first fish!

The past four days in the Banyaks were straight out of a surfer’s wet dream. With perfect sunny skies, no wind, and non-stop swell, I had to pinch myself every morning to make sure I wasn’t asleep. Like the turtles in our bay the swell moved in slow and steady. The first day Ross and I had the bay all to ourselves, and were trading tubes back and forth like baseball cards on the school bus. By the end of the day we lost count.

The next two days offered double to triple overhead waves, and brought a few charter boats to the bay. Having the insider knowledge, I waited until the boat crews were surfed out and the tide was getting low before I moseyed out into the line-up.

Meanwhile, our food stocks were getting low, and with new supplies not coming for some time, Ross and I decided it was high time to try our luck at spear fishing. Ross armed with my gun, and myself with the Hawaiian Sling we set out into the blue.

I have never gone spear fishing before this trip and so my first few goes were pretty rough, but this time I was determined. 30 min. into my hunt, I stabbed a nice sized Parrot Fish, but got too excited and pulled out the spear quickly, leaving him wounded on the reef. I couldn’t stop there; I was determined to get a fish.

I took a big breath and swam down behind a large coral head. Slowly, I slipped around the corner just as a small Bayam came into view. As I let go of the rubber everything went slow motion like I was riding a wave. I watched as the three prongs of the spear penetrated the flesh and pinned the Bayam against the reef. To ensure I had a successful kill I left my spear in him for a few minutes as I bobbed up for air. Slowly I lifted him on the reef and swam back to the boat. My first fish was not the tastiest, but it’s a start!

Waves...Waves...Waves!

My first and last love will always be the barrel, and boy have I been spending a lot of time inside my sweetheart this week. The bay has been going off it's rocker! Without a charter boat in site for two weeks we are starting to wonder what's been going on. In the last week I have probably claimed over 50 proper barrels and ridden 100's of waves. View a short video on youtube!The story over here has been miraculous mornings and stormy sunsets. The past few days have had crazy tempest style storms in the afternoon/evening, but all of them have faded out by the morning. Usually they leave a little bump on the surf, but with no other surfers in the bay but Ross and I, we have the luxury of sleeping in, eating a nice breakfast, and then getting psyched up to paddle out. Yesterday I surfed for 7 hours straight. I finally got a couple nice scratches from the reef that have been well overdue. After a massive meal I was left lying in bed, aching a bit, but laughing like a hyena at the ridiculous waves we scored with no one around . Suffice it to say I was ONE STOKED BLOKE.

I'll put another update soon about the garden and life in general, but for now all I can think about is tubes, double-ups, shacks, pits, slots, and spits!!!!