Growing up in Penang, Malaysia

In Malaysia, you get ICE CREAM men who sell ice cream on motorbikes. The freezer sits atop his bike and he rings a bell as he rides around the estate. Some interesting flavours you will get include purple yam (also known as taro), durian (dubbed the King of Fruits), corn and Neapolitan (a three-layer chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavour). These ice creams are either served in wafer cones or squashed in between lightly coloured bread like a sandwich. I’m glad these ice cream “uncles”, as we call them, still exist today. In fact, here’s a picture of a cousin and me taken just last year outside our grandma’s house in Gelugor

If you don’t already know, Malaysia is geographically situated between Thailand and Singapore. My hometown in Penang is a mere 200km (124 miles) to the border of Thailand, and therein lies Hatyai, the Bangkok of the South. It is popular mostly to Malaysians who come for inexpensive food, a good massage and lots and lots of shopping! The two-hour drive is made all the more enjoyable as the landscape becomes more rural in north Malaysia, past the green paddy fields and rubber tea plantations. All of this before we enter Thailand and the bustling MARKETSand chaotic tuk tuks await us.

As Penang is a beautiful island surrounded by the Straits of Malacca and the Andaman Sea, it comes as no surprise that the beaches are pretty fantastic. On the northern tip of the island is Batu Ferringhi, a coastal town with winding roads, steep cliffs and beautiful bays, much like the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Certain parts of the STRETCHhave been highly developed for tourism with international hotels. However, if you go a little further up the coast, there’s plenty of greenery to be found. One of my favourite spots is a quiet beach called Pantai Teluk Aling and a lighthouse in Muka Head, both located within the Penang National Park.

Holidays in Singapore were an expensive affair. They were few and far between, but once every 2-3 years we took a vacation to the Lion City one hour away by flight. Dad’s favourite HOTELS (excluding the homes of our kind relatives) include the 5-star Mandarin Orchard and Duxton HOTEL, the latter which is surprisingly just around the corner from where I work today. The modern, clean and efficient city of Singapore is considered first world and first class in the region of South East Asia. This is where I spent my childhood visiting the Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park and Haw Par Villa. The amazing thing about Singapore is that it has since continued to progress and develop into the vibrant metropolis that makes it such a successful country today.