Sing Sing Singapore and the Real Penang

Singpore...it even sounds like a song. The city/island/country is less tourism and more realism. The concrete is mixed with tall beautiful trees, a city landscape. Our taxi driver tells us that the foliage was planted by a former king who loved gardens 30 years ago. Its like driving through a garden with skyscrapers. Its such a new country....none of this was here 50 years ago, just rice paddies....so with no major landmarks to see it was just relaxation. And my oh my how nice the locals are! I give Singapore the friendliest country in the world (thus far) award. People just love to stop you on the street and tell you about their amazing city, before you know it you're looking at pictures of their kids and laughing about the Germans. When the sun goes down is when Singapore truly shines. From the rooftop of your hotel you can watch the water taxis wind their way through the city, the freighters light up the harbor, cranes reach up to the stars and the skyline is all around. Its a colorful, bright, friendly city, and if you listen hard enough you can hear it sing to you.
Penang...in all its rawness is an oyster waiting to be opened and discovered, offering up jewels for you to enjoy. We were lucky enough to get a wonderful rural tour by our dear friend, KY, a lifelong local. Now a city boy, he gave us the highlights of town (and Singapore's Tiger beer) as well as his own history, in the country. We went for a swim in a waterfall, the only people there, and for a treetop walk with the wild monkeys. Yes, we really did that. We also met KY's school teacher and saw where his home used to stand. There were cows on the streets and goats in the grass....he says he is lucky to have come so far, to have moved to the city, to go to school, work with a good company, to know us. KY is also my resident philospher, a man of many facets...too many to list. He will joke with you one moment and in the next say something deep and profound, in essence a wonderful guide to the true Penang, the real Malaysia. Can you really understand a person or country without understanding their past? Walking here, eating here, listening here I begin to have the smallest mustard seed of understanding of what it is like.