All quiet on the northern front after the holidays

A good time to sample all Penang has to offer, including the delicious durians, is after the peak season of December and before CNY.

JANUARY is the best time to be in Penang. The tourists have disappeared, the streets have fewer cars and the hawker joints are not so crowded. The state becomes ours again.

I went to the Jade Emperor Temple near the Penang Hill railway station for prayers on Sunday and grinned because I had so many parking lots to choose from.