Buddhist Temples, Trishaws, and Indian Friends- Day 6

Today was another jam-packed day, full of amazing sites and experiences. We drove downtown and rode in three trishaws for an hour. The drivers took us to Little India and all over Georgetown. The ride was really fun and the kids didn't want it to end... even Josh was enchanted by the ride. During the trip I kept thinking about the Seinfeld episode where the homeless guy steals Kramer's ricshaw and it made me smile. We had to rent 3 of them to fit all four of us adults and three kids and the drivers charged RM40/hour for each trishaw (about $13.) At the end of the trip my dad's driver apologized to him for the bumpy ride. I guess one of his tires went flat half-way through the trip but he didn't want to stop because he wouldn't get his money. My dad gave him RM50 and he seemed happy with that. I felt so bad for him, watching him pedal my dad and Ben around. His sandals were falling apart and his back looked like it was hurting. He had a huge smile on his face though everytime you looked at him. He was a great guide, showing us a few temples, the "floating city" (a city built on the water), and Little India. After that we took the ferry over to the mainland and visited the MegaMall in Butterworth. It reminded me of a very large flea market, except indoor in a mall-like setting. We ate some chicken and rice which was really good and we also had some waffles with kaya and butter. (Those are SO good!!) Ben and Emma found another McDonald's and were very happy about that. After we ate we walked around the mall for awhile. I'm still not used to the people gawking at us. The kids are getting used to it though. Josh gets passed around to about 20 people each time we go out and he doesn't seem to mind. Emma is warming up to the strangers too, saying "bye" and even sometimes giving hugs. After the mall we went to see some Indian members of the Penang Branch. They were all very sweet and didn't want us to leave. They offered us a white drink and it looked tasty. We were all very thirsty and I couldn't wait to chug it down. I took a big gulp and about puked in my mouth. It's called Soya milk. Picture mushing up corn to a liquid consistency, adding a tiny bit of water, and that's about what it tastes like. I didn't want to be rude so kept drinking it, hoping that each gulp would get a little easier to swallow... it didn't. Luckily, Josh was thirsty too and didn't seem to mind it, so I kept giving him drinks. :) It was so humbling to see these families' homes. No carpet, just cement floors with hardly any furniture, no AC. I wondered how on earth people could live like that but of course, this is their life, the only thing they know so it's normal to them. They were very happy and content with all they had and it made me appreciate what I have even more. One of the women, Ann, gave Ben and Emma some little matchbox cars and then gave Emma some Indian bangle bracelets made for kids. These people have hardly anything and yet they were more than willing to give whatever they had to make us happy. It was definitely very humbling. They are such sweet people and I'm glad we were able to meet them. After our visit we took Penang Bridge home and pulled in around 9pm. The kids were out and I'm hoping they will all sleep through the night tonight. Ben and Emma did last night (woo hoo!!) and Josh woke up at 3am for a minute and then at 5:30am (at least it's getting better than the first few nights!) Now I'm getting ready to call Jake at work. Stay tuned for our next adventure...