Penang - the best place to be ?

I remember just a few months ago, in Penang, I was constantly complaining bout how terrible Pg is, the biased government, the damn 'clean' toilets, the ineffiency of any government body to any private bodies, the bus system - Rapid Penang (altho i nvr sat a bus in my life in PG, i still noe how bad it is), the buildings, ppl not using their brains, the cars, the jam, the stoopid motorbikes inching in n out of roads, management, people smoking in public ... EVERYTHING ! Seriously!

But now that I'm here in Ireland, I find Penang, or rather Malaysia is not so BAD after all. Really. And i'm wondering why am i making this statement. Okay, maybe the governement back home IS n probly WILL always be, not in my favour. The buses in Dublin are always late, more frequent though.. and 1 thing, black smoke nvr came out from vehicles! YEAH! But then again, ppl here smoke 10x more publicy than the ppl in Malaysia. So the concentration of pollution equals. Contradicting!

Shops - in Ireland, it closes sharp at the time they're supposed to. Like, they dont want extra business by 5 minutes?? Yesterday, Abe n I rushed all the way back to city to get a set of 5 pieces of Tefal pots and pans, just only in time to see them close down the shutters. *shakes head* We banged their shutters, n they WERE inside, HEARD us, but they IGNORED us ! Worst part is, all shops close at wat ... 6 pm ? OMG .. wat do ppl do from 6 onwards? Pub? Club? i would rather say ... kill their own brain cells n virginity. I really miss those times we can walk in shopping complexes till.. 10.30 pm .. isnt that time for family to go out n hang around together, rather than cooking instant pasta or chicken baguette at home, then children n adults alike adjourn to the bar.

So, yeah, why m i posting this? Half an hour ago, I chatted with Phu on msn. n she showed me - this - My first impression of it ... I went ... "WOW!!! Damn beautiful! its almost as if Pg is becoming a really modern and vibrant city, good for young fellas to hang out, a place for adults to contribute to the booming of economics, tourist will come around n see, uhhhh... wait..." The excitement in me 'die-ded'. "Can Penangites be as civilised as they're supposed to be and not vandalise d area, can d government be efficient enough to upkeep the place, the greens, and the backdrop against Pg Hill.. Isnt that Paya Terubong ?? Omg, thats a landslide area! NO wonder the hills behind look so much like the hills near Bukit Jambul .." In Ireland, the government is strict in imposing laws like, no buildings are supposed to be 6 storeys higher, no in-house smoking, no bribes, city council sweepers drive the 'zamboni' to clean up d area each night, after all d mess to be squeaky clean in d morning, not MAN sweeping the floor wif lidi IN the morning itself where all d morning rush happens. Heck, y even sumtimes they chop down obstructing trees early in the morning ? *shakes head again*

ok well anyway, I read the thing, and read it again .. a weird kinda feeling enveloped. I really feel proud of where I come from. My roots. How I was brought up. Where I was brought up. Yesterday during the parade in Med Day at Trinity Coll Dublin, I was sitting by the pavement of one of the old old buildings in TCD with 2 other Irish coursemates. Heck. Med Day was COOL ! the guys of med soc volunteered to parade around the city centre, wearing GALS clothes.. complete in water baloons all! LOL. alright, i was sitting there n suddenly, one of the irish guys i was sitting wif told me he HAS been to Msia. I FELT SO PROUD k! n he told me he went to ... of all places in MSia, PENANG. he named a few places, batu feringghi, teluk bahang... mutiara! lolx! i asked him why dint he visit KL, n he replied, "wats there to see in KL other than the Petronas Twin Towers?" Crap.. that totally double boosted my proudness as a Penangite. hahaha. =P