zimatravels

I understand that some people are fortunate enough to be shunned by bedbugs.  I, however, attract these little critters all over the world.  The worst stories I have about bedbugs were in the U.S., but this incident got me out of bed in Penang, Malaysia, in 1994.

Sept. 22, 1994

Penang attracts me more than other parts of Malaysia, partly because it seems so familiar.  It’s mainly Chinese and the buildings look remarkably similar to my own Taipa village in Macau, but with the addition of some velvety, sandy, wide beaches, friendlier people, and more night life.

There are also many relatives here of the mosquitoes and cockroaches of Taipa, where I live in Macau.  And, I have made unhappy acquaintance with the bedbug of the rhyme, “Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite.”  These merciless critters resist bug sprays and attack when and where one is most vulnerable–sleeping in bed.  Their bite is distinguished from common mosquitoes by the size (more like welts), extreme itchiness that lasts for days, and the neat rows of bites, making me feel like a bedbug’s cafeteria.  Ugh!

The only mixed blessing of being tortured by bedbugs was that it got me out of bed at 6 a.m. to walk around the awakening city.  In the sunrise, I discovered an amazing amount of activity at the Buddhist temple.  The air was thick with the smoke of joss sticks, and people came and went in walking traffic jams.  The next night, I splurged on a more expensive, and hopefully less bedbug-infested hotel.

Lantern Festival in Penang had its own special modern touch.  There was a parade with a lantern of the AIDS virus and a warning.  Also,  knowing that Chinese prefer to hide such children from view, I felt touched by seeing several trishaws (large 3-wheel bikes) in the parade that held smiling, waving retarded children.  Since Malaysia is multicultural, there was  an integration of cultures celebrating Chinese Lantern Festival.  I like the feeling there and enjoyed a show of  Indian dancing after the parade.