A clear autumn day is to be highly valued, the supply of them being so low at the moment...

So, just to cheer myself up, I post an autumn morning shot off the ferry at Turku (åbo in Swedish). Turku is Finland's second largest city (I think)...anyway, it is the old capital of Finland, before the Tzar moved it to Helsinki (invariably pronounced Char by my Finnish friends). The highlight there would be the Turku Art Museum which currently houses the Kalevala artworks exhibition, ongoing till 10 January. It has all the major pieces of Kalevala artwork collected from the various museums in Finland. I had been puzzled not to find any artwork on the Kalevala at the Ateneum, Helsinki's main art museum, but now I know that it's been collected at Turku in conjunction with the 160th anniversary of the publication of the Kalevala. I strongly recommend a visit, if you're taking the Stockholm-Turku ferry to get to Finland. It's very cheap for students, about 3 euro compared to the horrible prices for museum admission in Helsinki.

Anyway, although I started out about Autumn, the picture has reminded me of my time in Turku and the Kalevala exhibition. The Kalevala deserves a few words, because a nationally adopted myth tells a lot about how a people call themselves a nation. It is interesting that the Kalevala is one of the latest oral epics to be transcribed. It was published only in the nineteenth century, and there are voice recordings of the singers of Kalevala stories. Compare this to the existence of only a handful of known manuscripts of The Oddysey and the Iliad, Greek epics dating back to 900 BC.
The Kalevala is a Finnish oral epic which originated from Karelia. As far as I can make out, that's some area between Finland and Russia--and mostly lost to Russia during the second world war. I was told this by my host in Turku, whose parents were apparently Karelian refugees. In an attempt to express Finnish-ness and find a national spirit, Finnish artists turned to the Kalevala. Many of them made research trips to the Karelian songlands to find out about traditional Karelian life and Karelian landscapes.
My favourite artist of the Kalevala is Akseli Gallen-Kallela. He depicted the myth with the most dynamism, and many critics felt that he had portrayed the spirit of the Kalevala.

Defending the Sampo, by Akseli Gallen Kallela.

The centre of a myth, if it is to be interpreted for nationalistic purposes, is about the indomitability of a people in the face of what threatens them. In this case, Väinäimöinen of Kaleva must defend the Sampo, a powerful object, from being taken by Luohi, the Mistress of the North.

What the artists leave out of their powerful depictions, though, is the not-so-consistent backstory. The Sampo had originally been given to the Mistress by none other than Väinäimöinen himself, in return for her daughter whom he wanted to marry. I think she eventually marries Ilmarinen, the guy who forges the Sampo. I'm typing from memory here, don't have the time to do research. So forgive any errors. But check out Forging the Sampo : this article has the painting by Gallen-Kallela and a more detailed---and accurate--discussion of the myth. Anyway, when Väinäimöinen hears of the prosperity that the Sampo has brought to the Mistress's land, he decides to go and get it back, with the help of some of the other characters. The Mistress is really just vengefully reclaiming her treasure. Was Väinäimöinen a thief as well as a hero? *

The question is perplexing, because a myth does not really have a straightforward interpretation. It always digresses, and gets reinvented by its storytellers, so when it is compiled (and even the compiler, Elias Lonrött, added his own stanzas to link the various cycles together), it is not necessarily consistent. To interpret for nationalistic purposes means re-inventing the myth yet again for purposes other than the original one.

* The story of Väinäimöinen ends when he leaves the country after a new child-king is crowned. The child-king is born of a woman who eats a berry, rather like the Virgin mother and Christ (the Kalevala was still developing late enough for the Christian influence to show). The woman and child who displace the old man and his values is a very interesting image, but the portrayal and the participation of women in the Kalevala is really a whole other essay... I will just say for now that it is interesting how the men all get into trouble from wooing and winning maidens, like Lemminkäinen, who drowns in an attempt to capture the Swan of Tuonela (realm of death?), one of the tasks set for him in order to win a daughter of Luohi. His mother heroically resurrects him by collecting the pieces of his body and sewing them together. Another figure of interest is Aino, who drowns herself (commits herself to the water spirits) rather than give in to Väinäimöinen's lust.

Hmm, what started as a post on a clear autumn day has turned into a discussion of the Kalevala.

Day Around Town

I am reproducing my blog posts at gothenburg09.misi.se, a site for foreign students in Sweden. So you will find completely unnecessary details such as shop names and sometimes even directions, if I'm too lazy to edit. Just take it as good to know, in case you ever decide to visit Göteborg.

***

Our day of sight-seeing started with a drive around town. A friend I met at church gave us a full tour of the city in her car, and drove us to the Asian supermarket. We wowed at all the different products the shop had, mostly from China and Southeast Asia, then settled for the things we missed the most: rice, ginger and oyster sauce (we already have soya sauce).

This is Masthuggskyrkan, a beautiful brick church situated on top of a rocky point. We would not have known about it, had it not been for my friend. It's great to know a local (or in this case, a Singaporean Chinese residing in Goteborg who claims to never have met people from her region here before). We had a great view of the city and the harbour below from this point.

Then we took a walk around Haga, the old town district. Here you find cafés with tables spilling out onto the pretty cobblestone streets and antique shops stocked with curios from past times. My poor attempt at imitating Henri Cartier-Bresson:

Bicycles are very common around here, and many students buy second hand ones to get around the city without paying for the transport card. It's fine in summer, but in fall and winter you have to get used to cycling in the rain or in slush--snow around here is not the fine, beautiful powdery stuff you get in the movies, according to the locals. Hence my decision to stick with the more expensive but infinitely convenient transport card.

And it is a very rainy city in September. If it's not rainy it is at least cloudy. Many of the locals go outside prepared with hooded rainjackets and/or umbrellas. As I type this now it is raining outside. I can hear the wind blowing the rain about.

Lunch was at Salluhallen, the market hall where traders sell meat, cheese, vegetables, specialty teas and bread. I had panbiff med lök sås och potatis, which was meatballs and potatoes. You thought IKEA had the best meatballs?

Those two beef patties, the serveur tells us, are meatballs.

We waited out the rain by shopping at the second-hand shop, Emmaus, at Linnegatan. The clothes were in decent condition and really great for us students from far away who couldn't bring so many things with us, and who won't use the clothes for more than a season. My buddies bought scarves and cardigans. I bought a winter jacket. It was from Mango and in good condition, only missing a belt. Didn't bother with a new one as I will only use it for this trip. I wore it back to Olofs, and it felt great, just like being back home because I was so warm and toasty, though it was overkill for late summer. I might as well have walked around with a big sign, "I am newly arrived and I have failed to acclimatize."

Finally we headed over to the student club Parken, having dinner at their free buffet. We went early on purpose, because we missed the food last week, and we wanted a taste of it this week. After the food, the tables were cleared to make space for a dance floor, and a DJ started up the music. The DJ mixed the music very well. At one point I recognized the strains of the Imperial Death March from Star Wars mixed in with some other rhythm. I'm not much into music, but this nerd thinks the ability to turn that into dance music is the criteria for a skilled DJ. The dance floor got really crowded, and people were stilling queuing to get into the club at 11pm. We missed our usual bunch of friends, though, so we left pretty early. We ended the day with hot chocolate at my room. It was great, except for this nagging at the back of my mind, that I have not started my essay yet...exchange students do need to get work done at some point.

Week One in Goteborg

How's Sweden? It's great! It's the expected answer for the typical question people back home ask me. What else can one say? What they really mean is: how are you, and how do you find Sweden? We never really ask what we mean to ask, with a question. It's one of my pet peeves about communication.

So how is Sweden?

# I notice myself hunching sometimes because of the cold. 11-28 degree weather for summer.

# There's broken glass all around the student housing area from last night's party, when people got so drunk they started smashing things or dropping bottles. Iusually leave before that happens, though.

# Goteborg is rainy. Intermittently rainy, which is bad in that the weather is unpredictable, but good because bad weather is over quickly. But there will be more rain.

# It's expensive (duh!). The cheapest groceries are slightly more expensive than buying food in Singapore, but some things are very expensive. Fresh fish is at least RM50 per kg, and even more for salmon.

# Everything comes in XL size--the wildlife, the vegetables and the people. We bought an onion larger than both my fists put together. Here' s my RM1.30 white button mushroom, known as champignon at the local markets. It's a medium-sized one of the day's pick, by the way.

# People are friendly. They offer help whenever they see you lost and staring at a map to figure out the 11 different tram lines.

# Goteborg University has one of the best exchange student programs, with special courses for exchange students (because everything else is in Swedish), student buddies who actually organize things, dedicated administrative officers who reply emails on time, and even a special welcome dinner from the city council. This is what the cheapest student housing looks like (all furniture from IKEA). The armchair was originally just draped in white cloth, but I found a throw left behind by my predecessor, among other useful things. Of course, it's relatively the cheapest. I'm paying the equivalent of a fully furnished room in Singapore. The plus side is, this is student housing, so we get to cook and have parties.

# For photography, natural light can be very harsh. I had problems taking landscape photos when facing west in the afternoon, and when facing east in the morning (whether or not the sun was in the picture). Note the glare from the window in the first photo above. I had to draw the curtains to get a decent result for the second photo, and that was the light from a southeastern window on a sunny morning.

# It's beautiful, and the houses are pretty. The red house with the slate roof is typical of houses in the countryside. I have yet to see a building with peeling or weathered paint.

# The world has expanded. I learn that Nazis still exist in Germany (as a tiny and vehemently opposed minority), find out where all the police are hiding in Sweden, and realise that most European countries do not hold parades involving the military.

Penang

For all future posts labelled "travel," practical tips about the destination will be included at the end of the post.

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I spent a total of three days in Penang, and had a roaring flu throughout. Thus, I could not taste much of the acclaimed Penang chendol, char kuey teow or O chien (oyster omelette). And the day we decided to walk out, it rained. So I don't have many pictures.


This is what most of the town centre looks like. Cars, shophouses and the odd hotel or shopping mall hulking in their midst. The dingy, nameless shophouse may contain one of Penang's last-surviving craftsmen in rattan-weaving, nyonya beadwork, signboard carving and so on. If you don't want to miss them, be sure to obtain a heritage site map from a nearby hotel or the Penang Heritage Trust at 26 Lebuh Gereja.

Despite rain and a blocked nose, it was worth the visit. Penang is a great place, easy to get to, with many guest houses and cheap hotels right in the heart of town (trust me, Georgetown is of far greater interest than Batu Ferringhi). The heritage zone can be traversed in half an hour, but to visit all the sites would occupy a number of days, and I would gladly stay a week for the food alone. I don't care what anyone says, Penang food is still the best! It's not Gurney drive or the places with big signboards, it's the Macalister/Rangoon Road hawker centre, the Famous Teochew Chendol off Penang Road (Keng Kwee Road), the numerous nameless nasi kandar outlets--need I go on?

Stomachs aside, Penang has a varied historical flavour because of its history as a port and entry point for immigrants. The Chinese founded clan strongholds here in the shape of Kongsi or clan houses, huge mansions with elaborate entrances which functioned as a meeting place for business associates, hanging out, and ancestral veneration. The temples, Kongsi, and personal mansions are testament to the huge fortune amassed by the Straits Chinese in times past. Then there are the Victorian oddities which dot the area--the clocktower, the courthouse and the current city council premises (I think).



No pictures of the kongsi because it was raining. Anyway, by this time you'd know I am the sort of eccentric photographer who takes photos of things that interest me, like buildings, scenery and striking trees.

Yeah. I'd like to meet an Ent like this tree. The wall's a piece of Fort Cornwallis, which is worth the RM3 ticket for a chance to take a picture with good ol' Francis Light (or whoever founded Penang), see the cannons, look out to sea, etc.

The other highlight was the Chow Rasta market area. The ground floor is divided between a wet market and a dried goods section; the shopkeepers sell all manners of oils, ointments, traditional biscuits and foods. The upper floor is divided between clothes sellers and traders of secondhand books. The book bazaar is one of a kind. Two rows of stalls lined to the ceiling with books. Only the traders can tell the borders between their piles. Several of the stalls have their floors covered in books, and some of the ceiling-high piles are two or three books thick. It's a book-hunter's haven. I never visit Penang without stopping by Chow Rasta.

On my next trip, I hope to take in the museum, the Sun Yat Sen house, more food (of course) and the beach (it deserves a fair chance).

***

Getting to Penang:

Air--Bayan Lepas Airport receives international flights

Land/Sea--Buses to Penang are frequent. Bus/train to Butterworth, followed by a short ferry ride (RM 1.20 two-ways!) is a good option for the pedestrian, as the ferry stops at the edge of the heritage district. There are good public bus connections at both ferry terminals. The ferry also loads vehicles (but the bridge may be a faster option).

Warning: I have not found a direct KL-Butterworth line. Most bus companies make multiple stops along the trunk road or require you to change buses along the way. I will try the train next time, but I think it's more reliable. At least you don't get stuck at bus terminals in the middle of nowhere.

Famous things:

* Penang Chendol on Keng Kwee Street (there are now two stalls, but my friend and I bought one from each and compared them. The Teochew one is sweet and creamy, while the other stall serves a slightly saltier version. It's up to your taste, but I preferred the Teochew stall, and it's the original one, I believe).

* Tau sar peah (Tambun Biscuit)--famous biscuit with a marvellous powdery filling made of beans

* Nutmeg oil, preserved nutmeg (and various other preserves) ubiquitous at Chow Rasta and other Chinese bazaar places like Kek Lok Si Temple)

* Kek Lok Si Temple--a little way from the main town area is a temple on a hill. A thriving bazaar selling fascinating objects surrounds the temple and its pond of countless tortoises and turtles. Well, it should still be there. I was last there ten years ago.

General Tips:

1) Do not buy return tickets unless you are travelling during a festive season. You can always get a ticket on the day you wish to return because there are no shortage of bus companies serving the routes, especially along the west coast. This gives you greater flexibility if you think it's worth staying a few days longer than planned. I regretted buying a return, because I was rather ill but had to travel as it was too late to change the ticket. If you're worried, find out the bus schedules beforehand so that you have two or three buses you could possible take.

2) I do not recommend Transnasional. First, the person on duty at the information counter was completely incomprehensible and garbled all his words. It wasn't just that I had a problem understanding Malay; all four of the Butterworth-ticket holders only knew that he was jabbing his finger madly at the sign for Teluk Intan. Worried, we waited for the bus driver, who found that his bus to Teluk Intan was overbooked and he couldn't fit us. This was worrying as it meant the company didn't plan well when taking in travellers to small towns with multiple changes/stopovers. We were then hustled to another north-bound bus which took us to Duta, a bus interchange on the outskirts of KL (my best guess), where we waited another hour for the actual Butterworth bus to arrive.

On the return journey, the bus stopped at Parit Buntar (small town in Perak) and promptly broke down. This means their buses are also not well-maintained. After a two-hour wait (for the mechanic to come from Butterworth), I gave up and walked back to the Parit Buntar bus station to take a Konsortium bus instead. It was a lovely 27-seater, 3 capacious seats per aisle. It stopped at another small town, but that's what you get for travelling from the back end of nowhere. At least I got home. I'm not sure what happened to the other passengers on my first bus. So, lesson learnt. The other plus about buying a single instead of a return, is that you get to choose a different bus company if you didn't like the first one. I definitely would not have chosen Transnasional again.

3) Not from Penang, but from a friend travelling in Malacca. Know the areas you should avoid if you are travelling alone. My friend was struck across the face with a stick and robbed at Bukit China, probably by a drug addict. Daylight does not make open, empty areas safe. Keep to the busy streets.