Part 2 – Downtown Penang + Batik Factory

So after my meetings and shoot(s) in Hong Kong, I headed down to Penang for a bit of business and pleasure w/ our good ol’ Digital Trekker.  I have to admit, I went to Penang not knowing much about it other than it’s really really hot there and what I read on Wikipedia.  One of the beautiful things about living in Asia, is that airfare is silly cheap here.  I’m really glad I got to pay Penang a visit.

The morning of my first full day in Penang, I was told about a kind of clothing design they do in this part of the world known as Batik.  The friend that I was with told me about how it was made, and I was absolutely blown away.  Batik is made by applying wax to cloth, dying it, and then boiling off the wax – negative space design at it’s best.  Certan types of Batik are made usings copper stamps w/ wax rather than applying it by hand.  Nonetheless, I was impressed enough to spend about 3 hours at local Batik shop marveling at how cool this stuff is.  Check out some of the designs below – hand made!

That afternoon we spent the afternoon in downtown Penang.  Downtown Penang is truly a melting pot of South East Asian culture.  I visited Chinese clan houses, two mosques, and ate lunch at the best Indian restaurant in Penang.  I couldn’t have asked for much more.

Coming tomorrow – Shots from my first Malaysian Wedding.