Did I tell you that I had wanted to live in Penang because I think it looks like Semarang?
Yeah.
I guess it is true that each word can mean a pray and God will give as you say, because 8 months after, I literally started a new life in Penang.
So, Is Penang really like Semarang?
Uhm…Yes and no.
I would say yes because its population is a mixture of Malay, Chinese, and Indian with a significant number of the Chinese where sometimes you have to take extra cautions to choose which restaurant you’d visit as they might sell non halal food. This is reflected in their local food. Char kuew tiauw, nasi kandar, laksa, you name it. From the taste we can feel the touch of different culture and races. In Semarang, our exquisite culinary is featured by the Javanese, Chinese, and Arabic recipes which makes it unique. And rich.
So…yes.
Semarang is capital city of the province, but it doesn’t make it too metropolis. Semarang is quite populated but it has lower pace and friendly ambiance. Traffic jams are not much (peak hours only on the main roads). But even though Semarang doesn’t have trains, we have various modes of transportation which makes it very easy to hop from south to the far north of the city. Penang has nothing like that. So far, transportation has been my major issue with Penang. They only have the never-comes-on-time bus, taxi, and uber/grab. I had been an anak angkot (term we use to describe a person who jump everywhere by the public transport) in Semarang, Kuala Lumpur, and even Japan. So I find it a bit frustrating that uber/grab is my only alternative. And yeah I lived in Ube (much smaller than Penang) with no trains and few buses, BUT the schedules are strictly followed so it’s easier to plan the trip.
So…no. in this term, Semarang is much better.
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