Penang Funicular Under Threat

In 1994 I was stranded in Penang, Malaysia. The magainze for which I had been writing a series of stories about SE Asia had folded without buying my return ticket to the States. I had enough money to stay at the Swiss Hotel $3/nigth, eat at the Chinese and Indian restaurants on Chulia Street, and drink beer. In those days making a phone call to Europe was difficult, but I finally reached Sam Royalle, who said he would wire the money. A week went by and then a second. I couldn't get in touch with him. I was down to my last $100 dollars and thinking about shipping out on a tramp steamer when I wire finally arrived at the bank.

I celebrated by taking the Penang Hill Funicular to the summit. The tram ascended from the ropical city to the heavily forested mountaintop> The temperature dropped at every stage and on arrival I was actually cold. A difficult proposition near the equator. The best attraction other than the view was the walk through the treetops on suspended bridges. Nothing like it in Thailand and I made a point of visiting the tram during every visa run to Penang.

But now this venerable funicular is threatened by renovation. Stations and trains to be replaced by new designs, so that the travel time to the top is a mere 10 minutes rather than the luxurious 30 minutes of the original tram.

Outcry from sentimentalist and traditionalists have protested this move as unnecessary, contenting that refurbishing would be more economically and environmentally viable.

Personally I say, "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

But then I'm an old guy and I liked most everything the way it is and that goes for me too, since I was considering a neck tuck. $6000 at a Bangkok Hospital. I intent to save the money for a motorcycle instead. That always makes an old guy look young, unless he wears leather. Then it looks like an old geezer on a bike.

Something very unnatural.

Protests aside, in Asia if something is planned and the money is there, then it's goodbye to the old, so if you're in Penang head over to the Funicular, the best ride this side of the Staten Island Ferry.