Penang Hill 1975, My Adventure

This old faded color photograph was shot on a fine sunny afternoon in January 1975.

On that day, I rode a cable tramcar up Penang Hill in the morning and soaked in the nice and cool atmosphere on top of this beautiful tourist resort.

Being young and adventurous back then, I'd decided to hike down Penang Hill instead of riding the usual tramcar.

I'd figured out that by starting my journey at around midday and walking along the footpath winding down the slope, I should reach that nice and pleasant Botanic Gardens at the bottom of the hill before sundown. I had a manual Minolta camera with me and that was how I'd managed to shoot several photographs along the way, including this photograph on display here.

I'd never known how many hours it would take to hike along that long footpath, but after more than an hour, I felt thirsty but had no portable drinking water. Miracles do happen if you believe in them, and when I'd wished for something cool to drink, a tiny spring just popped out from the side of a hill slope, very much like a zamzam, a small sprout of cool and clean water to quench my thirst.

Feeling much refreshed after that drink, I could then walked down for another hour and a half to reach civilization at last, indeed before sundown, to find that nice and pleasant Botanic Gardens, and a gentle stream of water flowing by that place.

I'd asked a passerby to shoot a photograph (above) of me wading in that cool stream of water. As you know, water flows down from the top of the hill and it's always found somewhere at the bottom of the hill. As for that zamzam, well, I don't know 'coz I haven't gone back there for the past 30 years.

Penang