As a sciatica sufferer, I have found that there is no real once-and-for- all fix-it cure. Rather there are a number of strategies that work concurrently, but not immediately. If you don’t know what sciatica is, then all I can say is that you are very lucky. The pain radiates down the leg from the hip (in my case). Much of my discomfort is felt in the foot, which is strange as it is not really affected. I have been staggering about Penang with a bandage on my foot feeling a bit of a fraud because there’s nothing really wrong with it, but the bandage provides a bit of a psychological comfort. At times I live on painkillers, but that is not something you can do for long. We are fortunate living in Malaysia that there are so many different forms of massage available – and at such reasonable prices – and it definitely helps but is not a cure. Phukett Khoo, whose weekly Tuina massages (a technique of manipulation of the muscles and tendons that includes an element of acupressure thus releasing stagnant qi, or life force) really help to keep my symptoms under control, said to me one day, “Yoga isn’t right for you at the moment, you really need to swim.”

Where shall I swim was the next question I asked myself. Swimming in the sea is just possible but it is not very appealing any more. There is too much pollution and the risk of jellyfish too great. Apparently they only come in certain seasons and swim against the tide so if you take your dip when the tide is coming in then you are likely to be all right. Well, not guaranteed, and their sting can not only be painful, it can be seriously poisonous. The notorious box jellyfish, which has Medusa-like tentacles, and which can swim at up to six metres a minute, has been spotted in Penang waters. Of course this is nothing compared with the risk in the past of sea snakes. Tread on one and their bite can be lethal. Nowadays, sea snakes are rare because fishing practices have changed. But when I was a Penang child in the 1960s, the fishermen hauled up their drag nets on Batu Ferringhi beach. The teams of men chanted as they pulled and piously threw back into the sea anything they couldn’t eat. Sea snakes were definitely not on the menu and so many of them landed on the sands of the incoming tides just where swimmers would step as they entered the water. Fortunately, an antidote has been developed.

If you live in one of Penang’s many condos, then one of the benefits is that you have swimming opportunities almost literally on your doorstep. There are some wonderful pools in Penang – but you have to be a guest of an apartment dweller to get to use them. I particularly like Quayside, a massive development next to Straits Quay. It has a series of fantasy lagoons with sandy shores that you can drift around lazily like a basking shark. Straits Quay itself has some gorgeous rooftop pools with trees where birds nest as you bathe. On the Tanjong Bunga foreshore there are several condo developments with infinity pools that give onto ocean. With the quirky blue shape of Kedah Peak across the Straits, at certain angles and under the right weather conditions when the sky matches the tiles of the pool, you can imagine yourself swimming out to sea, following the golden traces of the setting sun.

This rather glorious view is slated to change though because a massive marina is planned to extend out from the land almost as far as the rocky island of Pulau Tikus. Whilst we can applaud the benefit to the local economy of a multiplicity of super yachts calling in, it is interesting to think of the fate of so many marinas in Malaysia. If you’ve ever taken the ferry to Langkawi from Kuala Kedah, you may or you may not be aware of the existence of a former marina at the nearby river mouth. Its magnificent crenelated battlements stand as proud as any medieval castle. But there are no boats. Not even the ghost remnants of any pontoons. The marina has completely silted up and become landlocked. It was never used. The opposite is likely to be true in Tanjong Bunga. Sitting on the deck of the nearby Penang Swimming Club, I watched the huge waves rolling in. Sailors call it a “swell” but not in the American sense of swell. It’s jolly uncomfortable being in a boat on a mooring in such seas and the sharp tidal currents and strong prevailing winds make this perhaps a bold choice for a marina.

Back to swimming. There are two lovely old swimming clubs – the Penang Swimming Club and the Chinese Swimming Club which are within half a mile of each other. They attest to a past when the races were sharply segregated; nowadays the pools are open to all. The Penang Swimming Club is grander and more expensive, the Chinese Swimming Club is more basic and very friendly. There are also several hotels along the coast, the Paradise and the Hard Rock are among them that offer memberships that include the use of the pool. So I’ve been checking out all the swimming options in Penang and while my sciatica is not gone I can really feel the stagnant qi shifting!

Read more:

• Understanding Three of the Largest Cultural Communities in Malaysia
• 5 Child-Friendly Activities in Penang
• A Stroll Around Penang’s Armenian, Acheh and Beach Street

Source: The Expat magazine August 2015