Malaysia’s Spirited Island of Penang : Soothsayer-restaurateur sets the tone for visitors to Batu Ferringhi beach.

Many societies have their witch doctors, shamans, medicine men, sorcerers, voodooists or others revered for putative supernatural powers. In Malaysia these people are called bomohs , and the reigning bomoh here, on this island in the Strait of Malacca off the country’s northwest coast, is Papa Din.

Papa Din, a toothless charmer in his 70s, is perhaps best known for once casting his powers into threatening skies to hold off rain and let a large island hotel proceed with an outdoor party for 1,000 guests. The hotel manager remains grateful.

Papa still teaches martial arts, gives traditional massages, runs a restaurant (more later), cures drug addiction and is regarded as a first-rate marriage counselor, although he attributes his success at the latter to the herbs he mixes to remove mean spirits from the couples. Wonder of wonders, he also claims to cure jet lag.

Papa Din’s colorful personality and innumerable weird nostrums are reflective of the color, vitality and melange of people who have given this island its flavor and spice, and also make it our favorite resort area on the Malay Peninsula.

Drawing on the mix of Chinese, Indian, Thai, Burmese, British and Malay peoples, Penang offers an eclectic and piquant mix of centuries-old temples, burning joss sticks, a roiling harbor of every conceivable craft, and hawkers’ food stalls as aromatic, smoky and cacophonous as you are likely to find in the entire Far East.

Connected to the mainland by a bridge, Penang was obtained from a Malay sultan by a British sea captain in 1786. It was the British East India Co.’s main trading post east of India until Singapore inherited the title around 1819. The island was covered with plantations of nutmeg, clove, peppers and the astringent-producing gambier plant, causing it to thrive in the very important spice trade. Later, tin and rubber from the mainland were added.

Yet Pulau Pinang (Penang’s Malay name) means “island of the betel nut,” from the palms found throughout the island. Its endless beaches, mist-shrouded mountains, jungle walkways, multiethnic populace and truly magnificent food make it as addictive and stimulating to visitors as the little nut, chewed with its leaves by natives hereabouts to get a mild high.

Getting settled in: The Golden Sands Hotel is set on Penang’s finest beach, Batu Ferringhi, with each bedroom having its own balcony and view of the green hills or sea. There are also four lagoon-type pools, a pair of tennis courts and, of course, all water sports.

Bedrooms are bright and attractively furnished with touches of rattan, and there are six restaurants, bars and lounges, including one serving Italian food.

Since our prior visit, Penang’s Holiday Inn has added a high-rise tower, the first on Batu Ferringhi beach. It’s very jarring to the eye, yet for some strange reason is called the Garden Wing. The chain’s Asian standards are very high, and this one has several restaurants, a huge pool and lighted tennis courts.

A bit more modest, yet on the same white-sand beach, the Palm Beach Resort is a low, motel-like place of little pretension but very comfortable and an excellent value. The buildings are set around a central pool-terrace; two open-air restaurants front on the beach. Bedrooms--some with sea views--are really large and have TV and refrigerators.

Regional food and drink: Malaysian food is a fascinating blend that includes not only the native Malay and Nyonya cuisines, but also Chinese, Indian, Thai and Eurasian. Much of it is eaten at hawkers’ stalls (on street corners) or at hawkers’ centers, an amalgam of stalls under one roof.

Laksa asam is a big favorite around here. Thick rice noodles are cooked in a tangy soup flavored with lemon grass, ginger and tamarind; either chicken or shrimp is added, then the soup is garnished with fruits or vegetables. Delicious.

Try the equally popular kueh teoio, rice noodles stir-fried in oil with chiles, cockles, prawns, ginger and soy. Or look for Chinese dishes from Cantonese to Sichuan; tandoori from north India and curries from south India; the homegrown Nyonya blend of sweet, sour and spicy Chinese-Thai-Malay. And drink the soothing Tiger beer with any of the above, since many dishes are hot, hot, hot.

Good local dining: Oriental Seafood (Makamon Laut and Gurney Drive) is on the water and across the street from the Gurney Drive hawkers’ center. Locals say it has the freshest seafood and best prices in town. There’s no menu; waiters will tell you what’s available.

A huge plate of deep-fried squid was $4.75, the always expensive prawns $11.75, satays $7 and chile crab $12.50. An enormous steamed fish, more than enough for half a dozen people, was $7.75. Any or all of these dishes are eaten Malaysian-style by sharing with one or more other diners.

Papa Din’s Bamboo Restaurant (124-B Batu Ferringhi) is five minutes inland from the main beach road. Just look for Papa’s sign and start walking through a fishermen’s village. His home-cum-restaurant/massage emporium is near the end of the village.

All the cooking is done by Papa’s wife and it is terrific. A set lunch or dinner of local specialties (fish curry, pineapple curry, rice, vegetables, pudding and coffee or tea) is $2.50. Or one can opt for the house specialty of kurma chicken made with coconut milk, curry and onions and served with rice, $4.

Many Chinese came to the great trade center of Malacca in the 15th Century, married Malay women and became known as Straits Chinese. Nyonya is their cooking heritage, and the new Nyonya Corner (15 Jalan Pahang) is an excellent place to sample it. Try starting with the crab fritters ($2.50), then move on to the pork in black sauce for the same price, or curried prawn ($5.50). A house specialty is mango-pineapple rice at $2.75, and there are 34 other exotic dishes on the English-language menu, many requiring a waiter’s explanation.

Penang’s most popular locations for hawkers’ stalls are Gurney Drive, the Esplanade and across from the Golden Sands Resort.

Going first-class: Although not much more expensive than some of the above hotels, the Rasa Sayang Resort is a classic Penang beach hotel--a pagoda-style place with spacious gardens, a huge pool and flowery terraces. There are three tennis courts, a putting green, several bars and restaurants, a gym, a fine beach with all water sports and nightly entertainment.

On your own: Water sports can occupy anyone’s day, but don’t miss the 46-mile tour around the island for breathtaking forest and shoreline scenery, as well as mango, rubber and coconut plantations. Then take the funicular up Penang Hill for a panorama of George Town (the capital city of the island) and adjacent countryside.

Penang is teeming with temples. Near the Penang Hill funicular station stands Kek Lok Si Temple, said to be the largest and one of the most lavish Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia. George Town has its share of temples and mosques, plus some fine old Chinese homes, colorful vegetable markets and a sea of bicycle rickshaws.

Sooner or later someone will suggest a visit to the Snake Temple, where live pit vipers, said to be doped by the fog of temple incense, curl around everything within.

GUIDEBOOK

Getting the Hang of Penang

Getting there: From Los Angeles, fly Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines to Penang, each with one stop; Malaysia Airlines stops in Kuala Lumpur. An advance-purchase, round-trip ticket costs from $1,227 to $1,476.

A few fast facts: Malaysia’s ringgit recently sold for 2.38 to the dollar, making it worth about 42 cents. The weather is equatorial, warm and humid year-round, but sea breezes keep Penang comfortably cool. Most folks stick to bottled water.

Where to stay: Golden Sands Resort (Batu Ferringhi Beach, from U.S. phones 011-60-4-811911; $111-$146 double); Holiday Inn (Batu Ferringhi Beach, tel. 011-60-4-811601; $86-$97 double); Palm Beach Resort (Batu Ferringhi Beach, tel. 011-60-4-811621; $70-$88 double); Rasa Sayang Resort (Batu Ferringhi Beach, tel. 011-60-4-811811; $129-$152 double).

For more information: Call the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board at (213) 689-9702, or write (818 West 7th St., Los Angeles 90017) for a brochure on Penang, another for general information on Malaysia, plus a map of the country and other brochures (food, sports).