Chinese New Year Holiday - Pictures Fixed

February 9th – 14th, 2005
I’ll try and keep this as brief as possible as I can go on for days and days, but that would be boring for everybody except my mom. ?

Penang
Penang is a province of Malaysia, and the part that I went to is an island off the West coast. The island actually had a feel very similar to Vancouver Island. It is located within sight of the mainland and has a nice mix of small villages, a medium size city, and lush green growth throughout the centre of the island.

Georgetown
Georgetown is the island’s biggest and hosts the majority of the islands almost 1 million people. I spent the last 2 nights of my trip here. It’s a splendid mix of the old and the new.



Batu Ferenghi
Batu Ferenghi is the popular beach spot to the North of Georgetown. There is a long strip of beach and it is popular with tourists. I saw a remarkable number of septuagenarians spending their vacations in this area. I spent the first 3 nights of my trip here.



Day 1 – Wednesday, February 9th
I crossed the border in Johor Bahru, which took a lot longer than expected. There was a high volume of travelers because it was Chinese New Year’s day. I then awaited at the airport and took my Air Asia flight to Penang. The flight was 1 hour long and the wheels of the plane left the ground within 4 second of the departure time (I counted it down on my watch).
I arrived in Penang and shared a taxi with a nice pair from India. It was about 8pm and the island was already dark. I arrived at the Baba guesthouse, signed in, and got settled into my room. The room was hardly pretty. It’s very basic with a bed, desk and dresser. I will say that things were very clean, but it was a big step down from the Rainforest hostel in KL.

The Baba Guest House



Day 2 – Thursday, February 10th
I awoke early and decided to go checkout the island. I was informed that transportation might not be working that regularly due to the Chinese New Year holiday. So, instead, I rented a small little motorcycle that was more of a result of the breeding of a Toyota Tercel and a scooter – hardly a motorcycle but hardly a scooter.
I took off on my trusty stead and decided to explore the island. I took off on the back roads. I had no intention on heading to the city. In Asia, motorcycles don’t drive in lanes. The painted lines along the pavement are, generally, the path that motorcycles follow, with cars passing them on either side. At every stoplight all the motorcycles go through the middle and lead off at the light. It’s quite different and a little unsettling when a car comes by and is in ‘your’ lane.
My route took me along the West side of the island. The scenery was incredible. The road winded its way along large hills and amongst the lush rainforest. Eventually, I found the tropical fruit farm and stopped in. Although I was hesitant I paid for the tour of the farm. It was well worth it. I tried about 10 or 15 different types of fresh tropical fruit straight from the tree, or bush. I had my own guide who informed me of interesting facts about each of the fruits he would pass to me. Did you know that only one pineapple and only one bunch of bananas come from each tree, then you need to replant? My favorite fruit was this mix between an apple and a coconut. I forget the name, but it was delicious.
After the fruit farm, I went into a few different villages along the coast. These were small villages and they hadn’t seen a tourist in a long time. Here is where I first saw the effect of the tsunami. I followed a small road and came across houses that were close by the water. There was a huge build up of debris and many of the homes looked as though they were ready to collapse at any time. However, I didn’t see any people suffering. Instead, everybody seemed to be living life as normal as possible and going about their daily routine. I’m really glad that I took the tour down the less popular side of the island.

My Hog:


Remote Fishing Village:


Open Road:


Penang in a Nutshell – Restaurant and Scenery:


Monkeys in a Cage on the Side of the Road:
I found this to be very sad and I hate to see wild animals confined to such a small space.


Bridge Over Dry Creek:
I was told that before the tsunami this creek used to be flowing with water.


Day 3 – Friday, February 11th
This was my beach day. I had brought a book with me and I spent the good majority of the day out in the sun, sitting on the beach and reading. I went to the Shangri la’s beach resort and staked claim to one of the beach chairs. I figured they owed me for trying to kill me with the peanut. I must say very relaxing. Much better than snow.

Sunset on the Water:


Dusk at Batu Ferenghi Beach


Debris Along the Beach:
Although Penang has beautiful beaches, there are many areas where the natural beauty is contrasted by the debris and garbage of humans.



Day 4 – Saturday, February 12th
This was my day to head into Georgetown to experience some of the island’s renowned culture. Georgetown is a lovely city with many old buildings but also the modern bustle and busyness of most cities twice its size.
The first place I went was to the hostel that I had booked. I splurged and spend about $80 to stay in an 1800s mansion. The mansion, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, was recently restored and won a UNESCO Conservation Award in 2000. I must say, it was worth the additional expense. As a guest, I was free to explore and take pictures at my pleasure. I checked in and joined a tour to learn more about the mansion. Each of the rooms were meticulously detailed and decorated by an artist using antique furniture that would suit the period. My favorite feature about the mansion is that it is designed to fit with Feng Shui. It is perfectly aligned between the highest point on the island and the sea, it has a central courtyard with the very centre at the point of the greatest chi, there are 8 pillars that surround the courtyard and have gold buried beneath them, and water is an intricate part of the house. There are 3 courtyards in total and they are open to the sky. It is designed such that when it rains, water flows through the house and forms smalls pools in the courtyards. If you want more details on the mansion, let me know.
Following my time in my mansion I headed out to check out the sights of Georgetown. I walked around, found a place to eat and then came across this square where a performance was taking place. It was a celebration for Chinese New Year and it was very interesting. It was somehow a mix between a rave, karaoke, and traditional Chinese dance. I think it was one of those things you need to see to believe. At the performance I ran into a nice Irish couple that I rode the bus into Georgetown with. They told me about Ireland and strongly suggested that I visit there.

Following the performance in the square I stopped in at a small pub, had a pint of beer and watched some football on TV. I have to admit this was quite fun and I could see how one could get into European football.

Chong Tse Fatt Mansion:


Rooms and a Courtyard:


Me in the Mansion:


Flowers at the Centre Point of the Mansion:



Day 5 – Sunday, February 13th
I was up bright and early on Sunday. I had breakfast at the mansion then checked into a cheap hotel across the street ($20/night). I then went for a walk and found the Koo Kongsi clan house. This is a hoose that was build for family to come and worship in and have a place to stay at. The building is amazing and every inch is covered with elaborate carvings, and gold. In one of the rooms they had a whole wall with golden plaques painted with each clan member and their designations. For the modern clan members, it showed their degrees, their important positions etc. The clanhouse was quite impressive, but I couldn’t imagine living there.

After leaving the clan house, I ran into a British tourist who was looking for the post office. I walked with her for a bit and had some fresh fruit for lunch. We then parted ways and I headed to the huge Buddhist temple.

Kek Lok Si is an amazing temple and I was so glad I went to visit it. It is built into the hillside and covers an amazing amount of territory with many different buildings. There are three different highlights to the temple. The first is the Pagoda. It is about six stories tall and overlooks the entire temple complex and the city of Georgetown. The view stretches all the way out to the water. Across the complex, and even higher still, sits a giant Buddhist statue. The temple was selling tiles to create a 200 foot tall roof to cover the statue that peacefully overlooks the city. I bought one to commemorate my mom’s birthday. Finally, in the middle of the two high points sits the main prayer hall. A massive cavernous building filled with Buddhist statues and idols. Everywhere you go there is beautiful landscaping and incense burning.

Following the temple visit, I went to the Penang Hill railway station. A great deal, for only $1 you save yourself the 3KM hike up the hill. Unfortunately, it was too good a deal, I would have had to wait 2 hours if I wanted to go up. The walking path was about a $20 cab ride away, so I decided to pack things in and head back to the hostel for the night.

I went out for a walk in the evening and came upon the Thai Buddhist complex, which has a giant reclining Buddha (rumored to be the 3rd largest in the world). I must say, it was very impressive. Most interesting was that behind the Buddha there were hundred of urns in little spaces in the wall. Each had a picture of the deceased and a brief write-up. The bright colors of the Buddha gave a strange effect; it had a very happy feel for what was essentially a graveyard.

Koo Kongsi Clan House:


Kek Lok Si Temple:




A Mix of the Old and the New:



Day 6 – February 14th
I got up early and went out for a short walk. I decided to visit Fort Cornwallis, Penang’s oldest Fort. The most interesting sight here was the fertility cannon. On the top of the fort wall sits a cannon where infertile females come and place flowers. Miraculously, they are then able to bear children. I saw nothing more than a giant phallic symbol, but if it works . . .

After that, I was headed to the airport where I sat and waited for seven hours, due to a four and a half hour delay. When I hit my pillow in Singapore it was about 3:30AM and I definitely was not eager for work in a few short hours.

Ok, so that was hardly brief.