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Randomly Penang

Purple lily. I like this shot.

When you see this signboard on the heritage trail in Georgetown, Khoo Kongsi is just 200 metres ahead on the heritage trail, after Cheah Kongsi. Do drop by Cheah Kongsi along Armenian Street. The Cheah ancient property is one of the oldest Chinese clan associations in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Penang island. Admission is free to Cheah Kongsi.

Further down Armenian Street after Cheah Kongsi and Khoo Kongsi, you will also come across Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple. It was built in the 1850s-60s, a community temple devoted to the worship of Twa Peh Kong.

The beautiful Chinese temple rooftop.

It’s still a popular choice among tourists to explore George Town by trishaw.

A mosque is also located near the temple. Just found out from Mylo that it’s Acheen Street Mosque.

An OLD barber shop in the OLD town!

A temple altar.

A can collector.

The backyard of some houses.

M.C.A = Malaysia Chinese Association.

When this blog post title says “Randomly Penang”, I mean it. The photos in this post were taken from anywhere in Penang. This wooden horse and carriage shot was snapped at New World Park in Georgetown. There is a hawker centre, restaurants, cafes (Oldtown White Coffee, Starbuck?) and Guardian Pharmacy within the premises.

Take an evening walk along Church Street Pier to watch sunset. The pier is established since 1897.

Rows of colourful kites on sales at a seaside near Queensbay Mall to serve the current kite-flying trend!

A mini kelong for the fishing enthusiasts!

The Penang Bridge that connects the island to the mainland. The 13.5 km iconic landmark of Malaysia is one of the longest bridges in the world.

Penang Bridge at night.

Bon Voyage!

Previous Posts on Penang in this series: Penang Sightseeing | Cheah Kongsi

Posted by eunice Posted in Malaysia, Penang Comments (15)

Penang sightseeing

Wat Chayamangalaram temple is another popular tourist attraction in Penang. Built in 1845, the Thai Buddhist temple is popularly known as the Sleeping Buddha temple, as it houses one of the world’s largest reclining Buddha.

The 33-metre long reclining Buddha.

Just opposite the impressive Thai Buddhist temple is the grand and imposing Dhammikarama Burmese Temple. This magnificent temple is definitely worth a visit; I think it’s much bigger than Wat Chayamangalaram and there is a beautiful garden in the temple complex. The architecture of the temple is remarkable and it features rows of Buddha statues from around the world. A very “international” temple indeed!

The typical road scene: we always drive along this main road with rows of old shophouses on both sides whenever we are in the old town area.

Passed by an abandoned dilapidated old school with rainbow across the sky.

Whose Alma mater?

Fascinated by the bi-colour orange blue sunset near the airport. It’s not photoshopped.

The twilight zone…

Next, more photos from Penang!
Read previous post: Cheah Kongsi in Penang

Posted by eunice Posted in Malaysia, Penang Comments (8)

Coincidence leads to an ancient property

This time, we decided to pull over the car and explore the nooks and corners of Old Penang on foot. Unknowingly, the quiet path that we took is a heritage trail that leads to one of the oldest Straits Chinese clan associations in the core zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in George Town, the small entrance of Cheah Kongsi is like a hidden recess along Armenian Street. The distinctive temple roof and the red-walled passageway did look inviting enough for us to step into the historic property.

As we walked into the garden, the keeper of the property appeared out of nowhere (*mysterious*) to welcome us and even offered to show us around the place. It was free entrance plus a helpful guide! The 1870s Penang-style temple is a hybrid of a Chinese temple, a Chinese courtyard mansion and a colonial bungalow.

Traditional red Chinese doors with painted figures.

The Chinese script on the wall was written by the Chinese revolutionary leader, Dr Sun Yat-sen. This used to be a meeting room on the ground floor.

We were surprised that the temple is actually located on the second level of the property instead of the ground level like most temples.

This is the temple on the second level.

The intricate design and structure of the two-storey building has an interesting blend of Chinese, Malay and European identities.

The keeper was quite amused to find me busily snapping away in the mansion and asked if I would be photographing every part of it. I told him “It’s not possible. There are so much to appreciate in this clan house; unless I can stay here.” May I?

An old antique cabinet displaying porcelain art.

Apparently, it’s a recreation room with an opium bed on the right and a Mahjong table in the centre!

An old time office. Just look at the young Queen Elizabeth’s portrait and you can guess the age of this office!

The bedroom of a Peranakan. This property seems to have something of everything!

And there is an old school in the premises too!

Stay tuned for more Penang updates!

Posted by eunice Posted in Malaysia, Penang Comments (10)

Hopping around Kota Kinabalu city

After a fantastic day out snorkeling in Pulau Sapi and Pulau Manukan, we just wandered around the waterfront area, trying to sniff out any surprises along the way. At the roundabout near the Central Market in Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen, a giant marlin seems to have leapt out of South China Sea and stays inland timelessly, with Pulau Gaya in the background.

More fish statues adorning the waterfront.

Further down, many fishing boats are docked near the central fish market. The boatmen can balance themselves really well, carrying loads while crossing on such narrow wooden plankway.

There are plenty of local food stalls all over the waterfront area.

I’m a great durian lover but have never seen anything like this before: the thorns are longer and sharper, and the shape of the fruit resembles durian. Yes, it’s durian. The Malay seller told us. She expressed that this kind of durian is not tasty at all and suggested we buy the “regular” durians. While staring at those alien fruits, the lady opened up one of them to eat. The flesh is red!

I was really curious about the taste of red-fleshed durian. We chose the SMALLEST one since the seller said they are not nice to eat, and bought one at RM 3 (RM 6/KG) and another yellow-fleshed durian.

Say “WOW!” after me. The flesh is gorgeously red! Very eager to try it. Then another surprise. After taking one bite of the red flesh, I wanted to spit it out. Is this durian? It’s almost tasteless! I can tell you that I have tasted the worst durian of my life!

Any idea if this red durian is only found in Borneo, or just Sabah? Can I call it Sabah durian? @_@

Maybe NON-DURIAN Lovers will like this kind of red durian since it’s almost tasteless. To me, it has a very slight taste of avocado. Let me know how you find the taste if you ever tried some before!

While in a cab along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen to 1Borneo Hypermall, we saw this magnificent mosque near the sea. It is Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the biggest mosque in KK that can accommodate 9,000 – 12,000 people.

From our hotel (King Park Hotel) at the city centre, it costs us RM 30/way to get to 1Borneo HyperMall, the first and largest lifestyle mall in East Malaysia. About the mall, if you need retail therapy, it is the place.

We dropped by a coffee cafe called Borneo 1945 Museum Kopitiam which is located on the ground floor of Borneo Backpackers. It’s run by a friendly Chinese couple. We asked the boss why it’s called Museum Kopitiam. He explained that the cafe does not have a museum in the precinct, it’s just that the location used to be a campsite for the Australian army during World War II.

There are articles and photos displayed on the wall, depicting the early days of Jesselton which is now known as Kota Kinabalu. The capital is also affectionately known as Api Api by the locals.

It’s quite interesting to see antique furniture, old artefacts, and even an old bicycle and a sewing machine displayed at one corner in the cafe.

The boss recommended us hot and cold Borneo White Coffee. They serve good traditional charcoal toasted bread too. A great place to sip in your coffee and relax in this rustic cafe that opens till late night.

*Borneo 1945*Museum Kopitiam.

Great sunset view over the sea. It’s only 6pm!

On the 4th day, we flew back Singapore by Malaysia Airlines. If you are planning for holidays now and searching for good airfare deals, check out MAS website for their special rates.

An aerial photo of Singapore on a cloudy day, unfortunately, else the view could be a lot nicer with tall buildings like paper model buildings all over the tiny island. It’s monsoon season now with frequent afternoon showers.

Posted by eunice Posted in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia Comments (21)

Burnt in Manukan island

Sabah is known as “the land below the winds” as it is located below the typhoon-prone region around the Philippines. Many tourists visit Sabah for Mount Kinabalu, a World Heritage Site since year 2000 and its exotic islands can be visited all year round.

The boat operator fetched us from Sapi island to the nearby Manukan island, the second largest and most popular island in Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park (TAR Park) with developed tourist facilities and hiking trails. Besides, there is a resort on the island called Manukan Island Resort with chalets overlooking the South China Sea.

The entrance to Pulau Manukan. You do not need to pay the conservation fee again if you’ve already paid that on another island.

That’s a way to lure many fish swarm around you for a photogenic moment. The man was joyfully feeding the fish with some bread which you can buy from the nearby stall. Once a friend didn’t get hold of his bread and it floated to his face. You can guess what happened next. He was fish-kissed.

I guess we will see more visitors on weekends. It was a Tuesday afternoon without many beach-goers. You can have the beach to yourself!

I think there are NO public lockers on the islands. So, it’s advisable not to bring valuables along. Our most expensive belongings at that time was the digital camera. We were told to cover our bag with a towel (“security”!) as we left the bag on the bench near the shore. Fortunately, a lady who took the same boat with us preferred to stay in the shade so she looked after our belongings and we could have a peace of mind even though the place looked pretty safe.

There aren’t many eateries in Manukan. Food is a lot more expensive on the island – a normal buffet (not very appealing) can cost you RM100++! No wonder we saw many island hoppers bring their own lunch.

Still, we had to feed our rumbling stomachs. We had lunch at Prahu Restaurant that’s run by Manukan Island Resort- Sutera Sanctuary Lodges. Anyway, it’s the only restaurant on the island.

We ordered a plate of Yang Chow fried rice that costs RM 18 and six sticks of chicken satay at RM 9. Well, you can say that the dishes cost more on the island. However, we enjoyed our meals at this restaurant.

The sunny sky turned overcast.

And there were even fewer swimmers around. The water became murky and it was quite unpleasant when the water visibility was so low that I couldn’t see what was around me in the sea. Some of the tourists that came with us had already left the island as they said the mainland was raining heavily. We stayed on for our boat to pick us up at 4pm.

See? I was swimming in my very big private pool! From afar, dark gloomy clouds were looming over the mainland.

Gosh, it was pouring when we left the island. While on the way back on a bumpy boat ride, the raindrops hit us really hard like sharp needles. Our clothes were all wet. Now I know why many left the island before us when they thought there was a storm in the mainland.

Back to Jesselton Point, we came across an indoor soccer centre surrounded with net.

Here is another night market just a stone’s throw away from our hotel (King Park hotel) – Kampung Air Night Market which opens from 5.30pm to 11pm. There are stalls selling clothes, accessories, bags, souvenirs, etc.

Look at my skin. I didn’t re-apply sunscreen while island-hopping, perhaps that’s why I was miserably suffering from a first degree sunburn. Somehow, Jacky did not get sunburn even though he also didn’t re-apply sunscreen. I should have applied more sunscreen, at least every two hours, according to the doctor. I was in pain for days! And now, I’m left with some unsightly sunburn marks on my arms and legs. But I think the recovery cream prescribed by the doctor helps a lot. Remember to buy Travel Insurance! I made a medical claim for that!

Sigh… the only way to get rid of the ugly patches is to let time heal.

Time flies! It’s December! The festive seasons are around the corner. Do you have any holiday plans? I’m definitely going somewhere soon! If you are looking for good deals on airfares, check out Malaysia Airlines. They have great bargains now.

Next, more about Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Read Pulau Sapi | Filipino Night Market | My first trip to Borneo

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Island Hopping in K.K

The next morning, following the visit at the Filipino Night Market, we were fully-charged for island-hopping at Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park which consists of five idyllic islands – Sulug, Gaya, Manukan, Mamutik and Sapi. It’s merely a 5-min ride by taxi from King Park Hotel (where we stayed) to Kota Kinabalu Ferry Terminal at Jesselton Point, and that cost us a standard rate of RM 10.

At Jesselton Point, there are different tour operators providing ferry and motorboat services to the nearby islands. We didn’t bother to compare the rates offered by each operator as we guess it’s pretty straightforward since we just wanted to do a day of island-hopping. Anyway it was already 10 0′clock in the morning at Jesselton Point. Do check out the time for the next departure since you won’t want long waiting time for your boat transfer to the island.

Note: Pulau = island (Malay -> English)

We were pretty comfortable with the boat operator at the first counter near the entrance. The friendly staff recommended us to go Mamutik island as it has nice house reef and fewer people. But we decided to go Pulau Sapi and Pulau Manukan partly because our dear blogger from Sabah, Henry from Clevermunkey.blogspot.com, has been to Pulau Sapi before and posted some lovely photos of Pulau Sapi at his blog.

According to the boat operator, Sapi island is smaller and we can stay there for an hour. Then the boat will come and fetch us around noon time to Manukan island which is bigger and we can have our lunch there.

How much does it cost for the boat transfers?

It costs us RM 54 per pax which includes a life jacket, snorkel mask and boat transfers to the two islands and back to the passenger ferry terminal at Jesselton point. (as on Nov ‘09).

Tips for snorkeler:

Rent the life jacket and snorkel mask from the boat operator if you plan to visit more than one island so that you just need to return the gears when you return to Jesselton Point. If not, you have to rent the gears on each island and that will cost you more.

We went island-hopping on a fine beautiful Tuesday. The crowd was small, probably ‘cos it was a weekday. I think most of them were tourists from some Western countries and also Malaysians from other states.

Ferry and motorboats at the passenger ferry terminal.

There came our motorboat. It takes roughly about 20-min short and breezy “roller-coaster” ride to Pulau Sapi. How lucky the people are in Kota Kinabalu. It doesn’t cost much and at such short distances away, you can get on to the sun-kissed beaches with crystal-clear waters, beautiful corals and exotic marine life.

It’s exciting to see such lovely blue tones of the sea just after a short boat ride from the mainland. Nature’s colours can blend in so well.

Unlike the resort that we stayed on Pulau Redang where we had to jump into the water and lift our bags above our heads and literally walked up to the shore, this one has a dock for goodness sake.

Lovely, isn’t it? We were on Sapi island.

Waters that seem to be tainted with different shades of blue.

The entrance to Pulau Sapi.

We just need to pay once for the conservation fee for all the five islands in Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park. For non-Malaysian of 18 yrs and above, it’s RM10; for those below 18 yrs old, it’s RM 6. If you dive, that’s RM 50 for non-Malaysian. You pay at the entrance of the island.

I love Sapi island for its clear water and white powdery beach. Also spotted some Anemonefish which we like to call them NEMO affectionately, colourful parrot fish, bat fish and the list goes on… er-hem excuse me but I’m not good in naming marine creatures!

Alright, as the signboard shows, swim at your own risk. Personally, I think it’s pretty safe to swim near the shore as the water is shallow. I always wear a life jacket even though I can swim pretty well (I guess!). You can’t underestimate the underlying water current even though the sea may look calm. Just don’t swim over the designated area that’s bounded by the ropes.

You can go monitor-lizard “hunting” (notice the double quotes here!) on the island. We saw a few big ones! Those critters are ferocious and they can move very quickly. Be careful. Don’t stand too near them.