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Visit balivnew.com to look at our villa that is available for rentals. You can send emails to check details, then book on-line. |
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Written by Ron B
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Saturday, 22 November 2008 |
 Little Pond, Sanur | A Week in PenangOur flight out was to be at 6am, suggesting we should get to the airport at 4:30am. So we discovered a new affordable spot to stay in Sanur - about 25 minutes from the airport. It is Little Pond on Jl Danau Tamblingan and is Rp90,000 (about US$9) for a fan room. Here, Lyndall and Linda are in the pool. | I caused a minor drama at the airport next morning. I had totally forgotten that I needed to get an exit permit. This was discovered at passport check so quickly to the immigration office where the staff were changing shifts. They eventually arrange an Emergency Permit (at a price) - so as Lyndall pleaded with Air Asia to hold the flight, we rushed through the paperwork etc and only held up the flight by 5 min - but it was a bit of a panic and we arrived at the plane without boarding passes, but nobody seemed to mind.
|  Ngurah Rai Airport |  Food Court near Pinang Gallery | One of the many food-courts in Penang. On the bus from KL to Penang Hendra had been creating some jokes which he related at meal times. Here is one of them. A geeky nerd arrives for the after-life and finds himself facing God. So he asks God for direction to Heaven. God says "Take the first left, then the second right, and then go right to the end and you will find the pearly gates on your left - and they will open for you". The nerd follows the directions carefully, finds the gates, but they don't open. He curses under his breath and waits - still they do not open. So he re-traces his steps and finds God still there. He says "I think I followed your directions correctly, but the gates did not open". God says that he will come and check - so they go back together to the gates which now open. God says "Wait a moment while I check what is happening". He returns, the gates close, and he says "You should not be asking me - you should be Googling it". | Here we are on the waterfront near the old town and fort. We are looking north-west to Gurney Drive which has a string of high rise hotels and up-market apartments. There were many cafes and restaurants - but not so cheap.
|  Waterfront near Pinang Gallery |  Street Market with Hardware | Here is one of many street markets in the older area of Georgetown. This one specialzed in hardware and services like key cutting.
| | Queensbay Mall is some distance to the south of Georgetown, so you take a bus or taxi. It claims to be the longest and biggest and is not quite 1 year old yet. Many designer labels, coffee shops and food outlets. |  Queensbay Mall |  Sudoku Contest | Here in the basement, a Sudoku contest was underway. After several heats, this was the final for the day, and the winners would go on to a national competition The girl facing us on the left of the photo has just finished (she's first) and in a couple more moments the boy in the yellow shirt also finishes. There are many temples and heritage houses to come - you may need to click "More ..." |
 Small Temple, early morning | Penang has many temples. One reason is that Muslims are not in the majority here as there are 40% ethnically Chinese, and 10 ethnically Indian. When we were in Little India our Chinese driver told us that some Indians changed from Hindu to Muslim because it is easier to do business in Malaysia if you are Muslim.
| | Here is a bigger temple near the tallest building in Penang (Komtar). This shape (a steep pyramid) and the decorations are typcial of many. |  Temple near Komtar |  Temple Interior | It is mid-morning on a weekday, and as we look into this temple, there is plenty of activity
|  Tan Jetty Entrance |  Tan Jetty further down | Near the old town is a "water village" that consists of a series of long jettys over shallow water (that disappears at low tide). Each jetty is for one clan. Here you see the entrance to one jetty, and further down you can see skeletons of old decaying boats everywhere on the mud-flats. Enlarge this picture and you will see the long bridge connecting Penang Island to the mainland (in the distance, on the right).
|  Ku Din Ku Meh Heritage House |  Ku Din Ku Meh Sign | Penang has many heritage houses, and many are being preserved. This house, Segara Ninda, was the residence of Ku Din Ku Meh, and now has been restored as a lower cost hotel with 14 rooms.
|  Cheong Fatt Tze Heritage House |  Cheong Fatt Tze Sign | Quoting from Asiaexplorers website: Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is an grand Chinese-style mansion that once belonged to one of the richest men in Southeast Asia. It is located along quiet Leith Street in the middle of George Town, Penang. Erected in an age when men sailed the seas, and women stayed cloistered behind the scene, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion bore witness to its owner's involvement in regional history, not only events that took place in Penang, but those unraveling as far afield as China. After the man had passed on, his beautiful home was left to decay. For more than half a century, it was a pitiful structure, host to numerous occupants, until one day, a few insightful individuals banded together to return it to its former glory. The painstaking project was executed with much care and love, but in the end, it garnered the ultimate recognition: the Unesco Asia Pacific Heritage Award 2000 as the "Most Excellent Project" for authentic restoration. The mansion has its own website at http://www.cheongfatttzemansion.com, and it also operates as a hotel, but it is not low cost. |  Cathay Hotel | The Cathay Hotel is just over the road from the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, and is one of the hotels we stayed in. It has had a grand past but is now a realively low-cost hotel - a little faded, but quite enjoyable.
| | |  Dharmikarama - Tall Buddha |  Dharmikarama - Tall Buddha | The Dharmikarama Temple is a Burmese Buddhist Temple with many Buddhas. Perhaps the most notable is one that is about 13 metres tall. Also you can see some members of our tour group (we were 6 in all) being blessed by the monks.
|  Wat Chayamangkalaram Temple |  Wat Chayamangkalaram Temple - Sleeping Buddha | Over the road from Dharmikarama is Wat Chaiyamangkalaram. This is also written Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram, and is the largest Thai Buddhist temple in Penang. It is often called the Temple of the Reclining Buddha of Penang, on account of the magnificent reclining Buddha image house in the vihara. The image of Phra Chaiya Mongkol measures 33 meters (108 ft) from end to end. The statue was only built in 1958, in conjunction with the 2500th anniversary of the birth of Buddha, at a cost of RM100,000.
|  Kek Lok Si Pagoda |  Kek Lok Si Temple Illuminated | In the hills to the south of Georgetown, at a place called Air Itam, is the Kek Lok Si Temple. This temple (Penang Hokkien for "Temple of Supreme Bliss") is one of the best known temples on the island. Mahayana Buddhism and traditional Chinese rituals blend into a harmonious whole, both in the temple architecture and artwork as well as in the daily activities of worshippers. Find out more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kek_Lok_Si_Temple The temple is elaborately illuminated for Chines New Year, and I found the second picture on the web to show this. | | | |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 November 2008 )
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