Malaysia Trip - Part 3

Waiting for us when we got to S.P. were Po-Po, Jia-Jun and Khuan-Ning, soon to be joined by Theng-Theng and the K.L. aunts.

In the S.P. house, H-M, her mother, and the K.L. aunts

Henry and his cousin, Khuan-Ning.

Henry in the kitchen giving the Cambodian maid some tips.


H-M and her two K.L. aunts.

After a short rest in S.P. it was back to Penang for a little more sight-seeing - a visit to the Penang Chingay festival. Chingay is an art form in which participants perform acrobatic tricks with impossibly long flags. (Short video - here.) Other cultures also have flag-related sports, for example the Swiss 'Fahneschwingen', although the Swiss flags are substantially smaller.

We decided to cross over to the island by ferry rather than use the 13-km long Penang Bridge.

A Penang ferry.

All the ferries are named after Malaysian islands and our ferry was Pulau Penang.

Pulau Penang, Penang.

The Chingay competition was held on the Esplanade. Here a photo of the Town Hall - note the size of the Chingay flag.


Happy-Ning taking a photo.


Thomas still feeling the tropical heat.


Group photo with Theng-Theng, Kwan and the boys.


Entry of the Chingay teams.


Drummers.

After the end of the show we went back to Khuan-Hoong's place, our residence for the night.

Night-time view from Hoong's flat.

Malaysia Trip - Part 2

The next day was another Penang day. Part of Thomas's homework for the trip was to visit a temple, so it was decided that Kwan's car would go for a Hindu blessing to ensure safe travels for Elks Street and associates.

The temple gods.


A part of the ceremonies, with the Hindu holy man presiding.


Smashing the coconut.


Fixing the charm in the car.

Suitably protected, we set off for the day's activities. The first port of call was the Penang Flower Show (Pesta Bunga Penang). The day was hot and steamy, and consequently, the Finns wilted relatively quickly, especially Thomas, who is no fan of tropical temperatures.

Thomas trying to keep off the sun.

After the Pesta, it was time to look for something to eat.

As with all Penangites, Elks Street is extemely picky about food; everyone has an opinion and only the best is good enough. If you want oriental street food, the best place in the world in Penang, but whose Curry Mee, Char Kway Teow or Wantan Mee is best is always open to debate.

In the food court. Thomas still feeling the heat.

The pudding was Ais Kacang, which cooled everyone down and is an Elks Street favourite.

Making Ais Kacang.


The final product.

Later it was time to set off for Sungai Petani to see how Po-Po was doing. The journey was broken by a stop at Khuan-Hoong's workplace, GearMech, and the Snake Temple.

Tourists heading towards the Snake Temple. (From left to right, Kwan, the Cambodian maid, Henry, H-M.)

A burning joss stick in front of the temple.


There really are snakes inthe Snake Temple.


A door to...

On the way to Sungai Petani we were confronted with an all-to-familiar sight - a traffic jam.

On my first visit to Penang, I fell in love with the city (and not just one of its citizens). Yet, development has been such that visiting Georgetown is no longer so attractive: too much time is spent in traffic; there has beeb uncontrolled building of high-rises; and the humanity of the city has been sacrificed at the altar of motorisation and modernisation.

Penang traffic.

Malaysia Trip - Part 1

For a variety of reasons, Elks Street has been in hibernation recently but now the days are getting longer and Elks Street has woken up.

As Elks Street followers will remember, in December we went for a short trip to Malaysia. H-M left some days before the boys, and travelled a different route, but everyone ended up in the right place, although not without some thrills and spills.

Below a few photos.

Thomas and Pingu reading on the train.


The boys smiling in Frankfurt Airport.

And why the happy demeanour?

In Helsinki Airport the computer system claimed that Henry was only booked through to Frankfurt, while Thomas and I were going to Penang. The outsourced, poorly-paid (or -trained) workers in Helsinki were unable to deal with the problem, causing some increase in Peter's already high blood pressure. Luckily, the Singapore Airlines' staff in Frankfurt made two calls and everything was sorted out. Well done, Singapore Airlines!

We arrived in Penang on time and in good humour to be met by H-M and Kwan. And then it was off for a supper in one of Penang's many food courts. Fortified by noodles and soup we went to Khuan-Hoong's flat, our residence in Penang.

View from Khuan-Hoong's 17th floor flat over towards the Kek Lok Si temple. (As the cranes indicate, the view will soon be blocked by yet another high-rise.)


View towards Rifle Range.

The series of apartment blocks in the middle of the photo are the Rifle Range flats. The now-demolished house (161-B Jalan Padang Tembak) in which H-M was brought up is just to the right of the Rifle Range flats.

The next day was a sight-seeing day. With jet lag in mind, the plan was to do something relatively easy and relaxing - a drive round the island. We headed north, dropped by the 'thin aunt' and Lai-Ping in Tanjung Bungah for lunch, before heading towards Teluk Bahang and an educational visit to a fruit farm.

'Thin Aunt'

A photo shoot at the Teluk Bahang dam.

Our guide at the Penang Fruit Farm, Ali.

The trip to the fruit farm was interesting, although a little too much of an Ali show for your correspondent's taste. We were caught in a tropical downpour, which cut short our visit; a visit that ended with a fruit buffet.

Driving back to Georgetown we dropped by 'the old house' to see what had happened.

Where the house once stood. (In the background, some of the Rifle Range flats, and on the right, SMK Padang Tembak school.)

Despite our best efforts, jet lag managed to catch out some of the party!

Thomas taking an unscheduled nap.

The final countdown - Part 3

The dinner was held in the restaurant Feng-Wei, Penang. We've been to the restaurant a few times and while the food is good, the restaurant suffers from being rather noisy. This is either because there are too many people in too small a space, or maybe the result of the furnishing.

Jia-Jun at the restaurant.


Jie enjoying his time in the restaurant.

Theng-Theng.

H-M's schoolfriend, Chen-Liang was our driver for the next couple of days, during which we did a little sight-seeing. One of our traditional trips is to the buddhist temple in Air Itam, Kek Lok Si.

Chen-Liang and H-M.


A fairly traditional photo of the temple with the pagoda in the background.


Henry lighting joss-sticks. He decided to place them before the statue of the Laughing Buddha.

It was at this point in the holiday that I was struck down with a mystery stomach ailment. It was very unpleasant and at one point it seemed possible that I might not be in a fit state to travel back to Finland. Medicine helped me over the worst but it took nearly two months before I was completely recovered.

Thomas, Henry and Chen-Liang in McDonald's.

Thomas took a long time to get used to Malaysian food; he much preferred the western food he is used to, although he really enjoyed the tropical fruits. In the beakers is the drink Milo, of which both boys are great fans.

The holiday then continued with Elk's Street returning to Sungai Petani to get ready for the flight back to Finland.

The final countdown - Part 2

Having arrived at the Chee Seng Gardens home of the "Thin Aunt", we were all taken out to eat.

From the other posts about the Elk's Street visit to Malaysia it should be becoming clear that Malaysians' favourite hobby is eating, and then eating more. And Penang is the food capital of Malaysia. For short travel videos about Penang food, click here and here.

This time we were taken to eat an an Indian restaurant, Sri Ananda Bahwan. The evening didn't go entirely smoothly as Henry drank two Mango Lassi drinks on top of some, for him, spicy food and consequently got stomachache!

Edmund looking rather stern, flanked by his daughters.

Elk's Street were housed in Wing-Hoong's flat in the Leader Garden condominium.

Having breakfast in Wing-Hoong's flat.

The next day was a family trip to the beach, organised by Lai-Peng.

The gang getting organised on the beach.


Thomas on the beach.


The Chee Seng Gardens aunt on the beach.


Kuan on the beach, or should that be, on the phone?

As we set off a little late and the sun got very hot very quickly, the pale northerners left to cool down in an air-conditioned shopping centre. While H-M did her shopping, the boys had coffee and fruit juice in The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf café, and hung around patiently.

Thomas and Henry becoming part of a hat display. For those trying to remember which artist the photo vaguely reminds them of, the answer is René Magritte.

Then it was back to the flat for a short rest before the evening's family banquet.

The final countdown - Part 1

The return of Elk's Street to S.P. was on Christmas Eve, Jia-Jun's birthday, and the start of the last part of the visit to Malaysia. Below a few photos.

Jia-Qi in the kitchen getting the food ready.

The birthday boy admiring the celebration meal.

As can be seen from the photo above and the one below, there were lots of Christmas elves around.

Elf Kuan, Elf Henry, Elf Thomas, Elf Jia-Qi

The following day Elk's Street and the S.P. crowd went for a short trip to The Tree Top Walk at Sungai Sedim.

Finding it is not completely straightforward but for Malaysian standards it is surprisingly well signposted; the trick is to turn off the highway at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, after which the signs are quite clear. Tropical jungles are not like European forests, where visitors can walk freely picking berries and mushrooms as they go (if the season is right). The undergrowth is so dense that visitors would need a machete to walk through a jungle. Oh, and not to mention all the snakes, leeches, and other creepy crawlies.

Jia-Yen and Thomas on the tree-top walk.


Some of the group on the jungle walk. But what are they looking at?


Malaysian jungle.

The following day, it was off to Georgetown, Penang to visit relatives. First stop was to visit H-M's Aunt Doris, who had just moved into a new apartment at Villa Emas, not far from the new shopping centre, Queensbay Mall.

The apartment block. Extra points if you can spot Henry!

The huge building boom and dramatic increase in high-rise buildings has been one of the changes I've seen in Penang. On my first visit, Komtar dominated the skyline of central Georgetown, and the Rifle Range flats stood out.

The way the island has been covered in concrete is not necessarily for the best - there are serious infrasture problems. This is seen most obviously in the constant traffic jams, difficulties with water - both flooding as water runs off the hills and supply of clean water - building quality problems, and issues with landslides. With Penang having been chosen as a U.N. Heritage site, I hope that more attention will be paid to sustainable development of the island.

Some of the gang in Doris's flat - Theng-Theng, Jo-Vi (boyfriend), Po-Po, Kuan, Aunt Doris.

Doris and H-M.

Jie, Doris's grandson. Jie's parents are working in Scotland and Jie is living with his grandmother.

From Bayan Lepas we then moved towards Tanjun Bungah to see the next set of relatives.