Malaysia Trip - Part 5

For Thomas the highlight of the trip was a short visit to Langkawi. H-M was in charge of organising this part of the holiday and she decided that we should be in a beach hotel. The choice fell on The Frangipani Langkawi Resort and Spa. While not exactly cheap, the price was reasonable, unlike some of H-M's other suggestions, e.g., Burau Bay, and at one point she seemed even to be eyeing up The Andaman, although not seriously. Thomas felt right at home - swimming, sunshine, reasonable temperatures and western food; all that a little boy could desire.

Below, a few photos.

The famous statue in Eagle Square, Kuah.


Thomas - beach lion.


Henry in the pool...


... and on the beach.


H-M and Thomas in the bubble pool.


Like father, like son!


Something for Thomas - although he had to wait a while as the service was at laid-back beach-resort speed.

The trip was arranged such that the Finns arrived first, and the Malaysians a day later - getting everybody in one place at one time is no mean feat.

Jia-Qi buried in the sand.


Beach belle.


Thomas, H-M, Jia-Qi and Jia-Yin in the sea.


Henry and Jia-Jun.

Unfortunately, we were unable to swim in the sea because of jellyfish. Your correspondent learned this the hard way, but luckily was only slightly stung. Jellyfish stings are not something to mess about with!

Then came the highlight for Henry - a fishing trip in the Indian Ocean. Leong had organised this and it was something of a treat for everyone, except the non-fisherfolk, Thomas and H-M, who stayed in the resort.

The fishing tour started from the Kilim River jetty and was gentle fishing rather than Extreme Fishing, one of Henry's favourite TV shows.

The Kilim river.


Jia-Yin waiting patiently for the boat to arrive.


Heading out into the Indian Ocean.


A scenic fishing spot.


Peter and Henry on the boat.


Henry with a snapper


Henry feeling contented and happy.

Our catch was one snapper, a few groupers, and a puffer fish, which was swiftly returned to the waters.

We tried to get the fish cooked at the resort but the price they offered us was ridiculous. So H-M set out to find a more helpful restaurant, which she duly did - Deng Long Seafood Restaurant. After the usual Malaysian-style negotiations about what to eat we had a most enjoyable meal.

Our catch on a platter.

For the record, the Elk's Street people on the fishing trip were: Peter, Leong, Jia-Qi, Henry, Jia-Jun, and Jia-Yin. And everyone caught at least one fish.

All too soon it was time to return to the mainland.

Ready to depart
(Peter, Leong, and in the background Henry and Jia-Yin)

Ready to depart
(Leong)

Ready to depart
(Henry, Jia-Yin, and Thomas)


Ready to depart
(Jia-Jun and Jia-Qi)

On our 4D3N trip to Langkawi a wonderful time was had by all.

Gone fishing!

Malaysia Trip - Part 4

With everyone having gone to bed rather late following the Chingay performance, in the morning some people were rather slow to get going.

Khuan-Hoong - wide-eyed and bushy-tailed.

The day's trip was to Penang Butterfly Farm, below a few photos.

A butterfly.


Another butterfly.


Not a butterfly.


Thomas with a butterfly.


A feeding butterfly.

After visiting the Butterfly Farm, H-M decided that some shopping was needed, so we went down the road to the Penang Batik Factory.

Peter enjoying shopping for batik.

Then it was onwards-ever-onwards, this time to the Kek Lok Si temple.

Kek Lok Si is a regular spot for Elks Street, be it to feed the turtles or look at the statue of Kuan Yin. The temple has expanded massively in recent years and is in danger, at least in my opinion, of becoming rather 'disneyfied'. Sometimes I feel that the spirit of 'Malaysia Boleh' leads Malaysians in the wrong direction.

Snake Thomas.


Tiger Henry.


Pig Jia-Jun.


Rabbit Peter.

Rat Kwan.


Pig H-M.

Snake Khuan-Ning was also there, but her photo was not very flattering so it's not here.

There was some time for spiritual activities, as the photos below show.

Jia-Jun at prayer.


Thomas and Henry at the altar.

Incense burner for one of the shrines.

Lotus flower from Elks Street's next port-of-call.

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.