Pulau-Betong-Penang

Last Saturday, I had an exploration around Balik Pulau and Pulau Betong. I discovered quite a number of places that I have yet to visit. One place that excite me is the fish market place at the last junction before going into Pulau Betong. Fresh fishes, prawns etc can be found around the market. Behind it, there is a fishing pier full of fishing boats. That brings something fresh for my photography collections.

A frequent visitor sharing the same source of supply around the Pulau Betong fisherman pier....

Repairing the fishing net is part of the routine job for the fisherman.

On my way back, I spotted a guy observing the river bank in preparation for his fishing activity.


Here goes the action. The fishing net casted onto the river with the hope of netting some fresh fishes for dinner.


Here goes the fishes caught by the guy.

Guess what? This cat gets some free shares of fishes by this kind hearted guy.

Khoo-Kongsi-Armenian-Street-And-Penang-Heritage-Houses

After a couple of hectic days and errands to do, now I am back to my photography hobby. Last weekend, I had a visit to the Georgetown heritage buildings. My first stop was to have my brunch at the Armenian Cafe which slowly becoming my frequent dining place over there. But, I was a little too early and was yet to open. Not knowing what to do, I had a spontaneous visit to one of the most popular clan house in Georgetown, known as Khoo Kongsi.




I like the cooling blue color that brings a sense of peace and tranquility of this place. The red stone flooring reminded me of my late grandparents town house in my hometown.


This one is the window grill carving at the main entrance. I was amazed to see such intricate carving by the skillful Chinese craftsmen from the past.

This fish carving can be found at the pillars of Khoo Kongsi. I took this photo as it has a resemblance of the balance of life just like the Yin and Yang.

There is a small museum in Khoo Kongsi that uncovered the history of Khoo Kongsi and has a kitchen towards the exit.
Hmm... I saw an old bicycle using dynamo as the source of light. It reminded me of my bicycle lesson using such bicycle during my childhood.



Along the exit point, I could see the effort of restoring the old shop houses to ensure Georgetown maintain as one of the World Heritage sites in South East Asia.

My stomach growling reminded me to get back to the Armenian Cafe. This small cafe run by a couple, is located just next to the Cheah Kongsi along the Armenian Street. I liked the simplicity of the interior decoration made of recycling stuff and the mouth watering pasta and fruit shake. Do take note that the food menu are not fixed and varies from time to time. No phototaking in the interior is allowed.

Not far from the cafe, I spotted some guys installing lanterns along Armenian Street in preparation for the upcoming Chinese New Year. The upcoming year is the Metal Rabbit year.

This picture shows the typical heritage houses around Georgetown. There is a veranda which can also acts as a shelter for passerby when it rains.

An Indian selling mee jawa. One day I must try this out...


This indigo blue Chng Eng Joo house located at 120 Armenian Street where Dr Sun Yat Sen had his meetings with his supporters.

Kuala Sepetang Perak

Last weekend, I paid a visit to the mangrove park and the charcoal factory in Kuala Sepetang. It took about 20 minutes drive from Taiping town.

The entrance to this mangrove park is FOC and there are a few stretches of walkways to view the mangrove trees. One of the species known as 'bakau minyak' are popular for making charcoal. It was quite a good experience to enjoy a different ecosystem and not to mention that there are chalets available for those who wants to learn and experience staying in the swamp.



My first visit to this park was during my secondary education whereby our biology teacher took us to this park to learn about the interaction of the flora and fauna to this ecosystem. We even had a great experience visiting a nearby fish breeding in cages at the river mouth.

Mangrove trees are easily distinguished by the roots of the plant known as pneumatophore growing out from the tree stems. It is learned that such specialized roots are for the plant to breathe since the waterlogged soil environment is low in oxygen. Mudskippers and crabs are the natural inhabitant in this mangrove swamp.

My next visit was the charcoal factory located just opposite the mangrove park.

I could see the workers transferring logs into the cone where they are heated and bake until the water in the logs are completely vaporized thus turning them into shining black charcoal. These workers are really strong and I truly respect their ability of handling such a tough job.






I came across this puppy hiding and playing around between the two packs of charcoal. Thankfully, the latest generation of digital SLR has the live view feature for me to take this cutie at low angle.

I made a quick exploration at this small Kuala Sepetang coastal town. This place is famous for its seafood. Dried fishes and prawns can be seen along the way.







Another popular place for seafood is in Matang. It is located in between the Taiping town and Kuala Sepetang. Occasionally, I take my grand aunts to this place for the scrumptious seafood dinner. Do not forget to call the grilled crab and fried fish.





I forgot to take pictures of the food (maybe next time) as the surrounding stray cats caught my attention. There are really a difference between a domestic cat and the wild stray cat. This domestic cat is quite laid back and likes to be touched while the grey ones (mother and kitten) are very cautious and agile. I really like the sharp blue eyes of this wild mother cat.

Pinang Peranakan Mansion Penang

Last weekend, I went to the Pinang Peranakan Mansion located at the Church Street in Penang. This mansion used to be the residence of Kapitan Cinan Chung keng Kwee which was built sometime in the late 19th century.

Now, this place has been transfromed into a tourist attraction where it houses all sort of Baba and Nyonya collections with some influence of British style. This mansion offers plenty of photo opportunities.

In the past, I was told that, the Peranakan women spent their free time knitting and playing this card games.





There are many collections of wood carving on chairs, partition, doors, wood craft etc. For chinese, typically the crafted objects are in the form dragon, phoenix and lions.





Some of the pictures taken inside the mansion....



These Chinese baskets with gold images and patterns are used to carry gifts and jewellery. Another type(not in the picture) which is red and black in colour, is used to carry food. Other wares are as below:-

This old record player was once a popular music player before the Hi Fi came into picture.













I was quite impressed with the Baba and Nyonya kitchen. The kitchen wares arrangement was great.













Pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/photo.dannylim/Peranakan#