My-dog-sheep-cow-and-rooster-encounter

Sometime back during the Chinese New Year in Feb, while visiting my family members, I took the opportunity to snap some interesting creatures around my hometown and my in laws house.

Don't be fooled by this cutie beagle look. He is actually my brother-in-law's pet and we called him Nickki. His eyes looked pitiful but that is his usual tactic to get our sympathy to allow him to go into the house. He is extremely greedy and for such reason, when we allow him to go into the house, the first thing he will do is running to the kitchen to search for food. This type of breed is extremely intelligent and having very sharp sense of smell surpassing some other dogs such as fox terrier. No wonder this dog is used to detect drugs smuggling. Nickki is about 4 years old now which equivalent to roughly 28 years old of a human being but still very playful at his age.

In my hometown, I encountered this healthy looking rooster stood boldly on the greenery. This one was cackling for a while which left me wondering what on earth did the rooster cackling in the evening. Isn't it suppose to do that as part of the morning call. I guess the world is turning upside down and this rooster also got himself confused. Probably, he was trying to show off to the rest of the chickens.


Not far from this rooster stood this dirty looking sheep. The rain just stopped and clearly showing this sheep completely drenched. Rearing such animal in the tropical hot and humid climate in Malaysia does not seem to make the cut. Nobody is going to buy the wool. Anyway, I found it interesting to look at this uncommon animal in my neighbourhood.

Adjacent to the sheep is this cow staring at me. I had to be cautious as she looked quite fierce and at any instances, may charge towards me. I found out that this cow is a friend to the sheep. No wonder she is staring at me while I was taking the photograph of the sheep probably thinking I was trying to harm her good friend.

Coincidently, all these four animals fall under the 12 Chinese zodiac animals.

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.

1st-Malaysia-International-Guppy-and-Betta-Charity-Competition-Gurney-Plaza

The 1st Malaysia International Guppy & Betta Charity Competition was held sometime back in June 2010 in Gurney Plaza, Penang. There were many varieties of Guppies and Bettas. The latter was my interest as I did rear some Bettas during my school days.

The fighting fish scientific name is Betta Splendens and usually live from 2 to 5 years in captivity. Male fighting fish exhibit a very strong colour and will expand its gills and fins when facing its rival. As its name called, the male fighting fish will fight against each other and sometime could be fatal. Nowadays, many Betta enthusiast rear this fish as pet for its boastful color and beauty. You can see a wide range of colours and fancy fin through selective breeding and imports.

Penang-Butterfly-Farm

Went to the Penang Butterfly Farm lask weekend to try out my new Kenko extension tube. It was quite challenging to get a good macro shot hand held and I had to boost my camera ISO to about 800 to 1600 most of the time. Enjoy...

Here goes the life cycle of a butterfly starting from these eggs.

The next metamorphosis of butterfly is the larva. This green caterpillar is among the better looking caterpillar in this farm. I wonder what butterfly species will it transform to later.

An adult butterfly. This is just one of the many butterfly species seen here. Surprisingly, there are a few Raja Brooke butterly that usually found in Cameron Highlands.



Close up view of a butterfly head...

I found this flower very unique. Twinkle twinkle little flower!



There are a few pitcher plant species in this butterfly farm. Some people call them as monkey cups as they collect rain water and became part of the drinking water for the monkey.

Here goes another one...



There are some other creatures upon exiting the farm such as the rhinoceros beetles, scorpions, geckos (as above picture) and tarantulas.