Penang Life - Boxing Day

 The old bungalows,  still in need of much TLC.

 And KOMTAR which perhaps also needs some attention these days.

But that is not our concern up here in the cool Hill air.  Another lovely, and quiet lunch at the Bellevue Hotel, which is getting some TLC.  The snakes are back but safely contained in glass cases.

Penang Life - Christmas Day

 

For peace and quiet,  the southern most tip of Penang - Gertak Sanggul.

Gek discussing the options for our sea food dinner, fresh from the boats.. 

China House

A riveting read.  Time for a 'selfie'.  Where did that stomach come from?  I hadn't ordered yet.

Bomba Station.

Back to the street.   Before 1909 the police handled fires, causing confusion for this poor chap.  Pick my rifle or my hose?

Don't be fooled by the girlie pink decor,  these guys have some serious machinery in there.

Made in Penanag - Nonsense Me.

OK, I lied.  Not so stuffy.  Giving myself nightmares.

Made in Penang - 3D Interactive Art

 

The idea is to go and stand by the larger than life figures and strike a suitable pose,

 play the saxophone for Ramlee,

 help makeup a Chinese Opera singer,

or use a henna cone to decorate an Indian beauty.

I am, of course, too mature for all this frivolity,  but Gek did chance her hand with the snake.

Made in Penang - Models

A new attraction in the Heritage Zone on Weld Quay, a 3D and interactive art museum along the lines of Ernest, our resident Lithuanian street artist.  The models attract me of course and i was hoping to arrange to meet the creator,  Khoo Chooi Hooi, but he has taken himself off to China

 

 The water front scene is some 30 + feet long and took Chooi Hooi a year to make.

Love the detail and the individualised faces on the figures,

Very impressed was I.

Penang Moon

Who needs to go into space when you can see the wonders from Earth?  No tricks, honest!!

Penang Life

The most chilled taxi drivers on the planet?

Queen Anne House.

A new Doll House design.  This is the proofing model in a scale 1 cm to 1 inch made of 3 mm ply.... bit rough and ready but did the job.  I had a few corrections to the drawings to make, but in general,  it came out rather well, I thought.

Evening Rainbow

Sometimes we have weird and wonderful night skies here in 1 Sky.  Tonight we were treated to an orange rainbow and this is looking east.  It could be the effects of the recent volcanic eruption in Northern Sumatra but for what ever reason the effect is quite magical.  Only last for about 5 mins then it is gone.

Lightning.

Last night, storm clouds came,

giving us one of natures pyrotechnic spectaculars, a good 2 hours of a lightning show, accompanied by our young Adhan caller.

Testing the Lights

The developers underspent on the bridge build budget, leaving enough cash to do some special lighting on the bridge.  Last night was the first try out.  The lights' colours can be changed to reflect the the signature colour of the festival current at any time during the year.  A free light show for us!!

Day-11 @ 1-Sky

Getting there.  It has taken 15 hours so far to put the model house back together and only the 1st floor is completed and I haven't even started on the shop-house.  It is going to take longer to set up the model houses than it has to set up the blooming  apartment!!!!!   Gek's painting looking great in this space.  Hello to the friends portrayed.

Sun Rising

 The Kedah hills,

 with the Perak mountains behind, 50 miles away rising to 2000 feet plus.  Loving this new camera, my B D present from Gek.

and south toward the second link.  Right, back to bed.  Far to early for me, this

Reflected Sun Set.

Looks like it is going to be a bumpy flight for this MAS plane tonight.

Day 1 @ 1-Sky

Just over 24 hours in our new place and  the living room cum dining room is set up.  If you are wondering why we are living outside on a 24/7 foot balcony.....

.....it is because the place where 'normal' people would live and eat has been taken over by the artist in residence, a red snake......

......and a rather small looking B & W house.  In keeping with our irrationality,  we have chosen the 3rd bedroom for our nightly kip.  The main bedroom with air-con,  en-suite bathroom and loads of space to do whatever in, is now our guest room.  This room even has its own door on to the balcony.  We are currently taking room bookings,  usual terms and conditions apply.

The new and even newer.

 This white monster is to be our new home soon.  Ours will be on the 19th floor facing the east.

sPICE is still a hole in the ground.  Gets a little deeper each day, but it is going to take a long time to finish with only 4 mechanical buckets at work each day.

Not Long Now

Two, perhaps three more weeks and we will have moved to a new abode.  Relau dusks no more to see.  Butterworth dawns instead,  if I manage to get up that early that is!!!

Greenwich Park

Looking up the hill to the observatory and the Time Ball which by dropping daily at 1 pm  allowed Londoners to correct their wind up clocks every day.

 Looking back down the hill towards Canary Wharf, which looks even odder from up here.

 Loads of folks just come up here and stare out over the cityscape.

 With the odd photographer of course.

Now this is a 'hawker stall' I can recommend for a decent bacon bap.  Also serves tea grown in Cornwall.  Cornwall, a county in the SW of England that is. 

River Trip

 The trip starts at the London Eye, just opposite Big Ben.  No need for detail, Ben's silhouette is enough of a signature.

 First stop at the City and St. Pauls.

 Back across the river to HMS Belfast, the last of a breed from WW II.  A must visit, in my view, to remind ourselves of the grim reality of war at sea.  A dehumanising living space.

 Tower Bridge.  No need to open the bridge for us.

Canary Wharf.  I was surprised that this part of London had not changed much since these tower blocks were built nearly 20 years ago..  They still look like an island in a sea of crumbling docklands.

Our landing place, Greenwich. 

Our transport departs for the Millennium Dome, the end of the line.

The Cutty Sark

Amazing to think this wooden ship used to sail to Australia and back.  Brilliant restored.

Docklands

Via the Docklands Light Railway (DLR)

 The Millennium Dome is now a very popular concert venue, concerts of all types, rock to opera.

 A secret London venue,  the Long Play, a Tibetan bells music piece which will not repeat a phrase for 1000 years.  We visited on the 233 day of the 13th year,  just to note our presence.  Cannot remember the time!!

The music is computer generated, of course.  Lets hope the power supply last 1000 years more.

Meanwhile out the window on the Thames, a bit of history passes by.

There is now a walkway up to the top of the Dome.  Reminded me of people walking on the Sydney Bridge.