Lotus Memories

Put together by Alice, one of the Singaporean girls seen in the photos who stay with the Lotus children in thier summer camp. As Alice says,  a life changing experience.

Film - King's Speech.

As good as the hype.  Bertie and Adolf.  Some contrast. We all know the story but it is powerfully told here.  Has to be a 5 on the Palace Gate.

Time Tramp.

Photo by Jo

Need say no more.

House of Mirrors.

Photo by Gek or Jo????

 The Green Paranakan house in Georgetown I have visited three times already,  and I am still fascinated by it.
.

 On this visit,  tried to make something of the numerous mirrors in the place,  particularly the many infinity mirrors.

 The house is home to a large collection of  Stourbridge Glass,  all displayed in mirrored  cabinets.

 Not,  posing, honest.

And another happy accident.

Jo's Visit

Jo came to Penang as a Hawker Food Hunter.

 Char Kway Teow, Penang style

 Lam Mee

and Nasi Kandar food,  to name but a few of the many successes of the hunt.

Of course, Ice Cream.  Not seen in Singapore,  but no time to try!!!!!!!  Oh noooooooo.  Will have to return.

Happy Valentines Day

The Orange Lions

 An annual dinner in the car park.

and orange lions to greet the guests.  Lions come in all colours in Penang,  including black.  The dancers are not just Chinese young men either.  Young Indian guys strut their stuff too.

Malay House model

Malay houses are disappearing under concrete.  But some individuals are keeping the style alive.  This lovely house is just outside Balik Pulau on Penang island.



Even to the extent of keeping the traditional methods of construction.  No nails.  This one is on Langkawi.

A Perak house,  also on Langkawi. Each state or region has it's own style,  based upon a common structure. 

In some early 20th contury houses you can see a fusion of Malay, British Indian colonial style.  So what to model?  Think I will go back to the basic Malay house of the type you could have seen in Penang.

Development.

15 years ago, Relau, the area where we live, was a farming community with houses similar to this one.  This house can still be seen below our balcony, together with its unfenced fruit plots.

 

Things have already changed dramatically in that 15 years but not as dramatically as they are about to.

 

In 3/4 years, this will be standing in place of the crops in the previous photo. This is just 1 of 4 major mixed residential/commerce projects within a 1 km radius of our apartment.

Brush with VIPs

So VI that his car doesn't need a number plate!!

 As usual it has its road clearers.

 Do you recognise them?

 Multi-coloured body guards giving space for the VIPs to chat.  And not a pair of shades between them.

Colours - this is the theme of the Day.

Penang CNY Open House

 Feb 3 - 1st day of the Year of the Rabbit.  Penang's Chief Minister Open House at PISA just across the road from our flat.

 Cannot do without the lion. Where are the VIPs? It's already past 10am!!

 Lo Hei! All set for the VIPs  to toss up good fortune. The higher you toss the salad, the greater your luck and prosperity in the New Year!

Cultural mix - Disney rabbits with Indian, Malay and Chinese dancers. Multi colour show!!!

The Year of the Rabbit.

Another new year to celebrate,  this time with Mdm Teh.

New year means new, red clothes.  And the Lions need red scarfs.

Carrefour and Curried Prawns.

A first visit to Carrefour on the mainland. Bloody enormous. Chris and Ranu invited us to  join them on the foray.   The store has only just finished with Christmas and the New Year and another New Year looms.  And more annoying musac.

And then on to Kampung Tanjung Berembang for a second visit to the curry prawn coffee shop. Coffee shop doesn't look much but it seems to have a big following for it's curry. There isn't even a sign outside the coffee shop of any kind but they have label on Google Map. Amazing. Search on Google Map for Nibong Tebal Curry Prawn. 

Whopper isn't it????  But not this big on this trip, only medium prawns this time but still much bigger than your average prawn. 

The coffee shop  is next to the  Sungai Kerian. Sungai means river and Kerian is an administrative district in Perak, Malaysia   The river forms part of the border with Penang State.    A prawn is udang in Malay, by the way.  I have an English/ Bahasa Malaysia dictionary now.  So good place for the river police to have a station.  Nip over for lunch then out on patrol.

As Chris commented,  that looks like fun.  Two large outboards on your transom!!!

Film - Little Fockers

Why does Hollywood thing it appropriate to film a looooong fist fight at a child's birthday party?  Best guess is that they all turned up to the shoot one day and thought "This film needs something to spice it up.  It is going nowhere.  I know lets have dad and grandad punch the living daylights out of each other".  Not even going to score this one.

Relau Indah nights.

 Dinner on the balcony with the setting sun.

 The street comes alive after dark.

Food to enjoy on the street.

Film - The Tourist

What ever the critics may have said,  I enjoyed this film.  Very entertaining.  I loved the Scotland Yard inspector who was trying so hard to be a Sherlock Holmes and was so not.  Score of 4 on the door because a packed, Wednesday afternoon theatre of Malaysians laughed a lot!!!!! 

Christmas, Penang 2010

 We spent Christmas with Chris at his place in Times Square, Penang.  Very nice place,  but very quiet.

 We both followed Ranu's very full instructions on how to put the roast together.  This year it is a pork roll,

 Nicely laid table all ready to go!!

Have to say, it was delicious.  Thanks Ranu.

Jenny and other travels.

Florence with Ruth.  T'was a spring visit, hence the warm attire.  This photo was taken up the Domo dome.  what a climb that was. 

Athens.  A roof top bar looking out to the Acropolis.  Beautiful sunset too.  We had been to Crete for  three weeks and were on the way home.  I love Crete.  We had hired a car and stayed in various places in the west of the island.  Never did make it back to cover the East of the island.

Continental Morgan Holidays.

The first Morgan trip.  This was also the first holiday we had together on our own, without Anna or Polly.  We took a ferry from Poole, Dorset, to Cherbourg in Normandy and then drove down into Brittany.  I had only just managed to finish rebuilding the car the week before we left Stafford, so I was a bit on tender hooks as to whether we would avoid a breakdown.  Wondering if I had cocked up more like.  It was a brilliant holiday.  Only one mishap.  The clutch cable snapped.  Luck I had brought a spare cable!!  In fact,  I seem to remember we had more spares than luggage.  Another photo I just love.

The second trip was to the Loire Valley.  Three weeks driving the length of the Loire, visiting the chateaus, dining well and sampling the red , of course.  Excellent.  We stayed in top places.  The Morgan in question, just visible in the background, was now a lovely red +4.  Jenny hadn't been a massive fan of the marque but she loved this one.  When we decided to upgrade from a 4/ 4 to a +4,  this was the first car we viewed.  She decided, not me,  that this was the one!!!!  The whole three weeks was topless driving.  Cann't beat it.

And so for the third trip,  Lake Garda in Northern Italy and then on south intoTuscany.  We had taken  the over night car-train from Brussels to Milan.  This was the start of a 6 week holiday in Northern but most of the time was spent in Tuscan Italy.  San Gimignano was our ultimate destination.  It has to be done.  Top off,  driving on those brilliant winding roads across the hills of Tuscany in a car with a bit of grunt.