Today we are taking the included tour to look around the colonial town area. This is another area where the British made their presence looking for the riches of spices. The City is named after King George even.
Our day began with a surprise.. Our bus only had 10 people assigned to it! Yippie!!! Until you have tried to herd cats from one spot to another, you have no idea how difficult it is to get 33* elder tourists from one site to another… 10 should be a piece of cake!
All the buses in Malaysia have the similar theme just in different shades of loud!
Various colonial buildings are still found in the old town
The blue palace, a home built by a very wealthy Chinese businessman to house his large family
One of the Clan houses found in colonial town
A Buddhist temple where you go to pray for winning lottery numbers.(really praying for prosperity, but you shake sticks to get lottery numbers)
One of our shipmates learning how to shake the sticks
The usual selfie
The opposite side of the temple
An alter where you can light incense sticks to carry prayers for loved ones to the sky.
Al lighting sticks for our deceased family members and for the prosperity for our family.
Next up since it was hot and we needed a short rest, our guide took us to this coffee shop. Here we were able to have a cup of Civet Cat coffee.
Grounds being perked with hot water
A very happy taster! Yes, it was expensive, about $9USD, but worth every penny!. Even Albert had a taste and liked it! Not an everyday coffee ( I couldn’t afford the habit) but for an uplifting change Civet coffee is the one to try!After our brief but delightful break we continued along the street to a work of art. In 2012 Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic was invited to paint a painting in the city. He is famous for mixing paintings and murals in a 3D effect. The painting of “children on a bycicle” is a favorite on of tourists. Because of the weather, it is fading and even though twice the artist has repainted it, He no longer wishes to return to the city to do it again. It was a delightful addition to the area and I wish we had had more time to explore more of his artwork throughout the city.
A wonderful street side shop.
The entire parking lot at the temple was lined with Buddhas in various poses
On our way back towards the dock we drove by the unused fort Cornwallis built by the British East India Company and is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. It was never actually used in combat during its occupation.
A wonderful street side shop.
Key Lok Si temple the biggest Buddhist temple in Malaysia
The entire parking lot at the temple was lined with Buddhas in various poses
On our way back towards the dock we drove by the unused fort Cornwallis built by the British East India Company and is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. It was never actually used in combat during its occupation.It was a great day in Penang and we enjoyed every hot humid minute of it.
Interested in fewer people on the bus. Was the trip in the morning or the afternoon? Is there a better strategic time for fewer people?
ReplyDeleteBeen really enjoying your blog and learning a lot. Many many thanks for all of your efforts and for sharing it. Kristina