Intrepid Asia in Ninety Days with Flashbacks

Andes Amazon Millennium

2012-02-18T01:40:00.000-08:00

Join and enjoy the Andes Amazon Millennium journey the just completed a blog of our Millennial trip from the Andes down the Amazon to Rio to document the destruction of biodiversity.

Hong Kong and Kowloon

2011-12-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

Arriving on the ferry from Macau

We spent one and a half days wandering Hong Kong Island and made a trip to the pet and clothing markets in Kowloon. These images are confined to walking the central area of Hong Kong, passing through some of the old 'antique' shops and memorabilia stalls, the main Man Ho temple, shots from the space-age metro that flys between Lantau, Hong Kong and Kowloon and the markets in Kowloon. The images are self-explanatory.

An egg-seller with small quail's eggs at the wharves

Scenes in the antique region

Communist memorabilia

Man Mo Temple (wikimedia)

The largest Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong is located at Nos. 124-126 Hollywood Road, in Sheung Wan. It was built in 1847. It is part of a complex that comprises three adjacent blocks namely Man Mo Temple, Lit Shing Temple (No. 128 Hollywood Road)[2] and Kung So. The Man Mo Temple, the main building of the complex, is dedicated to the civil god Man Cheong and the martial god Kwan Ti. Lit Shing Kung (列聖宫) is for the worship of all heavenly gods. Kung So (公所), to its west, was an assembly hall where community affairs and disputes were settled. In 1908, the Temple was officially entrusted to Tung Wah Board of Directors. The temple has since been managed by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. It was graded as a Grade I historic building in 1993 and it is now a declared monument. It is open from 8:00am to 6:00pm daily.

A Man Mo Temple or Man Mo Miu (Chinese: 文武廟) is a temple for the worship of the civil or literature god Man Tai (文帝) / Man Cheong （文昌） and the martial god Mo Tai (武帝) / Kwan Tai (關帝). The two gods were popularly patronized by scholars and students seeking progress in their study or ranking in the civil examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are several Man Mo Temples in Hong Kong.

(wikimedia)

Sellers of bird's nest soup, ginseng and Asian medicinals

Taking the metro to Kowloon

Downtown Kowloon

Pet markets

Clothing markets

Back to the International Airport

Lantau and Peng Chau

2011-12-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

Discovery Bay (Wikimedia)

June 2005 Lantau and Peng Chau are two islands off Hong Kong. While Peng Chau is a fascinating little traditional Chinese fishing island full of elderly retirees, Discovery Bay where we stayed on Lantau is a completely synthetic residential enclave for international expats to live in complete isolation from Asian realities.

The wider Lantau is an island of contrasts. Originally the site of fishing villages, the island has been developed in recent years with the construction of Tung Chung New Town on its north-western coast. It is named after its high peak, has nature parks, and a famous stilt village at Tai O, a fishing town located in the northwest of Lantau Island which is more than three centuries old, and retains most of its historical setting such as waterways, stilt houses and fishing boats.

Tai O stilt houses and bridge (Wikimedia)

We arrived in the evening by ferry from Macau via Hong Kong island to the seaward side of Lantau to Discovery Bay harbour and my friends live in an apartment, but you can also get to Lantau on the metro past Disneyland and the airport followed by a bus over the hill.

High rise at Tung Chung New Town metro stop

There are no private vehicles in Discovery Bay apart from the endemic golf carts which guarantee no one travels fast than a casual walking pace. There is also next to nothing to do except sip drinks in the central shopping area, or go sailing. Peng Chau proved much more entertaining for us! (see below).

Discovery Bay

The next day we took a ferry to Peng Chau.

You arrive in a little port with an adjacent village with some well known little Chines shrines and tiny arcades stuffed with more items than you can possibly imagine, with a mix of fishermen and elder Chines people who either still live here or have retired to the relative quietness an openness of Peng Chau by comparison with Hong Kong itself.

Tin Hau Temple boasts a long history as shown by the whale bones that are more than 400 years old and the ancient bell that was made 6 years before restoration of the temple in 1798. The history of the original temple has yet to be traced. According to legend Tin Hau Goddess was born in the Song Dynasty (960-1279A.C.) to a fisherman surnamed Lam in Fuzhou. As a child she was intelligent, knowledgeable in astrology and was and able to forecast the climate. She also practiced medicine and saved countless people. After her death, she was worshiped as Tin Hau Goddess or Ma Jo Sea Goddess and had many followers around the South China Sea.

KamFa Temple or The Golden Flower Shrine sits under the banyan tree on Wing On Street, honouring Lady Golden Flower. According to the legend, it was in 1762, the 27th year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty and a villager named Lai kwok-man went to Peng Chau looking for Chinese herbs for his wife. He anchored his boat near the banyan tree and prayed to the giant rock next to it. Later, Lai’s wife recovered. The couple got an inspiration from the Lady Golden Flower they built a shrine here to honour her.

The Banyan tree is just visible top left

The Goddess KamFa is one of the great Gods in heaven, among which are the all merciful Avalokitesvara (Kunyum) and Tin Hau Yuen Gwen, the great guardian to all people and land. According to legend KamFa Goddess was the daughter of a martial arts teaching official in the Tang Dynasty. She was gifted with high intellect, integrity and loyalty. She secretly learned Kung-Fu from her father at a very young age. Achieving the essence of art forms, she adapted in both martial arts and literature. At the time corruption was rampant, people subdued to harsh lives. KamFa Goddess made use of her martial arts skills and often went alone robbing the rich to give to the poor. People praised her deeply for these deeds. One day she was chased by government officials that forced her to hide in a cave in the mountain. Not knowing her whereabouts, her father went searching for her everywhere with those whom she had helped. They finally found the cave entrance but not a trace of the beloved daughter in the cave. All they could see was a human fossil. People immediately knelt down and prayed naming, her “Goddess of Saviour of the World”.

Pictures of the religious festivals

ludicrously crowded arcade shops, each with the little shrine

The island is topped by steep forested Finger Hill with a wild little nature park and great views of the Hong Kong seaboard. There is a curving street that climbs to the park steps. The air was sweet with nectar and full various species of of black and white butterfly, and the odd lizard scuttling into crevices as we approached.

There are also tortuous little informal ways back into town which wind through some of the 'illegal' squatter houses that continue to exist as dwellings tucked on the edge of the steep coastling, where you have to literally step into someones living space to pass through.

Slipping through Macau from Guangdong

2011-12-05T13:44:00.000-08:00

Pictures of Guangdong in transit in the morning

July 2005 We had traveled into Macau on an overnight sleeper bus from Yangshuo, with three cramped rows of stainless steel slipper-shaped 'coffins' and taken a ferry with all the Chinese heading for the copious casinos which Macau is notorious for. We are heading for Hong Kong but decided to route through Macau for a day visit because there are frequent fast ferries linking the two.

Here we visit the old Portuguese centre, the charming A-Ma temple on a hill along the coastline out of town the oldest in Macau, and the Kun-Yam temple on a downtown avenue, photographing some of the commercial back streets and catching the hyrdofoil in the afternoon for Hong Kong island.

A-ma Temple is the oldest temple of Macao. Built during the period of Chenghua Reign in the middle age of the Ming Dynasty as said, it has a history of over five hundred years. On the monument in commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of A-Ma temple, it is written: "China is large in area and becomes prosperous during the Three Tang Dynasties. Its civilization is well known everywhere. Vessels and vehicles come to China from all directions. As to the land route, there is a Silk Road connecting Da Shi and Persia. As to the water route, there are boats in deep blue seas leading to Tian Zhu in the south, where people offer treasure and presents at the beginning, Macao was just a fishing port and the people of Quanzhang immigrated here on a large scale and settled down. During the period of Chenghua Reign of the Ming Dynasty. A-Ma temple was constructed".

The catholic missionary Matteu Ricci, who arrived in Macao in 1582, once mentioned A-Ma Temple in Reading Note of Matteu Ricci in China when relating the origin of Macao: "They gave a part of the neighbouring island to the visiting merchants as a stage. There was an idol called A Ma, which we can still see today. The territory around A-Ma bay is called Macao. It is better to call it a protruding rock than to call it a peninsula. However, this piece of land was soon inhabited by Portuguese and also by some other races nearby lands. Soon it developed into a remarkable port and famous market"

Kun Iam Temple is the most impressive and magnificent of the three most famous temples of Macau (the other two are A-Ma Temple and Lin Fung Temple (Temple of the Lotus). With a history dating back as early as 1632 in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), it has many similarities with ancient Chinese temples. It is also known as the site of the first Sino-American treaty which was signed in 1844.

Kun Iam Temple has three main shrines suited one behind another. It consists of one Hall of Sakyamuni, one Buddha of Longevity Hall and one Kun Iam Hall with several small shrines around these three main halls. Facing the gate of the Buddhist monastery, the Hall of Sakyamuni is dedicated with three gilded statues. The statue of Sakyamuni sits in the middle. A bronze bell, over 300 years old, hangs beside the hall. Buddha of Longevity adorns the Longevity Hall. Serene and mild, this statue is a symbol of Buddha's purpose: to deliver all living creatures from torment. Kun Iam Hall is the most important hall of the temple. Kun Iam, arrayed in embroidered silk and in crown, is flanked by the Eighteen Buddhas. One of them is said to be carved in the image of Marco Polo who studied Buddhism in the temple.

At the back of the temple are terraced gardens. The first Sino-American treaty Wong Ha (Wangxia) Treaty was signed on one of the stone desks here. In addition, many calligraphic masterpieces and cultural relics are brought together in this temple.

Bangkok: In and Out in a Day

2011-12-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

Arriving in Bangkok

The old Don Muang Airport was still huge and swish

2006-08-30 We got here at about 8pm still severely jet lagged, but spent an evening in the hippie haunts of Khao San Rd. and crashed early.

This morning we got up at dawn and took a river boat to the temple of the dawn Wat Arun and Wat Po. Christine had to pluck up courage to get on the fast river boats as the whole place was tossing and churning with speed boat wakes but with a little help we were heading down river and saw a lot of good sights in the one morning we gave ourselves to make sure we can get to Varanasi.

We took a river boat up across to Wat Arun temple of the dawn and then to the reclining Buddha temple Wat Po and one other more commonplace temple near Khaosan Road for a flying one-day glance at Bangkok because we will be back on the return leg once or twice more.

Wat Arun Rajwararam (Thai: วัดอรุณ, "Temple of the Dawn"), on the Thonburi west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The full name of the temple is Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahawihan (วัดอรุณราชวรารามราชวรมหาวิหาร). Named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn, the temple is so named because the first light of the morning reflects off the surface of the temple with pearly iridescence. The monastery has existed for many years since the days when Ayutthaya was capital of Thailand.

Wat Pho (Thai: วัดโพธิ์), is a Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Rattanakosin district directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Ratchaworamahawihan (Thai: วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลารามราชวรมหาวิหาร ). The temple is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.

We are now trying to get to Calcutta on the next flight out. More amazing race stuff. Just about to leave Bangkok.

Singapore: Little India and Chinatown

2011-12-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

Masjid Abdul Gaffoor, Dunlop Street, within Little India off Jalan Besar.

2006-8-29 Singapore was a one night transition stop for us on the way to Bangkok and then on to Calcutta where our journey proper begins. We will fly out again from here after making a ten country intrepid overland through the Himalayas and back through South East Asia.

We had an incredibly delayed flight because half the cyclists from a championship race had to load their 80 bikes on and then the loading gantry got stuck in the hold. The flight otherwise was good with lots of movies on the LCD screens. I saw the Da Vinci Code which I was nearly going to buy the book of at the airport and Sinbad and Terms of Endearment and then settled for two subtitled French comedies because I didn't have to blast my ears out to hear the dialogue.

We easily made it through the metro but then had to spend about half an hour in the middle of the night trapesing our luggage round little India until we found a slightly scungy Chinese hotel with a windowless air-con room for around $45 Singapore for the two of us, because the good cheap backpackers were all full up. We had a bit of a restless night with going to bed at 4 am our time but it was quiet and cool. The sleeping bags were great as light covers to keep the bed away from us.

It`s a sunny morning here and were are out to photograph Little India and have some breakfast. Flight to Bangkok confirmed at 3 in the afternoon.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple (Tamil: ஸ்ரீ வீரமாகாளியம்மன் கோவில்; Chinese: 维拉马卡卡拉曼庙) is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, fierce embodiment of Shakti and the god Shiva's wife, Parvati. Kali has always been popular in Bengal, the birthplace of the labourers who built this temple in 1881. Images of Kali within the temple show her wearing a garland of skulls and ripping out the insides of her victims, and Kali sharing more peaceful family moments with her sons Ganesha and Murugan.

Fearsome Kali

Little India Arcade in Serangoon Rd. Always a good cheap place to eat.

Chinatown complex

Just leaving Singapore. This is a free internet terminal in the departure lounge. Walked around Little India and a bit of Chinatown. Had an amazing race to the airport to catch the next flight because we spent a bit too much time in town and then found we had to change metros 3 times and then got to the airport and found Air Asia was at another terminal we had to take a sky train to get too!

Phoned India Airlines from the hotel on a long-shot, to bring our booking forward a day to tomorrow, so we can spend a day in Calcutta without freaking that we might miss our evening train connection, and because cause we will come back to Bangkok and found they had no booking for us at all to India. By a stroke of luck they still had free seats for tomorrow so we can actually get to India (we hope).

On the way to the airport

Kampung Chitty

2011-12-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

Gateway to the kampung

0. Last Minuet in Melacca
1. Melacca Temples on Harmony Street
2. Kampung Chitti

Kampung Chitty is an enclave on the outskirts of Old Melacca where there is an Indian community and a ri Mariamman temple. The houses are colourful and original little cottages that originally may have been built autonomously as an informal 'ghetto' outside local regulations.

The Chittys are a distinctive group of Tamil people found mainly in Malacca and Singapore , who are also known as the Indian Peranakans. As of today, their population stands at 2,000. Like the Peranakans, the Chitty speak a Malay patois, which is mixed with many Tamil loan words. Many of the Chitty are unable to communicate in Tamil fluently.

Historical records stated that the Tamil traders from Panai in Tamil Nadu settled down in Malacca during the sovereignty of the Sultanate of Malacca. Like the Peranakans, they later settled down and freely intermingled with the local Malays and Chinese settlers. However, with the fall of the Malacca Sultanate after 1511, the Chitty eventually lost touch with their native land. Under the administration of the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonizers, the Chitty eventually began simplifying their culture and customs by adopting local customs.

Chinese cultural influence among the Chitty people is evident, especially in the case of ancestral worship. Religious objects used for conducting rituals aren similar to those used by the Chinese. Hints of Taoist and Islamic influences are also evident in their religious rituals.

Sri Mariamman temple

Melacca Temples on Harmony Street

2011-12-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

Sri Poyatha Moorthi temple

0. Last Minuet in Melacca
1. Melacca Temples on Harmony Street
2. Kampung Chitti

Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Malaysia as well as the oldest functioning Hindu temple in the Malay archipelago.[1] Located in the state of Malacca, the temple is also unique for being one of the few existing Chitty temples in Malaysia. The temple was built by Thavinayagar Chitty, the leader of the Chitty people, in 1781 after the Dutch colonial government of Malacca gave him a plot of land. The temple is dedicated to Vinayagar or Ganesha, the elephant deity. In the back room is a sculpture of the deity with the head of an elephant and the body of a man with four hands. There is another altar dedicated to Lord Muruga, the younger brother of Lord Vinayagar. For a history of the Chitty's see also Kampung Chitti.

The priest blessed Christine put a red dot on her forehead and gave her an offering of banana

Kampung Kling Mosque (Malay: Masjid Kampung Kling) (sometimes also spelt Kampung Keling Mosque) is an old mosque in Malacca, Malaysia. The original structure built by Indian Muslim traders in 1748 was a wooden building and in 1872, it was rebuilt in brick. The mosque is one of the traditional mosques in Melaka, which still retains its original design. The architectural design of the mosque is a cross between Sumatran, Chinese, Hindu, and the Melaka Malay.

The Cheng Hoon Teng Temple at Jalan Tokong, Malacca, is the oldest and surely one of the grandest Chinese temples in Malaysia. The temple, with its curved roof ridge, cut-and-paste chien nien decoration, and gable design, reflects the architectural style of South China, of craftsmen from Fujian and Guangdong. 25 Jalan Tokong, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia +60 6-282 9343

Xian Lin Si Temple A Buddhist temple opposite Cheng Hoon Teng

The Eng Choon Association, at 122 Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street) is a Hokkien clan association for the Chinese immigrants who originated from the Eng Choon District of Fujian Province in China. Among the members of this association is the family of Tan Beng Swee and Tan Kim Seng, prominent members of the Malacca elite. The clock tower in the Malacca Town Hall was erected by Tan Jiak Kim in memory of his father Tan Beng Swee.

Hokien Huay Kuan clan house. Hokkien is the largest Chinese dialect spoken among Chinese groups in Malaysia. Originally, the Hokkien people were the descendants of the earliest Chinese settlers on the Peninsula who originated mainly from Fujian (also called Min) Province in China. Presently, the majority of Chinese in Malaysia, no matter their ethnic background, use Hokkien as a trade language to converse with other Chinese in particular regions.

Another temple opposite

Last Minuet in Melacca

2011-12-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

Old Colonial Melacca centre

0. Last Minuet in Melacca
1. Melacca Temples on Harmony Street
2. Kampung Chitti

2006-11-22 We decided to take a short detour to Melacca because we had a couple of days up our sleeve before hitting the plane back from Singapore, because its another ancient cultural capital and is within a couple of hours drive of Singapore.

Melacca is another quaint multicultural historical relic. Colonized by the Chinese, the Indians, the Portugese, the Dutch, the British and finally the tourists and now the backpackers. It has a small Chinatown, bordered by old Dutch colonial buildings with a string of temples of all kinds on a street called 'harmony street' for this reason. In the same view in the same street there is a South Indian Hindu temple, an elegant semi-colonial mosque with many cultural influences and several Chinese temples and clan shrines. The people are as mixed, from brazen Chinese women with naked belly buttons and double shimmy mini-skits to demure Muslim women trying to look fashionable in a colour matched veil and hanging drapes, with Indian women dressing freely somewhere in between in Saris.

Divergent styles of women's dress

There is of course another Malacca. We're holed up in Traveler's Lodge, a nice place with an electronic security gate, a kitchen and roof garden with an overview of the modern Malaccan establishment, a place just like home in the last destination of our Asia circuit. It has internet, TV, a basic cafe serving breakfast and snacks and a self serve kitchen where we have just made a fruit salad of mango, dragon fruit, mandarin, apple, banana and lychees.

It's in the newer quarter of town with vast shopping malls ironically sporting Christmas Santas and snowmen and large modern housing estates leading down to a rather forlorn industrial coastline where it is almost impossible to get to the water.

It's a place you expect to find McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried all giving us a chance to eat a few rounds of junk food we at least know is sterile even if it fails all nutirition tests. No wait a minute - we TRIED to get sterile chicken from "The Chicken Rice Shop" and lo and behold once we chomped into it it was streaming with raw blood just like the chicken in Penang! More complaints to please cook our food properly!

Tomorrow we'll hire bikes and circuit the town. Our bus to Singapore is already booked next day for the Lavender Bus Terminal in Little India from where we can take a subway to the airport a few hours later.

Having visited many of the Chinese temples, and Christine had received a banana offering from the priest at the Indian temple and we had visited the mosque, I did ride out to Kampung Chitty a stylish Indian 'ghetto' enclave on the outskirts of town which had a temple and a series of chic alternative houses, that probably started out as non-permitted buildings but have now become fashionable looking. The Chtty are also associated with the Indian temple and form an early migrant group from South India that settled here and in Singapore and no longer are fluent in Tamil, but speak a Tamil-enriched form of Malay.

There is also a good site with photos of the night markets.

Trucking through KL

2011-12-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

Anjua Guest House right opposite the Pudaraya Bus Station

2006-11-22 We spent the last night in Kuala Lumpur in the Anjua Guest House right opposite the Pudaraya Bus Station, the central nexus for all bus traffic in and out of KL. We stopped there purely because the Guest House was right where the bus stopped, and within 20 metres had a ticket booth for the next bus to Melacca, a 7-11 where we can buy iced coffee milk and a KFC which we could eat junk food to oblivion without risking gut ache on the last days of travel. There is another good guest house a few doors along called the Pudu Hostel with comparable facilities. It makes it possible to spend a night in KL without having to go miles with one's luggage and make a clean exit on demand.

We wandered Chinatown in the stifling humid heat - mostly a more modern urban run down version of what is most elegantly expressed in Chinese and Indian culture in Penang, and I then took a subway ride to film the twin Petrona towers, the Muslim world's sisters of the World Trade Center, now dwarfed by the heaven-penetrating tower in Dubai.

This morning we made a quick dash to the central market to try to bargain for a couple of gift trinkets to bring back and then caught the bus to Melacca in haste from the inordinately hot bustling and chaotic Pudaraya Bus Station.

Sleazy bit cool air-con bedroom at the Anjua

Pudaraya environs

Chinatown Kuala Lumpur

Images from the Chinatown area

Yarsagumba is a fungus which has grown into the mummified body of a caterpillar. It is harvested in the Himalayas where it is regarded as 'Himalayan viagra' and has become notorious for murders committed over turf wars in Nepal.

The Sri Mahamariamman Temple is the oldest and richest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur. Founded in 1873, it is situated at edge of Chinatown in Jalan Bandar. In 1968, a new structure was built, featuring the ornate 'Raja Gopuram' tower in the style of South Indian temples. The Sri Mahamariamman Temple was founded by K. Thamboosamy Pillai in 1873 and was initially used as a private shrine by the Pillai family. The family threw the temple doors open to the public in the late 1920s and eventually handed the management of the temple over to a board of trustees.

Māri (Tamil: மாரி), Tulu(mAri), also known as Mariamman (Tamil: மாரியம்மன் and Mariaai (Marathi: मरी आई), both meaning "Mother Mari", spelt also Maariamma (Tamil: மாரியம்மா), or simply Amman or Aatha (Tamil: அம்மன், "mother") is the South Indian Hindu goddess of disease and rain. She is the main South Indian mother goddess, predominant in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Māri is also closely associated with the Hindu goddesses Parvati and Durga as well as with her North Indian counterpart Shitala Devi.

Guan Di Temple (God of War Temple) that houses a 59kg cooper Guan Dao, or giant sword . The Guan Dao is believed to have “special powers” and will be blessed and protected by well wishers touching or lifting because of the inner force contained in it. This temple is built to worship the God of War, China’s greatest warrior and is also known as General Kwan, Guan Di or Guan Yu. People are around the world worship God of War to seek protection and general well-being. It is known that God of War grants wishes to those who seek with pure mind.

Sin Sze Si Ya Temple was founded in 1864 by Kapitan Yap Ah Loy, it is dedicated to patron deities of Sin Sze Ya and Si Sze Ya. The deities has guided Kapitan Yap Ah Loy to defeat the enemies and defend Kuala Lumpur during the civil war (1870-1873). The temple has witnessed the birth and growth of our great city Kuala Lumpur." This temple is also be known as "Sze Yah Temple", under which name it appears in some travel guide books. It is located at 14A Lebuh Pudu, close to the Central Market, on the corner of Jalan Tun HS Lee to suit Feng Shui principles.

Petronas Tower. There is an even nicer view on Wikipedia!

Lost in the Cameron Highlands

2011-12-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

En route to the Cameron Highlands

2006-11-19 Tonight we ended up in the Cameron Highlands in a series of strange cubic centimeters of chance neither of us expected.

We got up early caught a taxi to the ferry, raced on to the ferry, pulling our massive trolley of luggage just in time to catch the next embarkation. Arrived in Butterworth and dragged on over to the chaotic bus station, but found the 9.30 to Lumut (Pangkor Island) full and rather than wait till the next at 11.30, set off for Ipoh the junction city en route. Had a cool (well air-conned) bus to the Ipoh bus station, but in the process decided to head for the hills rather than another hot beach, partly because the bus wouldn't return to Ipoh for no explicable reason.

So, after an hour wait in the hectic bus station, we managed, by the skin of our teeth, to find and catch our bus for the Cameron Highlands. The road wound steeply on upwards with occasional panoramic views of the receding lowlands and cloud capped hills above.

Then as we reached the highlands proper the bus conked out and we were stranded for about an hour by the road side while they sent out a mechanic who had no luck getting it going. The lonely Planet points out quite correctly that the Cameron Highlands is where old buses go to die! At this point, after most of the Malaysians had sent out cell phone messages to get picked up, I set up a tattoo of complaints and they got the mechanic to whisk us (and us only leaving a couple of Japanese girls and two young Malaysians in head scarves) off to the nearest hill town where we caught a local bus to Tanah Rata, the Indian hill town at the centre of the highlands.

Tanah Rata

Cameronian Inn

Staying at the Cameronian Inn 50 Rt for two. There are a lot of treks on the dining room notice board. First cool night since central China, misty rainy, and a bit like the Indian hill stations of Darjeling and Ootacamund. If the weather picks up we'll go walk in the forest - otherwise we'll head for the sea again.

Lost in the Clouds

2006-11-20 Got up today thinking we were going to take the 1.30 bus for Kuala Lumpur. This was itself something we had never intended to do till we got here as we hate big cities but in the process of being here we realized there are three cheap backpackers right outside the KL Puduraya bus station which means we can bed down and go for a saunter in China town and Little India KL style.

Anyway we decided to go on walk number 10 up the ridge above Tanah Rata and see if we could see a view over the town. The path starts from a little deserted garden along the road called "Tan's Camelia Garden" and you wind up from there to a little shelter and past that up into the forest. Walking was cold and a little bit too much like the temperate forests of New Zealand where we live, but the path wound up and down and then got really steep and for a while I left Christine half way up till I found there was a cool flat glade below the summit in sight. She alternated between too hot and puffed and chilled to the point of hypothermia, suddenly shaking and donning all her clothes and jackets. Eventually we came out in to the open with a sense of victory and we could see out over the crazy mix of market gardens under plastic 'glasshouses' tea plantations and ski-lodge like apartment blocks in the town below as well as the cloud tipped hills around.

Then I climbed higher and found a way to the summit which had a stunning view all the way back to the lowland plains of Malaysia from which we had ascended to around 6,000 feet.

On the summit was a Malaysian butterfly collector with a huge net catching rare butterflies on the wing. He literally had a big satchel with countless butterflies wedged into pockets like a living stamp collection. By de4grees I persuaded Christine to climb the step slopes to the summit so she could enjoy the victory view amid vertigo and altiphobia.

Then the butterfly collector pointed out a less precipitous way back which we followed slowly down through the cloud forest, descending a long ridge which took us far from the town.

We then came to a cross roads in the little bush tracks and there was an old hill tribe man dragging two large logs who disappeared back up into the forest path. After a pause realizing there was no obvious way out we decided to follow the trail the man had taken, climbing back up to another cloud-topped summit full of forkings in the path which I had to explore, shouting to Christine, to try to find a way through. In the middle it began to rain.

Finally we ascended a second peak and used the compass and map to figure roughly where we were, and I took another exploratory run down the other side and finally heard human voices in the distance and then saw below the roofs of an 'aboriginal' hill tribe village Sungai Ruil Orang Asli, taking another hour to walk back the 3 or 4 kilometers to Tanah Rata.

We then tried to book a ticket to KL in the morning and found we were on the same bus company that broke down yesterday, so we have booked on the VIP bus early for an additional 5 Rp each.

Some of the local fauna in the tourist centre waiting for the bus out.

Old Penang 1974

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Cheah Si Sek Tek Tong

Kuan Yin Teng

Kek Lok Si - Air Itam

Batu Ferringhi

Penang Environs

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Kek Lok Si - Air Itam

0. Pleasures of Penang the central blog of our stay with the pictures of Georgetown.
1. Penang Chinese Temples and Clan Temples including the Kuan Yin Teng Goddess of Mercy Temple
2. Penang Indian Temples including the Sri Mariamman Temple
3. Penang Environs including Batu Ferrenghi, Air Itam, The reclining Buddha, Penang Hill Cableway, the Botanical Gardens and the Snake Temple.
4. Old Penang 1974

Kek Lok Si

Kek Lok Si, or Temple of Supreme Bliss, is the largest temple in Penang. It straddles a hillside overlooking the town of Ayer Itam. It is a temple that harmoniously blend Mahayana Buddhism with Taoist beliefs. Since the olden days, the hills of Ayer Itam, known as He San, or Crane Hill, were recommended as a retreat for Taoist practitioners striving for immortality. The Kek Lok Si project was mooted by the chief monk of the Kuan Yin Teng, Goddess of Mercy Temple of Pitt Street. With the support of the consular representative of China in Penang, the project received the sanction of the Manchu Emperor Guangxu (also called Jingdi, 1875-1908, of the Qing Dynasty) who bestowed a tablet and gift of 70,000 volumes of the Imperial Edition of the Buddhist Sutras.

Penang Hill Cable Car

Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram

Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram, is the largest Thai Buddhist temple in Penang. It is often called the Temple of the Reclining Buddha of Penang, on account of the magnificent reclining Buddha image house in the vihara. The image of Phra Chaiya Mongkol measures 33 meters (108 ft) from end to end. However, the statue was only built in 1958, in conjunction with the 2500th anniversary of the birth of Buddha, at a cost of M$100,000.

Penang Botanical Gardens

Batu Ferringhi

Snake Temple

The Snake Temple in Sungai Keluang, Bayan Lepas, officially called Hock Hin Keong, but known variously as Ban Kah Lan Chua Beow or Ser Miau, is one of the most peculiar temples and probably the only one of its kind in the world. It was built in 1850 to venerate a deified Buddhist monk named of Chor Soo Kong, the Hokkien name for Cheng Swee Chor Soo. In Cantonese, Chor Soo Kong is called Chou See Yeah. "Chor Soo" is in fact an honorific title for an eminent historic figure who is to be continuously revered by subsequent generations. Chor Soo Kong and Chou See Yeah means the same thing: "The Much Honoured Chor Soo".

The actual name of the Snake Temple is Ban Kah Lan, in Hokkien, or Temple of the Azure Clouds. Every year, pilgrims come from far and near on Chor Soo Kong's birthday, which falls on the 6th day of the first lunar month, hence it's a traditional temple to visit during Chinese New Year.

Chor Soo Kong was born in Fujian province during the Song Dynasty (960-1276 AD), during the reign of Emperor Ren-Zong (1023-1063 AD). He is from the "Tan" clan and his personal name was "Eng". He entered monkhood from an early age. Upon his ordination, he received the Buddhist name Pu-Zu. He started his life as a monk by staying at a monastery called Da Yun Yuan. Later on, he decided to lead an ascetic life in Gao-Tai Mountain, to strive for spiritual cultivation. Through the guidance of Zen Master Ming-Song, Chor Soo Kong attained spiritual enlightenment.

In addition to spiritual enlightenment, Chor Soo Kong acquired extensive medical knowledge, enabling him to provide medical services to the needy in the surrounding communities.

On the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Shen-Zhong of the Song Dynasty (corresponding to around the year 1073 AD), the area of Qing-Xi in Fujian suffered a terrible drought. When Chor Soo Kong went there and prayed for rain, and the rain came. In gratitude, the people built a monastery for him on Peng-Lai Mountain. Chor Soo Kong called the monastery Cheng Swee Giam, which means, The Rock of Clear Water. From this name, when Chor Soo Kong was deified,

In 1850, a monk arrived from China, bringing with him the statue of Chor Soo Kong. The monk then built a temple dedicated to Chor Soo Kong in a clearing by the Sungai Keluang river in Bayan Lepas. The area belonged to David Brown, the largest land owner in Penang. Brown donated the land for the temple after he was healed of an ailment. At that time, the surrounding area was jungle, and there was plenty of snakes. After the temple was erected, snakes particularly poisonous Wagler's pit vipers started coming to take shelter there, inhabited various parts of tyhe temple. Rather than harming the snakes, the pious monk provided shelter to them. Although the poison is not very dangerous, the bite can be very painful and can cause much swelling. However the snakes are usually sluggish and seldom bite.

Continuous development of the surrounding areas in Bayan Lepas has today enveloped the Snake Temple, resulting in a loss of habitat for the snakes, and a general reduction in their numbers. The jungle behind the temple has long disappeared, and it is now part of the Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone housing various multinational corporations.

Indian Temples in Penang

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Sri Mariamman Temple

Penang has a rich variety of Indian temples stemming from the continuing trade over the centuries between South India in particular and South-East Asia. These temples thus often have a style similar to those of Mysore, with the pyramidal form of Mount Meru the cosmological mountain of Indian mythology. You can get a good view of all the Indian temples in Penang here.

Sri Mariamman Temple

This was just around the corner from our guest house and had a regular round of worshipers and evening ceremonies.

The central deity

Māri (Tamil: மாரி), Tulu(mAri), also known as Mariamman (Tamil: மாரியம்மன் and Mariaai (Marathi: मरी आई), both meaning "Mother Mari", spelt also Maariamma (Tamil: மாரியம்மா), or simply Amman or Aatha (Tamil: அம்மன், "mother") is the South Indian Hindu goddess of disease and rain. She is the main South Indian mother goddess, predominant in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Māri is also closely associated with the Hindu goddesses Parvati and Durga as well as with her North Indian counterpart Shitala Devi.

Mari (Wikipedia)

Kunj Bihari Krishna Temple

Nagarathar Sivan Temple

The central deity

Another smaller, but much more colourful, temple opposite Nagarathar Sivan

The central deity

There are several temples out on the road to the Botanical Gardens including Nattukotai Chettiar, one of the largest, and a hilltop shrine by the waterfall which is the destination of the Thaipusam procession from Sri Mariamman.

Here are some views of two of the Indian temples along the road up to the Botanical Gardens.

These interior views were of one which was little more than a tiny shrine.

Chinese Temples in Penang

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Kuan Yin Teng

0. Pleasures of Penang the central blog of our stay with the pictures of Georgetown.
1. Penang Chinese Temples and Clan Temples including the Kuan Yin Teng Goddess of Mercy Temple

2. Penang Indian Temples including the Sri Mariamman Temple

3. Penang Environs including Batu Ferrenghi, Air Itam, The reclining Buddha, Penang Hill Cableway, the Botanical Gardens and the Snake Temple.
4. Old Penang 1974

You can see and view a list of these and other Chinese temples in Penang here. There are several other reference sites linked to by the individual temple and clan temple titles.

Kuan Yin Teng

The earliest of the Chinese temples is Kong Hock Keong, better known as Kuan Yin Teng, or in English, the Temple of the Goddess of Mercy. Initially built by early immigrants to venerate Ma Chor Po, also called Matsu, the patron deity of seafarers, over time the temple became better associated with the Kuan Yin, or Goddess of Mercy. Its formal name of Kong Hock Keong came about because it is the temple built by those the Hokkien and the Cantonese dialect groups in Penang.

A tree shrine outside Kuan Yin Teng

Nin Yong Temple

Nin Yong Temple at 36 & 38 King Street, is a clan temple of the Toi San Association, a Cantonese district association of the Sing Ling dialect group from Toi San District, Guangdong Province, in southern China. It was constructed some time in the mid 19th century, and was renovated into its present form in 1912-1913. A component of the Toi San Association is the Wu Ti Meow or War Emperor's Temple, which is incorporated into Nin Yong Temple, at No 38 Lebuh King, next door to the left. The patron deity of this temple is Kwan Kong, literally Lord Kwan. His name in is Guan Yu; he is the war general usually portrayed with a red face and holding a guandao, the huge crescent blade.

Another nearby clan temple

Yap Temple

Yap or written in Chinese as 叶 is a Chinese clan name or surname. The forefathers of Yap families in Penang mostly originated from Fujian Province of Southern China . Among the most famous Yap clansman in Penang is Yeap (Yap) Chor Ee. He arrived in Penang in late 1800s and started his as a barber. Then, he ventured into trading the local products like sugar, rubber, tapioca and all kinds of farm production. Eventually, he diversified into banking and built Ban Hin Lee Empire. A man of kind heart, he had made enormous contribution in education; of one instance whereby a huge land was donated to build Wawasan Open University in Penang. Yap Kongsi or Yap Clan house stands today at the junction of Cannon Street and Armenian Street in the heart of George Town was also donated by this well-known philanthropist. It was built in 1924.

Han Jiang Teochew Temple

A Chinese temple located along Lebuh Chulia in George Town. It is the community temple of the Penang Teochew Association. The association was form in 1855 by six Teochew migrants. At first they started a lodging house for newly arrived Teochews. In 1867, they purchased the land along Chulia Street to construct the community temple. The Hanjiang Ancestral Temple was completed in 1870. At the time of completion, it was known as the Teochew Kongsi.

Cheah Si Sek Tek Tong

Being the first of great five Hokkien clan association in Penang, Cheah association was founded in 1820 by Cheah Yam. Cheah or Xie (谢) is one of the popular Chinese surname among Penangites and their history had started as early as 19th century. The Cheahs were originated from Sek Tong village of South China and hence a clan house was built and named after Cheah Si Sek Tek Tong or fondly known as Cheah Kongsi. Completed in 1873, it was established to take care of the Cheahs' welfare in Penang. Located at No 8, Armenien Street, Cheah Kongsi's entrance is less than 100 m away from Khoo Kongsi of the Armenian Street entrance.

another nearby clan temple being restored ...

Kuan Yin See

Kuan Yin See, or Temple of the Goddess of Mercy, is a Taoist temple along Jalan Burma. This is a different temple from the Kuan Yin Teng, also translated as the Goddess of Mercy Temple, of Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling. The Kuan Yin See was founded in 1922 by Ben Zhong, the second abbot of Kek Lok Si Temple who was also the one who built the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas. At the entrance to the temple is a name plaque and on either sides are pillar couplets, with calligraphy written by Chen Baochen, an official in the former Qing imperial court.

Hainan Temple

The Hainan Temple also known as Thean Hock Keong or Temple of the Heavenly Queen is a Hainanese temple dedicated to the patron deity of seafarers, Ma Chor Po also known as Mazu, similar to Thian Hock Keng Temple in Singapore. The temple was founded in 1866. The building that we see today was completed in 1895, in the Hainanese style, ornately embellished with stone carvings executed in the Sung dynasty style. The stonework that we see today is the work of craftsmen from China who were employed to remodel the temple in 1995, in conjunction with the centenary of its completion. Arriving from the island of Hainan in southern China, the Hainanese pay homage to their patron deity Ma Chor Po with this temple. The majority of them became cooks and are famous Hainanese chicken rice. Some of the famous Chinese restaurants of the early 20th century were opened by the Hainanese, including the Loke Thye Kee and Wing Loke.

Khoo Kongsi

Khoo or written as 邱 in Mandarin is one of the prominent surname of Han Chinese family in Malaysia originated from Sin Kang clan village in Fujian, China. If you happen to reach a house of Khoo family in Penang, usually there is a plaque hung above the main entrance that reads 'Sin Kang' indicating their ancestral village. Khoo Kongsi or Khoo clan house is the finest Chinese clan association house in Penang and Malaysia. In early 17th century, many Chinese emigrated from South China to Penang for greener pasture and Khoo clan house was founded in 1851 by the their forefathers to take care of Khoo family members. Located at Cannon Square, Khoo Kongsi entails three entrances connecting to Beach Street(rear entrance), Armenian Street (side entrance) and Cannon Street (main entrance). One can easily miss the main entrance at Cannon Street as it does not look attractive at all except bearing gold wordings read 'Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi' which literally means 'Dragon Mountain Hall Khoo Clan House'.