Hotel Penaga

I have always liked small hotels and B&B's and when traveling, whenever possible, I have tried to stay at unique spots.  The is nothing wrong with Hiltons, Four Seasons, Holiday Inns...etc, but they are kind of like McDonalds. No matter where you are you know exactly what you are going to get. I find the smaller establishments add to the overall travel experience and can be part of the adventure. Sometimes it is great. Castle Stuart in Scotland will always be one of my favourite places; and sometimes it is not so good. There is a B&B on Mantoulin island that I hope is either no longer in operation or vastly improved! We chose to stay at a little boutique hotel called Hotel Penaga. Originally 1940's shop houses, over the years they had fallen into disrepair. It was later transformed into this pleasant holiday hotel, with large rooms, a good restaurant, spa and garden. 

The lap pool. 

Christmas lighting in the garden. 

The garden is very nice and is accented with interesting pieces. 

A view from inside the hotel looking to the street.

Another view of the streets below. 

The hotel reflected in the building across the street. 

I didn't really know what to expect from George Town. It is a UNESCO world heritage site, so I knew there would be lots of colonial buildings, but I think I expected the inner city to be a bit better preserved. However, I have been to Malaysia before so what I found did not surprise me. There are lots of beautiful buildings but what fascinated me was this overall impression of neglect and decrepitude. For every beautiful building there are several more in serious need of work and rather than being disappointed in it, I found it added to the appeal. 

The building below was actually attached to our hotel through an alley way. It gives you some idea of what the hotel might have looked like before the restoration work began. 

Hotel Penaga is on the left. Parts of the hotel extend behind the rundown building to the right.

On every street and around every corner I found fascinating old ruins. This yellow house had obviously been damaged by fire, but I imagine it was once beautiful! 

I know many people would see this and be disappointed, especially those of us from North America. We expect sanitized, Disneyesque holidays but that could mean missing out on something really special. 

Penang & Kek Lok Si

This Christmas, Mr. Grey Cat had some time off so we decided to give ourselves a little holiday getaway to the island of Penang in Malaysia. We didn't have a lot of time, just two full days, and rather than go to a beach resort we chose to stay at a boutique hotel in George Town. The inner city of George Town is a UNESCO world heritage site and was once a hub of the Spice trade. Ethnically and religiously diverse, it is home to many Mosques, temples and churches to serve it's varied population.

Temples of all shapes and sizes abound, we passed a huge modern christian cathedral and since Malaysia is a Muslim nation we could hear the call to prayer from just about everywhere. 

We spent quite a lot of time at Kek Lok Si, which is the largest Buddhist temple in southeast asia. 

Do you see the little dot on the gold roof in the photo above? That is someone working on the roof. The temple is having some improvements done. Here is a better look....

I found this rather puzzling as well...

Has the work been going on so long that the roof tiles have started to grow foliage? 

Anyone who has ever visited a city of any size has seen their share of beggars and homeless people, I was surprised to see many in the temple. They seemed to have their corners staked out along various corridors.  Surprisingly this was the only place in George Town that I saw any begging. I don't mean to claim that there isn't any (I don't know the city, there could be lots) I just didn't see it. 

Sadly her cup, like all the others I saw was virtually empty. I don't mean to advocate that people should give to beggars, it may just perpetuate the problem, especially if it is crime/corruption related,  but I do feel for people forced by circumstances into such a situation; and I have at times given food or change. One thing I do understand is that the issue of poverty and homelessness are complex and I try not to judge. While I am not a religious person, I find this saying to be very meaningful:

 "There but the grace of God, go I"

Ok, I will get off my soapbox now and on to more pleasant things. The more I travel the more I realize that people really are the same. Despite differences in culture and religion, in the end we all want the same things. I love the wishing tree in the temple, where people would place ribbons with their prayers in the hopes that they will come to pass. What I love even more is how at any time in our lives we have all wished/prayed for the same things. 

        

We also went up Penang Hill. Honestly I could have done without it, but it is supposedly one of "the"things to do in Penang. Had we been smarter we would have realized that it was a school holiday. What does that mean....Long Lines and Crowds! But line up we did, crowded on the train and up the hill we went. 

Up the hill we were treated to what would have been a really nice view, but it was hazy. Still it was not bad, especially compared to Hong Kong this time of year! 

Parking & Wildfire....

  I am sorry I have been so quiet lately. As many of you know I have been dealing with a herniated disc in my neck for some time now. I admit it has been very frustrating. Mostly because I can't do many of the things I enjoy,  such as swimming and photography. My camera is just to heavy, even using my rapid strap, which slings it over my shoulders. My life has mostly been revolving around doctors and physiotherapy appointments, but it is helping and ever so slowly it is getting better! Also it has forced me to expand my photographic horizons into the world of iPhone photography.  

A couple of weeks ago Mr. Korat and I took the Kai To ferry over to Mui Wo, which is a small town on Lantau Island just over the mountains from us. I really love this little community. It is small but friendly, with great sprit. Unlike Discovery Bay it is not car free so many people own and drive cars, however it seems the preferred method of transport is the bicycle. Like DB, Mui Wo has a ferry service to Central, where most people work. This is the scene at the ferry terminal on a weekday afternoon...

This was also one of my first iPhone photography experiments, and what I missed shooting was the Gweilo guy, walking from the ferry and unlocking his bicycle in his business suit! 

These bikes are quite common around town. They allow people to ride with their kids and have a basket under the seat for their shopping. I once saw one go by with a kid in a car seat that was strapped to the bike! 

I have been asked about the wildlife that I see here and I can't say that I have ever seen very much. I have grown up with urban wildlife and while it can at times be a nuisance, I do miss it. Sure there are some very beautiful birds and butterflies and of course it is semi tropical so there are a lot of insects. There are also many snakes in Hong Kong, some poisonous, such as cobras, so one needs to be careful when hiking, but generally the wildlife keeps to itself and is rarely seen. There is one animal that is hard to miss and that is the Water buffalo and feral cattle. Water buffalo are indigenous to Lantau and live in small herds throughout the island. It is very common when taking a bus or taxi over the island to see one at the side of the road, however they are threatened by urbanization and the governments attempt to move them from populated areas. I am not sure what the story is on the feral cattle, but they are also seen in herds. Buffalo and cattle are not aggressive but they are large and if they become agitated they can be dangerous. Just this spring a man was gorged by a buffalo (he survived),  and when you see them it is best just to keep your distance and mind your business. Imagine our surprise when Mr. Korat and I turned a corner and came practically face to face with a herd of cattle! Most of them were happily munching away in someones garden, but this little calf was more interested in the tasty grass on the driveway of this little shop.

Here is a CNN article about Lantau's Buffalo and some of the issues surrounding them: What's up with the buffalo's on Lantau Island?

If you wish to learn more you can visit the Lantau Buffalo Association

Risk of Snow

I got a laugh out of the weather display by the bus terminus when I was on my way to the ferry this morning. Apparently at 9am this morning it was 22 degrees celsius and snowing!  I knew I should have worn closed shoes instead of my sandals! What was I thinking.....

Picnic in the Park

Today is Picnic in the Park here in DB. Essentially it is an all day music festival with lots of bands playing, kids activities, food and beer. It turned out to be a good day for it, sunny, warm and clear which is nice since earlier in the week they were calling for rain. I must say I am impressed with the various bands. They all sound amazing! What is especially nice is since I am not really a music festival person, the location is such that I can hear them all really well right from my flat! I did check it for a bit in the late afternoon and everyone looked to be having a really good time. 

Hidden Gems

Mr. Grey Cat and I went for a walk up in the hills above DB the other day. It was a lovely day, sunny and warm and not too humid. We walked around the hamlet of Bijou Village and the golf course. It is very tranquil and peaceful up there. On the way back we passed the reservoir and saw this lovely view of DB with the ferry headed out to Central just perfectly framed. 

Happy Halloween

It has been a long time since my last post so I thought I would do a quick update. I haven't been doing much. We moved into our new flat and I did have a really nice visit back to Ontario for Thanksgiving. It was great seeing family and friends again. I miss all of you so much! 

Today is Halloween! I find it hard to believe that it is the end of October. I think it is partly due to the weather. It is still warm and sunny here, actually it has been really nice lately, not too hot, not too humid. Just nice. While I have experienced warm (and cold!) Halloweens before, I have never worn shorts! Also I don't have large Costco bags of candy in hanging around either (probably a good thing...). Halloween is celebrated here, but not to the same extent as Canada. There are all kinds of Halloween decorations in the stores and kids are wearing costumes, but it doesn't involve the whole community. Schools have events and there are a few streets here, with low-rise/townhouse/detached homes that do hand out candy for trick or treaters, but there is nothing happening in the high-rise blocks, which make up 99% of the housing. While down in the plaza today I saw them setting up what looked like a Haunted House type thing and some tents with tables. I would normally venture down to see what is going on, either to the plaza or the other events happening in the city, but Mr Grey Cat will be home in the early evening and I want to see him. So I will not be handing out candy for the first time that I can recall! Still I want to wish you all a happy and safe Halloween! Boo! 

I didn't have my camera with me but I took a couple of iPhone shots of the set up in the plaza. 

I have no idea what this is supposed to be, but there are a few of them and they look pretty scary to me! 

The tallest skeleton I have ever seen! 

A work in progress..

Deity Hau Wong's Birthday

Believe it or not Hong Kong is a nation of immigrants. Since 1949 there have been over 5 million of them, primarily from the mainland. Prior to that Hong Kong had many small villages with their local customs. Due to the cultural revolution in China many of these local festivals vanished. However, in Hong Kong some remain. I had the opportunity to visit one such festival. It is for Hau Wong's Birthday. It is celebrated in only a few spots in Hong Kong, one of which is in Tung Chung. It was a wonderful day, full of sights, sounds and smells. 

 Golden Pigs are brought to offer the god. I don't know why they are called golden since they are red, but who am I to judge. 

 A local woman enjoying the festival. 

At times the air was so thick with the smoke form incense it looked like something was on fire somewhere.

Lots of flags everywhere. 

There were many dragon dances. 

And lots of music. The whole day was so loud my ears were ringing for hours. 

More pigs. 

This dragon was very long and it would twist and wrap around itself. 

A major component of the festival is the Chinese opera. I was able to go back stage to see the performers getting ready. 

The day was loud and hot. I admit to being very tired by the time I got home, but I feel very fortunate to have experienced this day. There are so few of these local festivals left and it would be a shame to loose them. As for this years festival, I think Hau Wong will be pleased.