Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory 3 May 2015

After we checked out from our hotel at Penang, we were wondering around to look for nice breakfast to eat. We have no idea until we reached the Penang bridge and crossed to the other side of the main land. Daddy goggled through the internet using his hand phone, and found out this very cheap and nice place to eat Dim Sum, called Restoran Chaw Chuan at Butterworth.

We were heading to the shop using Waze App. After driving for quite some time, we finally reached the shop, and both Daddy and Mummy were really amazed by the size and varieties of the type of Dim Sum, such as porridge, bake items, pau items, pan fried items, desserts, cakes, steamed items, etc. We really have a satisfying Dim Sum breakfast with reasonable price.

Daddy just suggested that we left Penang and go to Kuala Sepetang since it is just an hour ride journey.

I just knew that Kuala Sepetang is an interesting place to visit as the small town itself is full of historical moments and the great number of interesting places to visit and experience, along with the abundant heritage, history and culture of the place.

I was already making a quick mental note to return for another visit which we are able to stay longer to explore the town.

While Kuala Sepetang is predominantly a Chinese fishing village, its economy is driven by related industries such as fish farms, shrimp breeding farms, boat building and also the famous charcoal kilns.

When we arrived, we found out that the entire charcoal making location was occupied by a few charcoal factory companies. The scene looked no different from a dusty and dilapidated ghost town with endless rows of wood stacked up along the walls of buildings.

The charcoal factory at Kuala Sepetang is indeed a remarkable hidden gem, at least to me. I am both surprised and ashamed as a Malaysian for not being aware of this intriguing national heritage that produces charcoal the old fashion way.

The straight road opened up to a small square where a rustic sign which read “Chuan Seng” was seen nailed to a louvre wooden wall to my right. And this is the most famous charcoal factory at Kuala Sepetang. We just went in and have a self-guided tour to see around.

The making of the charcoal is in such a way that first, the factory has to procure mangrove logs, cutting them into lengths of 1.6m.

After debarking, logs weighing some 20kg each, are moved to the charcoal kiln, where 1,500 logs are neatly arranged along the wall of the igloo-shaped kiln which is 7m in height.

With only a small ‘door’, a fire is lighted, by burning some other logs of wood, and as the days pass, the opening of the kiln is closed little by little until it is entire sealed, except for four small windows around the side of the kiln.

As you can imagine, the mangrove logs are not burned in the charcoal-making process but instead, water is extracted and dried by the heat.

Through the dampness and temperature of the steam that escapes from the windows, expert workers are able to check on the drying process, until the logs are entirely dry.

The first stage of the process takes about ten days. From a temperature of 85 degrees Celsius, it is increased to 230 degrees Celsius over the next fourteen days in the second stage.

Once the charcoal is ready, all apertures of the kiln are sealed and another eight days are allowed for the charcoal to cool down.

The end product, after some 32 days, is then ready to be removed, a job reserved for the womenfolk.

Going through this process, 100kg of mangrove wood is reduced to only 26kg of charcoal, or colloquially known as “black gold”.

At today’s price of RM1 per kilogramme of charcoal, I wouldn’t say this is a lucrative task. However, this 80+ year old factory continues to thrive as 60% of charcoal produced are exported to Japan.

After the charcoal factory trip, we drove to the town and stopped by buying some snacks to eat, and we spotted the famous Port Weld railway station which was located at the centre of town.

The whole railway line from here to Taiping, which was the first railway line in the Peninsular, is now dismantled, and now only the ticketing booth and the Port Weld railway signboard remain. We took a photo at the signboard.

Then, we left the town and going back home and ended for our short holiday trip ^^.

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Penang Toy Museum 2 May 2015

After our almost the entire ride driving from the Queensbay Mall towards the Penang Butterfly Farm, and the Waze directed us through the Teluk Bahang road, which made us driving using the hilly road and we passed by a lot of orchards.

During this time is the our King of fruits – Durian season. The road is just like the Genting Highlands road, one side is the hill and the other side is the slope of the forests or orchards.

This made us so thrilled, as Daddy and I weren’t expect Penang Island still have the road like this. Both Annabelle and Issac were so tired after our morning Street Arts Hunting and Fort Cornwallis trip, both were fall asleep in the car.

The weather is still hot but during at the hilly road, we can feel the cold breeze. There were cars parking aside and most of the people were feasting on the Durian feast.

Daddy said, it is the Durian season just started. At the end of the hilly road, we came to a wide view of the big Teluk Bahang Dam, it is not open to the public, we just can view from far.

To our surprise, the Penang Butterfly Farm which we intended to go, has close down for renovation. It made us really disappointed as we drove all the way from Queensbay Mall and only to find out it is closed.

On our way towards the Batu Ferringhi, we discovered there is a signage “Toy Museum Heritage Garden”.

We decided to go and have a check on it, as we received the leaflet the day before when we were at the Penang Hill, better than nothing and going back to our hotel at the Jalan Burma area.

Penang Toy Museum previously was located at Tanjung Bungah. Currently has moved to Teluk Bahang. After we bought the tickets, we went in.

Really a lot of people there too, holiday weekend always crowded. There are a lot of display showcases which are made in iron angle rack with four sided covered with Perspex. Inside displayed the toys or miniatures.

The founder of the museum is Mr. Loh Lean Cheng. He is and engineer and he came up with this idea with the inspiration from his visit to the London Toy and Model Museum. The museum possesses as much as 110,000 toys and any related collectibles.

The museum itself can be divided into a few sections namely the Chamber of Horror, Chamber of Monsters, Chamber of Fantasy, Chamber of Comic Book Heroes, Hall of Celebrities, Hall of Cartoons and many more.

Almost every type of toys is to be seen there including Star Wars, Doraemon, Mr Bean, Spiderman, Shrek and more.

Not only little figures and toys in the glass rack, there are quite a number of live size toys such as Batman and a Japanese Gundam robot that costs the owner RM9000.

This amazing museum is listed in the Malaysia Book of Records as the first toy museum ever built in Malaysia.

We took a few pictures with the interesting figures and toys. Overall, it is ok at least something to end a day.

 

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Fort Cornwallis Penang 2 May 2015

After the Penang Street Arts hunting, we just drove and Daddy wanted to bring us to the famous Fort Cornwallis.

Fort Cornwallis’ history dated back to the starting point when Sir Captain Francis Light from the British East India Company, first landed on the island with his crew in the year 1786. He was to take possession of the island from the Sultan of Kedah back then, to serve as a base or stop-over for the British company’s spice and silk trading route.

In order to protect the base from any foreign military forces, pirates and even Kedah itself, Francis Light decided to build a fort on the cape of the island’s north eastern coast, overlooking the sea -where he first set foot.

The initial simple fort was made out of only ‘nibong’ palm trunks as stockades, without any concrete structures. Francis Light named the fort after the Governor General in Bengal at that time – Charles Cornwallis. The fort was only reinforced with bricks years later again by Francis Light but under a different Governor, designing it as a star-shape, covering approximately 418 square feet.

And though, the intention of the fort was built to withhold and defend attacks from enemy invasions, apparently no battles ever occurred throughout the headship of the British company at the fort. In the end, it is used more for administrative and storage base rather than a combat ground.

When we were there, first and foremost, we can see the statue of the legendary Sir Captain Francis Light. In fact, no visitors would be able to miss the statue of Francis Light as its positioned overlooking the fort entrance, greeting visitors.

The bronze statue was sculpted by F.J. Wilcoxson in the year 1936 to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of Francis Light’s historic landing. Today, this statue, even though was sculptured based on his son, William Light’s picture, it is undeniably one of the famous icons associated with the history of the colonial era of Penang Island.

The second must-see artefact would be the infamous Sri Rambai cannon, which has a history and folklore of its own standing. The cannon were originally a gift from the Dutch to the Sultan of Johor in 1606. The cannon was then seized by the Portuguese, taken to Java, then Acheh, before being seized by British in Kuala Selangor and brought to Penang to be placed in Fort Cornwallis.

Next would be the gun powder magazine in which explosives were once stored during the British administration in anticipation for a battle. It was constructed in 1814. The structure of the bunker was built in the shape of a pill box with a thick wall to minimise damage should there be any explosions that may happen.

The magazine is located at its origin place at the northwest corner of the fort. It is strategically located at the spot whereby its ammunitions are near the surrounding cannons, especially the Sri Rambai.

The ever first Christian chapel, as well as one of the earliest roofed structures in the history of Penang, can be found inside the fort. The small modest chapel was constructed in 1799 at the south west corner of the fort, just beside the jail cell. It was recorded that after Francis Light died, his widow, Martina Rozells, remarried to John Timmers in the chapel on the same year it was built.

Last but not least, beside the chapel, will be the row of barracks and a small jail cell that are still in its origin state which was built in 1811. The barracks were believed to be used as storage for artilleries. As for the small jail cell, it’s in between the barracks and the chapel. But now, instead of a jail, it is now a favourite photographing spot whereby visitors would get the feel of being in prison behind bars and be photographed from the outside, complete with the prisoner cell’s number.

For those who would want to get more insight on the extensive history of the fort, trade agreements of British East India Company, initial developments of Penang islands and much more, you can find the vast information on the history boards. The boards are placed in the barracks which temporary serves as gallery to visitors now. Archaeological findings, which were excavated in the fort’s ground many years ago, are also exhibited for visitors to marvel.

Presently, Fort Cornwallis is a preserved historical landmark, and it’s in the core zone of the Georgetown UNESCO World Heritage site. Coincidently, the fort is also right in the Georgetown city hub itself. All the distinctive structures and artefacts in the fort are still very much as intact as in its authentic state. Hence, it’s a unique combination of old meets modern tourist attractions.

The day was so hot, after we had a quick visit there, then we adjourned and find a shopping mall, so that we can able to have some air-conditioning environment. We went for Queensbay Mall near Bayan Lepas.

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Penang Street Art 2 May 2015

One of the highlights of what we wanted to do in Penang is to hunt for street arts.

From the free street art map brochure which we obtained from the hotel, the street art can be classified into several categories: Ernest Zacharevic works, Making George Town iron rod sculpture works, etc.

We woke up as early as possible just wanted to see our own the famous and popular street art in town.

It really took us for a while just to find a parking and walking down to the Georgetown streets to search for it.

We really got a little disappointed as most of the arts were being faded in colours and the lime wall on the old colonial buildings had started to peel off, and affect some of the arts.

At very first place, we are thinking of really a waste as no one preserved the arts itself.

Secondly, Ernest Zacharevic works really became a big hit, with queues forming to take pictures with these works, especially the famous ‘Kids On Bicycle’.

We just gave up when seeing the long queue just wanted to take pictures for that, and adjourned to another art pieces.

Marking George Town started off as a competition initiated by the Penang State Government to physically brand George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an international competition was held in the year of 2009 and was aimed at exploring innovative ideas in art and design for public spaces in George Town.

The design concept of ‘voice from the people’ borne the 52 uniquely and humorous illustrations in the form of iron rod sculptures were installed against the city’s building walls. These are still not so bad.

101 Lost Kittens Artworks. This collection of 12 cat-related street artworks is a project by Thai artist Natthapon Muangkliang and Malaysian artists Louise Low and Tang Yeok Khang aimed at creating awareness towards stray animals.

I personally do not like this type of arts, may be I am not so fond about the cat itself. Both children did take some photos with the art works.

After we walked for sometimes, we walked into a small cafe and have something to eat and rest for awhile. We were so tired, and walked under the heat of sun is really a challenge for us and the children too… o(@.@)o

After most of the famous street art, we manage to have a glimpse, we adjourned to another places…

 

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You & Me ^^ 1 May 2015

After our morning visit to the Penang Hill and Made In Penang Interactive Museum, we had our quick lunch nearby the museum.

It is just a crossed the street where we parked our car. The food is so delicious at the Ah Lai Coffee Shop, just we did not snap any photos on the food this time around. If not, I think I can write about it again.

After our delicious lunch, we drove back to the hotel and have our afternoon nap. We were so tiring because the day before we travelled after 8.00pm from Kuala Lumpur and reached Penang after mid night 3.00am.

After we woke up from our power nap, it was almost dinner time, whereby we drove to Gurney Drive and looked for food again. There was no parking at all, and all the parking in the shopping mall nearby was full. We guessed it was impossible for us to have our dinner near the Gurney Drive.

We drove further and parked our car aside near the Evergreen Laurel Hotel, we just sat on the bench along the pavement walkways at the coast side, and enjoyed our sea breeze and the beautiful sun set scenery. From here, we can see the cruise ship was parking at the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal.

Both Issac and Annabelle were looking for small stones or pebbles to throw into the sea. Both of us just sitting nearby and watching them. Dear took a photo of 2 of us! Wefie! I Love it so much! I love you too!

Made In Penang Interactive Museum 1 May 2015

After the Penang Hill, initially we were thinking of going for the street art around Georgetown area to have a look.

By the time we were driving, we passed by the new attraction in town – Made in Penang Interactive Museum, we just reversed and found a parking near to the museum. This museum is on the fast track to becoming one of the most popular attractions on the island.

I am wondering why? Actually it distilled the essence of Penang – its myriad ethnic cultures, foods, festivals, traditions, and landmarks and highlighted them all through cheeky artistic renderings.

And, best of all, you get to be part of the fun by jumping right into the scenes. It’s an outing that appeals to everyone, from families with young kids, to couples on a date night, to friends who just want to hang out for some great times!

Wall Paintings

Once we entered the museum near the entrance, we can see a fleet of wall paintings depicting the early 19th century Penang port including a pop-out rickshaw that you can sit on and have your photograph taken.

The children were playing and sitting having fun of posing themselves, as they were labours during the old days at the Penang Port.

Both Issac and Annabelle were having fun in acting out their talent in these fun scenes!

Handmade Jetty Waterfront

The ground floor houses a few dioramas shedding light on Penang's history. There is 20-foot long handmade jetty waterfront miniature among others by Penang-born and -bred artist, Mr Khoo Chooi Hooi.

Also on display are various scale-models illustrating the culturally-rich lifestyle of Penangites, both current and then.  Sculptor Khoo Chooi Hooi created these tiny depictions of life in bygone days from the 1960's Indian Barber to the Nasi Lamak sellers on the sidewalks.

I did not snap much on the miniature.

Interactive Trick Art

There are 30-odd interactive trick art paintings will let you explore and relive Penang in a whole new dimension, from downright funny to breath-taking reminiscing.

What also impressed me is that most of these pieces are actually 2D. They only look like they're popping out of the wall, and there's usually nothing to hold onto. You really have to pretend! Some gals were doing wall sits in the Peranakan room to make it look like they were sitting in the chairs. They must have good quadriceps.

Our children too, are most happy to pretend! This is their favourite thing to do when they have nothing to do! And, it was just so fun!

Interactive Kiosks

Interactive kiosks that allow you to put on opera masks without lifting a finger. Others include ones that enable you to have Komtar, tallest building in Penang, and the iconic ferry right on your palm.

We did not play on this but we did try on another - lion dance and the drummer.

Coffee Time

Finally, fancy having a cup with the beloved Chief Minister of Penang? Well now you can, without even having to make an appointment! I have!

There is a small movie theatre on your way out of the museum shows "Pearl of Malaysia," a film about Penang's story. The English version and Mandarin version alternate with one movie starting every 30 minutes.

Overall, this is a fun interactive museum! Definitely will come back again if we come again!

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Penang Hill 1 May 2015

After we had a good night sleep at the hotel. We woke up early to take our breakfast, then we went for our first destination which is the Penang Hill.

We did not manage to go to the Penang Hill last trip back in 2010, during our family trip together with Brother Andrew and Sister Agatha that time. I still remember that time it is also due to the funicular train is under maintenance as the Penang Hill authority was changing their old system.

Penang Hill is the oldest British hill station in Southeast Asia, dated late 1700’s. The highest peak of Penang Hill stand at 833 metres (2,732ft) above sea level.

The Penang Hill funicular train service started on October 1923. The current funicular trains is the 4th generation system which started its operation on 24th April 2011. The 1st generation was from 1906 to1906. The 2nd generation was from 1923 to 1977. The 3rd generation was from 1977 to 2010.

The funicular track stretches a distance of 1,996 metres (1.99KM) from lower to Upper Station which is the longest in Asia. Penang Hill funicular tunnel, at 79 metres (258ft) long and 10feet (3.0m) wide with a steepness of 27.9degree, is the steepest tunnel track in the world. Number of visitor to Penang Hill in 2014 exceed 1.36million.

Already a lot of people queue for the tickets to go up the hill as this is a long holiday weekend. I bought the tickets for all of us and we were queuing up for our turn to take the train too. When it was our turn, we were lucky too as we managed to get a good spot for the children and us, so that we were able to see both sides of the hill while the funicular train going up towards the hill.

I was a bit surprise to see that, there are houses or locals stay at the Penang Hill. They must be travelling up and down using the funicular train for their daily supplies, household items, etc. I guess there must be road access to the Penang Hill too, may be need to use 4 wheels drive to access. We can see forests, some monkeys, hear the birds chirping, and the air is getting cooler and fresher as we were almost at the top.

Once we reached the Upper station, immediately we can see the Cliff Cafe or Astaka Bukit Bendera. It is a three-storey food and beverage centre in Penang Hill. Cliff Cafe became operational January 2012. The two higher levels houses the food court, with food stalls on the upper level and souvenir stalls and drinks stalls on the lower level. I believe that the view is particularly beautiful at night, when the city lights up. We just passed through the Cliff Cafe to go to the Owl Museum.

The Owl Museum showcases the largest collection of owl-themed arts and craft collections in ASEAN, which are made from a myriad of materials such as wood, stone, metal, glass, clay, plastic, buffalo horn, seashells, beans, plant fibres, crystal, porcelain, earthenware, paper and recycled items. Special collections on loan from private collectors are also on display.

The museum is a very popular destination not only with the tourists, but locals as well. It has a very popular merchandising shop known as the 'Owlet' where cute owl-themed items can be purchased. You can be inspired by the enigmatic bidrs of prey and the magic they have sparked in human cultures and imaginations since the beginning of time. Along the exhibits, some fun facts, creative activities and a souvenir shop for great owl-theme gifts as well can be find here!

After the Owl Museum, we were attracted by a Hindu Temple. Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan, or better known as the Penang Hill Hindu Temple, is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Penang. It started off in the 1800's as a small shrine to the Hindu deity Murugan - the deity associated with Thaipusam - by the Indian sepoys and sedan chair carriers, and is located at a mount within Penang Hill called Gun Hill. A trident, or Murugan Vel, was installed there by the devotees. Over the years, it was enlarged and rebuilt. The present-day incarnation of the Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan is a very ornate Hindu temple in the Dravidian architectural style of South India.

The Dravidian style of constructing Hindu temples calls for four principal parts. The temple proper, or vimana, is the shrine with a tower, a mandapa, or porch, gopurams, or gate towers, and chawadis, or pillar halls. In addition, there would usually be a tank of water for use in sacred rituals or for cleansing.

Just not far from the Hindu Temple, is the Penang Hill Mosque, or Masjid Bukit Bendera, is the only mosque on Penang Hill. Erected to the use of Muslims living and working on the hill, the mosque is located at a short distance from the Penang Hill Hindu Temple. The majority of users of the mosque are those working at the stalls near the Penang Hill Railway Station, government servants attached to the post office, and other departments on Penang Hill.

The Penang Hill Mosque brings Islamic architecture to the otherwise colonial buildings of Penang Hill. Its minarets and domes stand in stark contrast to the surroundings, balanced only by the existence of the Hindu temple nearby.

There are a total of 52 hill bungalows located on Penang Hill (42 of them are private-owned and 10 bungalows are state-owned). Most of them are more than 100 years old and Bel Retiro (Governors Bungalows) built in1789 is the oldest. We did not manage to take the photos of it.

With the oldest building dated to 1803 (Convalescent Bungalow), Penang Hill is a good repository of bungalows featuring a fusion of architecture from British colonial to Asian and modern architecture. Although the bungalow itself is out-of-bounds to the general public, one can hike up to its gate, a beautiful brick structure with an arch entranceway. Visitors can go all the way to the gateway of the Bel Retiro Bungalow but no farther as it is private.

Tucked away on top of Penang Hill lies a distant rumour of a long forgotten garden - David Brown's at Strawberry Hill, a quintessential British colonial Restaurant and Tea Terraces. David Brown's now stands was believed to have been originally leveled by Captain Francis Light for planting strawberries which grew well here until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1941. We did not go in and dine there as we don’t drink tea or coffee.

Just down from the David Brown’s, at the apex of the hill near to the train station the focus is on enhancing visitors experience, maximizing the stunning views and resolving space needs. Both soft and hard landscaping have been extensively used to augment the hilltop forest experience.

The holding area has been expanded for shade and shelter while large viewing decks and pathways with luxuriant planting have been fashioned into the slopes to create a journey of discovery. The Viewing Decks with gardens at varying heights provide changing panoramic vistas while two additional platforms at the lower level allow rest under natural forest shading. The Skyway will allow stunning 360° views while fulfilling all accessibility needs.

This is our last place to visit, as we were queuing on going down the hill, the visitors became more and more, until the station were packed with people waiting to go down the hill. We felt do lucky that at least we were early while the hill itself was not so crowded while we were there!

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