The cultural performance at the Little Penang Street Market

I simply love this stall selling various beautiful crystal jewellry and yes, I bought something from this stall

The uncle who uses all sorts of paper to recycle and fold into aeroplanes

My son is terrified of lion dance but he seemed intriqued by this small puppet version

There are now quite a few food stalls there

There is a stall selling plants too

My son wondering why these two little boys are sitting inside the small enclosure of the display board (and yes, they are all holding the recycled-paper aeroplanes)

This is what I bought at the Little Penang Street Market

Those pretty bags contained earrings!

I bought two pairs of earrings from the stall I showed earlier

I may go again next month to check out more of the stalls there for Christmas gifts.

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Also, these must have been enough time for them to GET OUT of their Opposition mentality and start acting like the state government. Sure, they are still the Opposition at federal level but here in Penang, they ARE the state government. They ARE in power.

So, isn’t it time that they STOP pointing fingers, STOP blaming others, STOP complaining and whining over what the previous state government did or what the federal government is doing to Penang now?

Okay, so, they have the right to whine and complain and stand up and announce loudly what the previous state government did. And yes, they have the right to point out how the federal government is marginalising Penang just because the BN was voted out of power.

However, WE all know we are being marginalised. We can read the newspapers and online news. We can see for ourselves what the BN government is doing. I don’t mind Penang Outer Ring Road being canceled postponed. I don’t mind that much about the monorail being postponed either BUT I do mind that the federal government IS NOT keeping its promises of implementing an integrated public transportation system in Penang which they had promised AGAIN and AGAIN before and during the general elections.

And now, SUDDENLY there is nothing. No monorail, fine. But no other alternative proposals for public transportation too? This prove that the BN government DO NOT keep to their promises. Buruk siku is what Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has been calling them. And I do agree.

But I digress.

Recently, I heard that the federal government has ‘postponed’ yet another project. This time, it is the RM40mil upgrading works for the Penang Hill funicular train. (YES, it is also ONE of those projects they PROMISED and never deliver) And the thing is, this upgrading works is really needed. URGENTLY. The cables are OLD and faulty. The service broke down numerous times due to this and now, they had to stop the service completely. Seems like the whole system needs to be upgraded as minor repairs are no longer able to keep the system working smoothly.

Yep. Here we are, George Town being listed as a Unesco’s World Heritage Site and one of our landmarks, Penang Hill, is now inaccessible to tourists. Unless, of course, they preferred to hike up. Although Penang Hill is not within the heritage zone, it is still a main tourist site. Tourists already in Penang would probably stop by there. Imagine, the tourists finding their way there after haggling with the cut-throat taxi drivers (that’s a whole another post) only to find that the funicular train service is temporarily stopped and they could not go up on the train.

Ya, ya, blame the federal government. But in the meantime, WHAT is the state government doing? I mean, other than blaming the federal government. Isn’t it time that they buck up and find a solution? Sure, sure, plead and urge and do whatever to push the federal government to hand over the RM40mil for the upgrading works.

While waiting for the federal government to even response, isn’t it time that the state government do something first? Don’t just point fingers.

Do something. Find a solution. It is really time that DAP-PKR start to govern the state. Preferably NOW.

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Ok, so the sea water surrounding Penang aren’t exactly rubbish-filled but you sure as hell will find loads of UFOs (unidentified floating objects) if you look down from the boat. Anyways, if you don’t mind spending good money to cruise around Penang island, here are some details about the cruise:

Blue Whale Cruises:
- Run by British skipper and wife, Stephen & Eileen Burton with a local partner, Steven Tan.
- The boat is a 47ft Chriss Craft Boat with 2 diesel engines, fully air conditioned with toilet and galley.
- Can fit up to 20 people but only insured for 16 people on board, also have safety rafts, safety rings, life jacket, first aid box, etc.

Daily Tours:
1. Sunday – Around the island – inclusive of a BBQ lunch – 10am – 6pm
2. Monday – Turtle Beach – inclusive of a BBQ lunch – 10am – 3pm
3. Tuesday – Sunset Cruise – inclusive of set dinner – 6pm – 9.30pm
4. Wednesday – open for private bookings
5. Thursday – Turtle Beach – inclusive of a BBQ lunch – 10am – 3pm
6. Friday – Sunset Cruise – finger food (coffee, tea or my fingers anyone?) – 6pm – 9.30pm
7. Saturday – open for private bookings

While onboard, you will get free flow of soft drinks and water too.

The boat will depart from Tanjung City Marina and is best only for couples or people with children who does not want to tag along.

Seems like they couldn’t get the insurance to cover children below 13 so no children allowed. If you want to bring your sullen, angst-filled teenager, you can but I doubt that by this age, your teenager would even want to be seen in public with their parents. Just saying.

The damage to your pocket will be extensive though. It is RM175 nett per person but for the set dinner sunset cruise it is RM250 per person. The All Day round the island cruise is RM300 per person!!

I don’t know, maybe it’s only meant for foreign tourists who earn in USDs and Pounds because I sure as heck will not spend RM175 to RM300 to cruise around Penang! And no, although the boat is named Blue Whale, there are no whales for you to watch here and nope, you won’t get to see dolphins too since most of these have left for better seas.

Penangites will know that they could get to Muka Head by paying a fisherman to bring them in his motorboat at RM70 for a return trip. Yep, and it is not even per person! You can even bring your own food, home cooked or store bought, whatever you choose and have a great picnic at the beach.

Oh well, if you really want to spend that kind of money on the cruises, you can check it out at www.bluewhatecruises.com.

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Practically in every residential area, there are at least one or two such centers. Of course, it is common knowledge that some of these offer more than massage and reflexology. However, they do not do it openly. Some even looked like legit reflexology centers with posters and price lists and even those reflexology chairs that anybody walking in will be fooled by all these. The best part is they really do offer reflexology services, only with some extras.

One of my friends, a man, went to one of these centers for a massage (no lar, he is very straight and tang soon wan so he wasn’t looking for ‘extras’). Imagine his puzzlement when they started asking him strange questions and whether he wanted to ’soak in water’! Luckily he had heard a few of the terms before or else he would have inadvertently agreed to the ‘full works’ without meaning to!

So, it is imperative to know the correct terms when going to these places. Here are some of the phrases I learnt from friends…ehh…I woman mah so if I go to these places, they won’t offer me any extras leh so I have to get from friends lar. So don’t blame me if some of it wrong or different…hearsay very susah to confirm lar and some centers use very innovative terms wan. By the way, these are all in Penang Hokkien.

Term: Chik bi (one course)

Meaning: One touchy feely

Term: Nor bi (two course)

Meaning: One touchy feely and some licking

Term: Sar bi (three course)

Meaning: one touchy feely, some licking and you get to touch a part

Term: sie bi (four course)

Meaning: touchy feely two ways with tongues involved

Term: Chim chui (soak in water)

Meaning: The full ‘treatment’ including dipping something into where it does not belong.

Term: Lak bi (six course)

Meaning: the full treatment including the use of ‘back door’ too.

Now that you know, be careful of which services you agree to! The prices ranged from RM50 to the hundreds depending on which course, er, massage you ordered. Heh.

Also, if you really, really want to go for legitimate massage wan, don’t go to suspicious joints because usually the ‘masseurs’ only know how to do the extras but not the normal massage.

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Mono Blanco from Mexico

Beneath the dark starry skies, surrounded by greenery and the barely discernible sounds of insects and some night animals, the setting was indeed perfect for the wonderful musical experience that was the Penang World Music Festival.

Okay, enough of the advertorial, if I write more, I may have to charge PTAC for this free advertisement..heheheh…

Jokes aside, I love the concert! However, the music is the type that only certain people could appreciate, that is, people who doesn’t mind paying RM50 each to sit on grass / sit on the ground / endure mosquito bites, be prepared for the capricious weather which may produce downpours, and on top of that, listen to music that is hard to categorize.

Teada from Ireland

Now, we come to the bands that played on Friday. We missed the first one, Dya Singh, but listened to Teada from Ireland, Dendang Anak from Terengganu, Mono Blanco from Mexico and Afenginn from Denmark. We wanted to stay for the last one, Salem Tradition from Reunion Island but it was too late and my toddler was already nodding off, although he enjoyed it more than both of us!

The music was all instrumental, with minimal or no singing, and most have dance-able beats. It is hard to describe the music because it is more like a blend of classical, ethnic, new age, a li’l bit of rock and roll, jazz and techno. That’s why I say it is hard to categorize.

Dendang Anak from Terengganu

It is mostly ethnic music, for example, Teada plays Irish music but jazz it up with faster rhythms and beats. Or the Mono Blanco belts out La Bamba to a different beat. However, to all you rock / rap/ heavy metal / oldies lovers out there, I doubt that you’d enjoy this much though. But if you want to experience an all new type of musical experience, this concert is a great place to start!

Afenginn from Denmark

I attended last year’s festival and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed with the music as it is really my kind of music. But, yes there is always a but, I preferred the bands from last year more. At least, last year, they have really exotic bands, you know, like really orang asli type of bands using all sorts of different traditional musical instruments. This year, the bands are mostly modern-type bands.

Fun factor rating: 8 /10

Musical experience rating: 8 /10

Variety rating: 5 /10

Value-for-money: 5/10 ( RM50 each is too costly so if you go for three nights it is RM150! They should have maintained the price at RM40)

Will I attend next year’s concert? Perhaps. I will have to look at the list of bands first.

And if they increase the ticket price to RM60 each, forget it!!! The concert may be good but not blardy worth RM60 per person so that some fat lau ee can go traipsing around the world!

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Deep-fried food may not be good for your health but heck, they are darn tasty! I especially like the chicken samosas sold at this stall along a junction at Queen Street.

The fillings are mostly chicken meat, potatoes, onions and spices. The skin is crispy and even though deep-fried, not as oily as you’d expect it to be.

Rating: 7/10

Price: RM1 each

Summary: It is a great tea-time snack but one that you can’t eat everyday because it isn’t very healthy. Besides, the stall isn’t open everyday.

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Recently, we took my little toddler to the playground at the Penang Municipal Park or better known as Youth Park. The landscaping is still just as beautiful after the council revamped the whole park a few years ago.

The flowers are blooming…

It was especially therapeutic, after a stressful work week dealing with all sorts of idiots at work, to be walking amongst greenery and wonderful landscaping.

I won’t write more but let the pictures tell the story:

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We ate FOUR whole fishes! Each fish costs between RM20 and RM38. Not bad considering the size and how fresh it is.

I don’t know what fish these are except that it is freshwater and darn fresh and very delicious, deep fried, covered in sweet and sour sauce and steamed.

The shack that passed as a restaurant where the delectable fishes are cooked and served.

There’s a wooden rickety bridge from the shack over a bubbling river heading to large ponds where they rear the freshwater fishes.

A closer look at the wooden shack…

The fishes are really good and I would recommend this place if you have a hankering for fish. Also, the fishes are all very sweet without any muddy taste at all.

Rating: 8/10

Price: RM20 and above for each fish

Menu choices: Only fish, rice and one or two vegetables

Location: Sungai Kob, Kulim. Accessible through a small dirt road marked with only a small signboard with Restoran Kolam Ikan on it. Just take the turning to Kulim Hi Tech Park Phase 2, drive all the way to Sungai Kob and once you reach the tiny town, you will see Petronas on your left and right after that a row of shophouses. The small dirt road is on the right and right next to the Klinik Kesihatan. Otherwise, call the number in the picture above for more accurate directions!

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So, recently, we went up to the Batu Ferringhi Night Market which is famous for all the illegal chio’ng ciplak things. We need to restock our…errr…movie collections…You know la, Heroes season two is already in, House season four already in and seems like Supernatural season three is on the way. These are my favourite series la and I don’t have time to wait for stupid Astro.

Also, we have missed so many movies such The Water Horse, Alvin and The Chipmunks and even Transformers. Ever since having my toddler, it is difficult to find time to go pakthor and watch movies….so we go for cheaper, easier option of home theatre la.

Of course, the Batu Ferringhi Night Market offers a lot of other things and not only the…errr..entertainment stuff. They have trinkets, decor items, chio’ng branded handbags, chio’ng branded clothes and more decor items.

It was not easy trying to take pictures of the stalls there because the stall operators are mostly very hostile. Perhaps they are worried about being caught ‘red-handed’ with pictures of them selling chio’ng things…

As you can see, we stick to taking pictures of things that are not chio’ng at all….Just no-brand things, some local, some made in Thailand and some Made in China.

Now, along that stretch, there is Long Beach Cafe which offers local hawker fare. It is also quite near my favourite..err..chio’ng entertainment stall. Eh, the stall sell very cheap you know! Only RM4 each and the quality, VERY GOOD. Always no problem with the err…things.

Choices: 8/10

Quality: 8/10

Price: 9/10

Here’s Long Beach Cafe along the Batu Feringghi Night Market. See the Spring Roll stall? That’s my favourite! Their spring roll is very good.

Review of Spring Roll: Crunchy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside. The vegetables inside are nicely cooked and tasty. It goes very well with the sauce consisting of cut chillies and Lea & Perrins sauce.

Price: A bit pricey for a single spring roll, RM3 each.

Rating: 7/10

There are a lot of other stalls there selling a variety of hawker fare. Some are good, some are not. I have not tried all so can’t give any ratings on that. The prices are quite reasonable considering it being a tourist spot. A plate of food could be priced from between RM3 and RM5 depending on what you order.

Oh, there is also a stall selling presumably Haagen Daaz ice cream at RM7 a scoop. Well, trust me, it is ice cream but it is definitely NOT Haagen Daaz! It taste nothing like Haagen Daaz! It is either they use some other higher quality ice cream to pass it off as Haagen Daaz or it old stock taken at a cheaper price from Haagen Daaz, thus the taste a bit out.

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I won’t know if it’s any good because I haven’t been to any of these things for ages! I am way beyond help when it comes to education…heheheh

Also, for those hungry ghosts out there, there’s a charity food fair coming up this Sunday. It is a two-in-one event. You get to eat and you get to help cancer patients! What a deal. Seriously. Okay, okay, so the eats aren’t free but hey, it is to help poor cancer patients and you have to eat right?

So, don’t forget to go to:

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