Alvinology goes to Blogfest Asia 2010 @ Penang, Malaysia - Day 1 of 3 - Alvinology

Alvinology goes to Blogfest Asia 2010 @ Penang, Malaysia – Day 1 of 3

Last Friday noon at around 1pm, I arrived at Penang together with my colleague, Siew Kian to attend the second Blogfest Asia which will be held there from 1 to 3 Oct. We were promptly greeted at Penang International Airport by Forrest Choo, a Malaysian blogger who had volunteered his time to ferry foreign bloggers like Siew Kian and I to and from the airport.

Forrest drove Siew Kian and I to our allocated hotels, Hotel Royal and Hotel Malaysia respectively. We figured we will have a little time to do some exploring from then till the official welcome dinner at 7.3opm, hosted by Tourism Malaysia. Hence Siew Kian took a cab over to my hotel where we met up for lunch at a nearby coffeeshop serving Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶) and Niang Dou Fu (酿豆腐), before heading off to do some sight-seeing.

As we did not have much time, we decided to head to the Fort Cornwallis area where many attractions seems to be located, according to a free Penang tourist map we picked up at the airport.

Our first stop was Fort Cornwallis, an ancient fort built when Captain Francis Light first landed in Penang. Captain Francis Light btw, is the founder of Penang as a British colony in 1786. The fort was built to stand guard over the island’s cape. Throughout history, the fort was never engaged in any battles.

Touch down at Penang International Airport
Touch down at Penang International Airport
One of the super nice Penang volunteer, Forest, who ferried us around during our stay
One of the super nice Penang volunteer, Forest, who ferried us around during our stay
Hotel Malaysia's lobby - where I stayed
Hotel Malaysia’s lobby – where I stayed
My hotel room
My hotel room
Row of trishaws outside Hotel Malaysia
Row of trishaws outside Hotel Malaysia
Siew Kian and I had lunch here on our first day in Penang
Siew Kian and I had lunch here on our first day in Penang
I ordered Bah Kut Teh for lunch
I ordered Bak Kut Teh for lunch
Other than spare pork ribs, there are lots of other ingredient
Other than spare pork ribs, there are lots of other ingredient
Yong Dou Foo soup to share
Niang Dou Fu soup to share
A park we pass on our way to Fort Cornwallis
A park we pass on our way to Fort Cornwallis
I assume this is a school crest?
I assume this is a school crest?
Fort Cornwallis entrance - admission fee is RM$2
Fort Cornwallis entrance – admission fee is RM$2
First stop - Fort Cornwallis
First stop – Fort Cornwallis
Me beside a statue of Captain Francis Light
Me beside a statue of Captain Francis Light
Ancient cannons
Ancient cannons
Ammo bunker
Ammo bunker
Front view of the ammo bunker
Front view of the ammo bunker
Inside the bunker
Inside the bunker
View from the bunker window
View from the bunker window
One of the many ancient cannons at Fort Cornwallis
One of the many ancient cannons at Fort Cornwallis
Posing with cannon at Fort Cornwallis
Posing with cannon at Fort Cornwallis
Infertile women used to lay flowers beneath this cannon for fertility
Infertile women used to lay flowers beneath this cannon for fertility
Inscriptions on the cannon
Inscriptions on the cannon
Some historical artefacts found in Fort Cornwallis
Some historical artefacts found in Fort Cornwallis
Alvinology goes to jail in Fort Cornwallis
Alvinology goes to jail in Fort Cornwallis

From Fort Cornwallis, we walked to the nearby Esplanade area where Penang City Hall and Town Hall are located. The former was built in 1903 and is the headquarters of the Penang Island Municipal Council. The latter was the previous social venue for Penang’s elitee back in the 1880’s. Both buildings are not open to public, hence we were only able to marvel at their colonial elegance from the outside.

Penang's Esplanade
Penang’s Esplanade
The City Hall
The City Hall
Penang Town Hall
Penang Town Hall
Me outside the Town Hall
Me outside the Town Hall

From the Esplanade, we then walked to the Goddess of Mercy Temple, dedicated to the Chinese deity for compassion, Guan Yin (观音). The first foundation for this historical temple was laid in 1728 by Chinese settlers in Penang and completed in 1800. Devotees still stream to the temple in this modern day and age.

Outside the Goddess of Mercy Temple
Outside the Goddess of Mercy Temple
Me, outside the temple
Me, outside the temple
Colourful candles burning
Colourful candles burning
Devotee praying
Devotee praying
"Meals on Wheels" - free food given out outside the Goddess of Mercy temple, besides an Indian shrine
“Meals on Wheels” – free food given out outside the Goddess of Mercy temple, besides an Indian shrine
Two furnace to burn offerings
Two furnace to burn offerings
Inside the temple
Inside the temple
Glistering bright red lanterns
Glistering bright red lanterns
Tighter shot of the lanterns
Tighter shot of the lanterns
Wall tablets
Wall tablets

Beside the Goddess of Mercy Temple, there was a small Indian shrine, housing the Hindu deity, Ganesha (the god with the elephant head). A priest was scrubbing the shrine when we passed by.

I find it interesting that it is not only in Singapore where different religious institutions can co-exist side-by-side. This happens in multi-racial Malaysia too.

There is a small Indian shrine beside the Goddess of Mercy Temple
There is a small Indian shrine beside the Goddess of Mercy Temple
The priest cleaning up the shrine housing a figurine of Ganesh
The priest cleaning up the shrine housing a figurine of Ganesh
Flowers for prayers and offerings
Flowers for prayers and offerings

We then made our way to the Mahamariamman Temple nearby, located in Penang’s Little India. Built in 1883, it is the oldest Hindu temple in George Town. A distinctive feature of the temple is said to be its Gopuram with 38 exquisitely carved Hindu deities.

Passed by a building selling contemporary artworks
Passed by a building selling contemporary artworks
Art pieces for sale
Art pieces for sale
The front of Mahamariamman Temple
The front of Mahamariamman Temple
The back of the temple
The back of the temple
Two stone lions outside the temple
Two stone lions outside the temple
The inner wall of the temple
The inner wall of the temple
Colourful Indian deities
Colourful Indian deities
Ganesh - the Indian deity with the elephant head
Ganesha – the Indian deity with the elephant head

Next, we decided to head back to Hotel Malaysia to catch the free shuttle bus provided to ferry us to the welcome dinner venue.

It was a relatively long walk, but the sights along the way were pretty fascinating. A walk thorugh the streets of Penang is like walking back in time when Singapore was still a British colony. I got trigger-happy with my camera and began snapping one too many shots.

As it was approaching dinner time, a lot of roadside food vendors began to make their appearance. I was drawn to order a banana lassi drink from one of these stalls.

An old Teochew Temple
An old Teochew Temple
Chinese medical hall
Chinese medical hall
Shop selling traditional rattan crafts
Shop selling traditional rattan crafts
An old metal shutter
An old metal shutter
Another retro Chinese medical hall
Another retro Chinese medical hall
Retro Shanghai dry cleaning shop
Retro Shanghai dry cleaning shop
A street lined with stores peddling various hardwares
A street lined with stores peddling various hardwares
Old school carpentry shop
Old school carpentry shop
Antique shop
Antique shop
Penang has lots of retro shophouses facade like this
Penang has lots of retro shophouses facade like this
A colourful building
A colourful building
A Hong Kong bar
A Hong Kong bar
Old Trafford Burger woh.... there's even Manchester United logos all over
Old Trafford Burger woh…. there’s even Manchester United logos all over
Roadside Lok Lok food stall
Roadside Lok Lok food stall
I ordered a banana lassi from this roadside store
I ordered a banana lassi from this roadside store
Roadside stall selling little snacks
Roadside stall selling little snacks
My banana lassi
My banana lassi

Along the way back, we happen to pass by the Penang Hainan Temple. Found in 1866, the temple is dedicated to the patron saint of seafarers, the goodess, Mar Chor (妈祖). The present colourful building was built in 1895 and restored in 1995.

Next, we chanced upon the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion or the “Blue Mansion”, the former home of tycoon, Cheng Fatt Tze (張弼士). It is a famous location to film movie and television series because of its beautiful architecture.

We also passed by the Benggali Mosque, founded in 1803. It was built on land granted by the East India Company.

Hainan Temple
Hainan Temple
Me, outside the temple
Me, outside the temple
Rows of little red lanterns
Rows of little red lanterns
Elaborate carving on the wall and pillars
Elaborate carving on the wall and pillars
Another bottom up view picture of this colourful temple
A bottom up view picture of this colourful temple
The underneath of the roofing has got graphics too
The underneath of the roofing has graphics too
There's a school beside the temple
There’s a school beside the temple
Another small, ancient looking temple near Hotel Malaysia
Another small, ancient looking temple near Hotel Malaysia
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
The Mansion was closed, so I could only get a picture from the outside
The Mansion was closed, so I could only get a picture from the outside
Benggali Mosque
Benggali Mosque
Outside the Benggali Mosque
Outside the Benggali Mosque
A peek into the mosque, through the open windows
A peek into the mosque, through the open windows

Exhausted after visiting practically all the iconic places of worships in the Penang core tourist zone, we headed back to Hotel Malaysia, about just in time to catch the shuttle bus to QEII at Pengkalan Weld, where the official Blogfest Asia 2010 welcome dinner was hosted.

We bumped into fellow Singaporean blogger, Silver Ang, at the dinner. Silver had came to Penang a day earlier than us and had went for the official half day tour which Siew Kian and I had missed in the morning due to our arrival timing.

Bubbly and pretty Silver was a people-magnet. A lot of bloggers and journalists popped by to greet us because of her. Thanks to Silver, I got interviewed along with her by a journalist from Sin Chew Daily (星洲日报) which got us featured in the Sunday newspaper.

Church Street Pier where QEII is located
Church Street Pier where QEII is located
QEII - where we were hosted for dinner and free flow beer
QEII – where we were hosted for dinner and free flow beer
Bloggers registration
Bloggers registration
Queuing up for registration
Queuing up for registration
QEII was packed full of bloggers
QEII was packed full of bloggers
The Singapore contingent
The Singapore contingent
A model ship outside QEII
A model ship outside QEII

After a night of mingling and name card exchanging, it was time to head back to the hotel to rest. I was still a little hungry when I got back, hence I ordered a burger from a roadside stall opposite my hotel for supper.

Lots of roadside stalls sprouted at night when I got back to my hotel area
Lots of roadside stalls sprouted at night when I got back to my hotel area
I ordered a burger from this stall
I ordered a burger from this stall
My beef with egg burger
My beef with egg burger

This concludes day one. 🙂 Stay tuned for my updates on the Blogfest Asia conference on the second and third day.

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