Heritage Buildings of Penang

So back when we were considering the opportunity to move to Penang, one of the things Rox thought she might enjoy was photographing and touring the many heritage buildings (and even some of the more common buildings that can be quite interesting).  There is an organization here called the Penang Heritage Trust that works to support the perservation and proper maintenance of the heritage buildings (as well as other aspects of the cultural heritage), particularly those that are part of the UNESCO world heritage area.  Well, she hasn't really had the time to look into joining the PHT, but was finally presented with an opportunity to visit one of the large waterfront houses we have walked by a million times.  This lovely house sits just two doors down from our condo on Gurney Drive facing the water.  The gates are always locked and the only time we see signs of people there is the odd wedding photo shoot.  Another item of interest is the use of the thistle on the gates - the thistle being a symbol of Scotland, we thought maybe this was the home of a Scottish immigrant during the colonial times.  So when we learned that the mansion would be open for a private tour as part of a fund-raiser for the Penang Heritage Trust, it was an opportunity Rox didn't want to miss.  With Chris away in KL, Brenna was forced to tag along.  Her favorite part was the two dogs at the front door and the turkey roaming the grounds (hmmm...now I know where to get next year's Thanksgiving dinner...cheaper than the frozen birds at Cold Storage).

The building was just beautiful and turned out to be the home of a Malaysian Chinese architect who designed several of the pre-war mansions along the waterfront and other notable buildings in Penang.  He had studied in Aberdeen, Scotland, so chose to use the thistle symbol, along with the pineapple which is commonly used in Chinese architecture to acknowledge his "western" and "eastern" inspiration.  Visitors were only permitted to photograph the outside of the building, so I can only share that the inside was more beautiful than the outside.  The style and craftsmanship reminded me of Pinewood Estate, the Biltmore in NC and other buildings from the 1920's and 1930's (pre WWII) in the US.  Tiled floors, wide staircases with carved ballisters and posts, glazed tiles on the walls (stretching from chair-rail to ceiling in the Loke Villa), etc.  There was heavy usage of classical (Greek, Roman) motifs, but also working in some "eastern" elements.  What was most amazing was, as with most homes of that era, the design permitted the free flow of air throughout the house and despite the fact that it was 3 PM on a typical Penang day, we were comfortable without air conditioning!  Sorry for rambling on as not everyone enjoys architecture and history as much as I (Rox) do.... but it was a nice outing and now I know where to go join the PHT so I can see more of this stuff!!

Danum Valley - Sabah

As many of you know, we recently visited Borneo during Brenna's term break.  We flew from KL to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo (which is also shared with Indonesia and Brunei).  Sabah & Sarawak states are referred to as "East Malaysia" since they are east of the main peninsula of Malaysia.  Kota Kinabalu (a/k/a KK) is a great small city located on the extreme eastern tip of the Bornean island.  Like most cities in Borneo, it has excellent diving/ snorkelling sites offshore as well as a variety of tropical forest habitats from mangroves to the huge dipterocarp forests (the family of tree the redwoods are part of).  Although an interesting city by it's own right, KK's main attraction is Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in SE Asia at just over 12,000 ft.  Most days you cannot even see the peak as it is shrouded in clouds after about 9:00 AM.  We were very tempted by the climb, but with Rox's bum hip and the fact that it requires an overnight stay at a small resthouse, we decided it was too much for this trip.  So instead, we spent one day exploring the town, visiting the Sunday Market and a few shops along the waterfront before returning to our hotel for a nice relaxing swim in the oceanside pool. 

The next morning, we flew to Lahad Datu, a very small town that serves as the "gateway" to the Danum Valley and Tabin Wildlife Reserve.  Upon arrival at the tiny airport (smaller than Bar Harbor airport!), we were met by the drivers from the Borneo Rainforest Lodge and taken to the local office to confirm our reservation and sign waivers for the outdoor activities we'd signed up for.  Then it was into the truck for a 2.5 hour drive deep into the forest.  The first 1/4 of the trip was on paved road, but this quickly gave way to a narrow gravel track at the edge of town and we were in for another 2 hours of bumping, twisting and turning to reach the lodge-the only commercial property anywhere in the Danum Valley conservation area.  We finally arrived and were thrilled to see the beautiful main building set in the midst of a pristine dipterocarp forest.   Our cabin was comfortable, clean and situated right next to the Danum River.  Despite having no air conditioning, it was quite comfortable with the ceiling fan, screened windows and sliding doors opening onto a good sized porch facing the river.  We spent most of our afternoons on this porch, some days filling the outdoor tub with cool water and treating it as our own miniature pool while the afternoon rains came down.  These rains made the overnight temps much cooler and it was terrific to hear nothing but cicadas and other night noises to fall asleep to.  Our stay was just fantastic, with lots of jungle trekking, a night drive and a night walk.  The treks were always with a guide (or two) and two walks really stand out....the first was a morning "canopy walk" on rope/ chain link/ wooden bridges suspended up in the treetops about 60-70 ft off the ground.  What a beautiful way to view the forest and see the magnificent trees up close.

Brenna will tell you she was terrified, but she did great and we think it was just her tendency to dramatize everything.  The next real standout walk was a hike up to the "coffin cliff" and overlook point about 1000 ft up one of the mountains.  The coffin cliffs were just that, a series of niches and holes in the side of the mountain that were used by the local tribes as a sort of mausoleum for one of their greatest leaders.  They placed the wooden coffin in a small cave to give him a view of the rainforest in the afterworld.  Further up at the overlook point, the trees opened up and all we could see was untouched rainforest for miles.  It was just beautiful...

We could see the lodge far below...

This hike took quite a bit out of Rox as there were a lot of ups and downs and her hips were screaming by the end of it.  After this climb, we stayed closer to the ground and much shorter distances, yet they were no less rewarding as we got to see a variety of wildlife from beautiful birds (including a pair of rhinoceros hornbills flying over our cabin each morning), amazing insects like giant millipedes and whip scorpions, frogs, deer, civet cats, black sqirrels, butterflies, gliding lizards, giant flying squirrels and even the resident orang-utan (it's two words in Malay, from the words meaning "forest person").  "Abu" as he was named by the guides, was a mature male orang-utan with big cheek pads.  We observed him on two walks and it was fascinating to watch one of these rare primates in it's native habitat.  For this photo, he was about 80 ft up in one of the trees.

There were also "icky" things like tarantulas and leeches (leech socks were a must and we still managed to get a couple on our hands.  One even fell into Chris' hair on one walk), but it was still fascinating.  We cannot say enough about this experience.  It was hot and humid, but so worth it, we would go back in a hearbeat.  We highly recommend this for anyone who ever gets the chance and are grateful for the experience!

If you're interested in seeing more photos (and have not already received Rox's shutterfly album), just let us know and we're happy to share.  Bye for now...

Birthday Fun and Art Attack!

So aside from this week's earthquake event, it was a big week for the Neilson family because our one and only princess turned 9 YEARS OLD on Friday (the 13th)!!  Brenna was on school holiday still and did not want a big party this year.  Instead, she was thrilled to have her friend Lara come over for the day.  Lara and Brenna played all day and looked forward to Rox coming home to bake a cake and take Brenna to ger her ears pierced.  Unfortunately, the day went by too fast and by the time Rox arrived home and threw the cake in the oven, it was time to meet Lara's family for dinner.  We had a good 'ole American dinner at TGI Friday's - it was fun to hang out with some friends.

So Saturday rolled around and, after some morning commitments (more below), Rox and Brenna went over to the mall to do the infamous ear piercing.  It went off okay, though Brenna was a little more anxious this time after having done this once before.  In the end, she was thrilled.  Next it was over to 'Nails by Hansen' to get our nails painted, but they were too busy to fit us in.  We scheduled appointments for Sunday instead.  After that, we returned home to ice the cake and decorate it "Moshi style" at Brenna's request.  So Brenna's birthday was a little drawn out, but in the end she got everything she wanted (and more)!  Thanks to everyone for the gifts you sent.  We are still watching the mail for a few more packages we have been told are coming, so will let each of you know when they arrive!

Sunday afternoon we returned to the mall to get our nails done - a little "mommy/ daughter" pampering:-)  Brenna chose cute little bunnies...adorable and so inexpensive (RM67 or ~$22 US)

Earlier in the week, Brenna attended a batik painting workshop arranged by our friend Michelle.  Brenna had a great time at the studio and not only made a great piece, she also found a great place to hang out and buy exquisite original designs by the owner and other artists.  Can't wait to go check it out ourselves!  Here is Brenna's depiction of "Iggy" from Moshi Monsters (he's the character you see on the website who tries to swallow your mouse cursor).

Rox also got in on the art fun on Saturday morning by attending a class on paper quilling (or curling).  Our instructor had some really nice pieces to show and patiently guided a group of about 6 through the process of creating a beautiful butterfly.  The group was made up of 2 Americans (1 of whom has lived in Japan for over 20 years and just retired in Malaysia 1 year ago), a Malaysian lady who has lived abroad for many years, a Japanese couple with their 9 year old son (who also attends St. Christopher's School) and Michelle's 10-year old daughter Lois.  It was a fun group and lots of banter and chatter, especially when Becky (the American retiree) started speaking Japanese to the Japanese couple.  So amazing to hear it flowing freely, with no hesitation so unexpectedly!  Most of the group were able to complete not only the first piece, but also come up with their own designs.  It took me nearly 2 hours to do the first one (long nails are a hindrance!).  It was a lot of fun and I will definitely do this again.  Here's my work:

Not bad for a rookie and definitely something I will do again!

So that's it for now...will post about our trip to Borneo later this week so we can catch up!

 

Earthquake!

Its a quiet Wednesday. rox worked from home as it was a public holiday, Brenna is on school holiday, and Im just home. Since it was a day off of running for me I decided to do a little core workout here at home, Brenna and Roxanne decided to lay down and read. Suddenly I feel dizzy, so I figure "i must be dehydrated." then I notice that the tv is shifting and things are falling off the desk. I stumble out of the office and notice that Brenna and Roxanne are standing in the doorway of our bedroom. This is not dehydration, its an Earthquake. Having never experianced an earthquake, we were all a bit scared and dissorientated. Brenna was in a panic. So for the next minute we felt three big shakes. Once it stopped we decided to get out, along with a majority of the other residents of the apartment. On the way down the stairs it was all I could do to keep Brenna from a full on panic. we met an older Chinese man that reassured her that we would be fine and that seemed to help. He confided in me however that this was the worst he had experianced in all the time he has lived in penang (he was a lifelong resident). Once downstairs Brenna calmed down, Roxanne had to go back to the apartment to get Brennas hamster, so i think once she caught up to us, Brenna was alot calmer. After about 1/2 hour we decided to go back inside. All of this took place between 5:00pm and 5:45pm. The first aftershock was felt at around 6pm. lasting about 30 seconds and consisting of only one big shake. In the meantime, we had been watching CNN, and discovered that an 8.6 quake had taken place off the shoreline of Indonesia, so the next threat was Tsunami waves. In 2004 a quake had taken place in a similar spot off of Indonesia, and wiped out the city of Ache, Indonesia. This same wave system hit Penang causing some significant damage to the nortn western part of the island and moderate damage where we are. So we were a bit concerned and although we knew an alert had been issued for Penang, everything the "experts" were saying on CNN led us to believe that nothing was going to happen. so we decided to wait it out, being 15 stories up we were pretty confident we were safe. There were no further aftershocks, and by 9:30pm the alerts had been lifted. So chalk up another first time experiance here in Penang.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2012/04/11/cabrera-8-7-magnitude-earthquake.cnn

If you look next to his left shoulder you see "Pulau Pinang"...thats us.