A Rendezvous with Colonial History at Kellie's Castle

Yesterday we went to a wedding kenduri (feast) in Batu Gajah, Perak. Just before reaching the venue, we spotted what looked like a 'tourist stop' along the way. Serendipity! It turned out to be Kellie's Castle, a must-see spot of history in the state of Perak.

A building of Moorish architecture, this castle, also deemed 'Kellie's folly' was abandoned when its owner died.

(In progress - will be more substantial about the research and writing later. Soon I hope!)

SA Garden Catalogue: Draceana Marginata

The Draceana marginata is a slender treelet that can grow up to 4 metres long. The leaves are restricted to apical tufts. The leaves are stiff and colourful, hence its common name as Rainbow plant. Actually it is a tricolour cultivar.

Scientific name: Draceana marginata
Common name: Dragon tree, Rainbow plant
Family:
Origin: Madagascar

The Draceana grows well in full or partial sun. In fact it makes a good houseplant because it is very low maintenance. Propagation is by cuttings. Pruning (for cuttings) will produce new tufts of leaves. In my tiny urban garden, I only have a couple of treelets that I have allowed to grow tall. A couple more I prune to keep them short.

The weather in this month of May has been rather wet but temperatures remain high.

Another "Golden Girls" Get Together

Recently eighteen 'girls' of the 64-70 batch of TKC enjoyed a scrumptious lunch hosted by the one and only (astrophysicist extraordinaire) Mazlan Othman. Venue: Royal Lake Club.

13th May 2015

A Happy Mother's Day

Thank you B for a wonderful Mother's Day treat. Sorry you had to work A, but thank you for the gift.

To Market, to Market at Pulau Tikus

The Pulau Tikus Market

(Very much in progress! More pictures and description later. After 'technical problems' sorted out. Please bear with me...)

Tunneling through Time at the History Museum

The History Museum is a recently (2013) opened Museum in George Town, Pulau Pinang. For me this year is a year marked for museums, so I am trying to visit as many as possible. So when in Pulau Pinang recently, this venue fits the bill!

The 'story' in this museum begins with early history before 1786 when Pulau Pinang was a territory owned by the Kedah Sultanate, and continues through till the present day.

There are many life size models of people that figure in the history and development of this state, making it all the more interesting to 'pose' alongside them.

It is interesting also to be able to see old artifacts in the many exhibits, also old photos of people and places long gone mostly.

Some exhibits bring back old memories of my childhood in the 50s. Like 'main tikam'.  An early form of 'gambling', heheh!

The exhibits on the history of transport on the island of Pulau Pinang shows that vehicular traffic has been interesting. We did use to have trams or trolley buses on the streets back then. The Penang Hill funicular railway has also undergone many changes, but remains attractive for tourists. I remember the beca to be known as 'kings of the road' back then. But not anymore. Though hopefully they will remain as tourist attraction.

Other than history, there are three other sections; one on 3D mural art, a 'fluorescent room' and a 3D inverted room. They all make for very interesting photo opportunities.

I will end this post with a quotation from Hegel, the gist of it being that we never learn anything from history. Ces't la vie.

1 May 2015

Nasi Kandar Kampung Melayu

Just where in Pulau Pinang do you find the best nasi kandar? Hands down for me, it is the Nasi Kandar Kampung Melayu!

The Line was Clear at Nasi Kandar Line Clear

There are quite a few food blogs that have written about the nasi kandar here at Line Clear, so I will just say that when we went to have lunch there recently during our island getaway, the crowds were not yet there. So we got our table and our food in very good time. I must say that the place has been spruced up after some of the bad press it got.

Thank you See Toh for the treat! We all enjoyed our meal there, yum yum!

Our Island Getaway

The recent long four-day weekend (i.e. the weekend plus two public holidays) was our chance for an island getaway. To balik kampung actually, to Pulau Pinang (PP). We did not drive but flew with Malindo Air there (and Firefly back). It was my first Malindo flight and it was good, smooth all the way. Just the way I like any flights I take.

We had no car to go around, but we had very kind friends of B (Santhi and See Toh) to drive us places. Santhi (and niece) fetched us from the airport (seriously I have always thought that PIA stood for Pakistan International Airways, duuh! But then I recall PIA advertisements during my childhood years when Penang International Airport did not exist yet!).

We had our nasi kandar fix at two popular eateries - the Line Clear and Kampung Melayu. Also tandoori at Kapitan's and banana leaf rice at Passions of Spices. We walked along the Esplanade, checked out the History Museum and went on the inner city street art trail. I went on the trail twice this time, the second time with my niece SR, introducing her to the delicious cakes of China House.

I felt almost like a tourist during this visit because I visited the Rat Island/Pulau Tikus Market for the first time (despite having lived in PP for more than thirty years). With Santhi and niece, we bought some delightful nyonya cakes for breakfast there. But then again, I also felt most at home because I got to spend some time with my two older siblings for that long weekend.

P.S. I have lots of pictures of our PP getaway but then something is not right with the computer and I cannot upload anymore for now. Sheesh!