Street Art of Georgetown - Chic and cheek!

The caricature steel-rod sculptures of Tang Mun Kian and Baba Chuah can be found in many strategic street corners around Georgetown.  Interactive murals by Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic, add to the fun of exploring old Georgetown .

Tongue-in-cheek, these interesting street art pieces add to the pull of the streets with its refreshing and funny take of new and old life.

Luxury shoe designer, Datuk Jimmy Choo, started his apprenticeship here. Muntri Street

I need a lift up. Muntri St.

Where's my husband?!?  Try Love Lane. Cheating husband climbing out of window during wife's raid of 'love home'. In the old days, many of the rich Chinese businessman on Muntri Lane were reputed to have kept their mistresses in Love Lane.

Wanna ride? Penang Rd.

Muntri St.

 'Yat Keok Tet ' - Cantonese phrase which means 'One Leg Kicks All'. Cantonese black and white-garbed amahs who clean, cook and look after the family in old days.

the narrowest 5-foot way in town.

Lorong Stewart

Ficus Dreams - Which is real and which is glass?

Can you spot the child? What is he doing?

Cannon St.

fitting room

How chic to be able to pull this off!

"Come on, boy, ride the bike. It's real!" Armenian St.

Chew Jetty

concrete football - ingenious touch of street art to concrete pavement fixture

The Blue Mansion - As blue as blue can be

 

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion aka Blue Mansion

impressive gateway into mansion

Blue Mansion on Lebuh Leith

 

view from Cititel hotel, a 10-minute walk away

view from carpark of Red Garden

Cheong Fatt Tze was a Chinese Hakka merchant who had a vast trading business in Southeast-Asia. He was known as the "Rockefeller of the East." He had many homes in the region. One of them was the mansion on Lebuh Leith. Penang.

A beautifully restored and conserved building, the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion was built in the late 19th century.  The facade of the mansion has a distinctive blue colour. Hence, the name Blue Mansion. The blue colour comes from the dye of the indigo plant.

The mansion was constructed with advice of feng shui masters. The front of the mansion faces the water (i.e. sea) and the back was built on higher ground. On 1 side of the central courtyard, there are 2 steps and on the opposite side, the 3 steps indicate that the posterior part of the mansion is higher. The central point in the courtyard cuts the building symmetrically. Rainwater collects in the roof gutters and pipes channel the water down to the floors to meander underneath before flowing outdoors. Favourable feng shui conditions indeed for the owner.

 The architecture of the mansion is stunning. Some interesting features are the glazed tiled roof and decorative wall features adorned with cut ceramic, the ingeniously crafted louvered shutter windows, the elaborately wrought ironwork from Scotland and the Art-Nouveau stained glass windows specially crafted by artisans from China and painstakingly restored by a local artisan trained in Germany.

The mansion was featured in a French movie, 'Indochine', featuring Catherine Deneuve and the 'Blue Mansion' directed by Singaporean Glen Goei. I remember watching 'Blue Mansion' a couple of years ago. I enjoyed it. Interesting movie.

Blue Mansion is a museum and boutique hotel. Tours are conducted 3 times throughout the day - 11am, 1.30pm and 3 pm. Ticket price - RM12.

Penang island - The charm of old Penang

I've fallen in love again...with Penang

Penang brings back fond memories...of the birth of S, our youngest, of D's new clingy start at St Christopher's, of B's tumultous entry into playschool, of kids' playdates, birthday parties and B's A & W bear party, of the pull of Power Rangers, of friendships forged over carpools and food, of family visits, of V's favourite cheap mee hoon just a hop and a skip away and, of course, of the fantastic spread of food in every nook and cranny of Penang.

We lived in Penang, Malaysia, for three years 18 years ago. Over the years, we made lightning trips back to Penang - for the food. Food has always been the pull of Penang for me.

But this time around, with more time to explore Penang, I've fallen in love with Penang again. The old-world charm of historic Penang was like a Siren's mesmerizing call that could not be ignored. Much has changed since the 1990s. But, for some parts of Penang, time has stood still. Stay that way, Penang.

A mix of new and old

one of the many hole-in-the-wall motorcyle shops that caters to the thousands of motorbikes on the island

Trishaw in strong wind

a good place to dry clothes

another good place to dry clothes

Getting there
- Penang is 1 hour 5 minutes(380 nautical miles) by flight away from Singapore
- Arriving at  Penang International Airport, it takes about 30-45 minutes (depending on traffic) to reach Georgetown, capital of Penang, 16 km away.

Batam island - Quick getaway from Singapore

School holiday...need a quick getaway from Singapore with my teenage daughter for some retail therapy. Batam, Indonesia! Perhaps a massage thrown in too, if time permits. 

Decided to stay 1 night. Possible to do a day trip. Leave early in the morning and back by nightfall.

Day 1

Ferries depart Singapore nearly every hour. Earliest 0755. Latest 2130.

Woke up late. No rush. When ready, left for Harbourfront Centre by MRT. Next departure 10.30am. As we were staying the night at I Hotel, nearest Batam harbour would be Harbour Bay. Took the Wavemaster boat to Batam. Quite fast - 45 minutes. Fare S$96 return for 2. Bring cash. They don't accept credit cards.

Departing Singapore. Universal Studios on Sentosa island in the background.

Passed Reflections at Keppel Bay

Arriving Batam

arriving

Immigration in Batam

Took a taxi from port terminal to I Hotel, Nagoya Hill. 5 minutes journey. 45,000* rupiah quoted by taxi driver. Felt like a millionaire in Indonesia.                  * that's about S$6

I Hotel

After settling in hotel, walked to Nagoya Hill Mall. From exit at back of hotel, there's a path that leads to shops and mall. Very convenient! My friend, J, recommended this hotel and I was not disappointed. Room was decent and clean. Felt quite safe walking along path to hotel. Coming back at night, the path's lit up and there's a guard sitting at the end of the path. Hotel is great if looking for accommodation near shops and large mall.

Pathway from hotel to shops

pathway from hotel to Nagoya Hill Mall

Walked around Nagoya Hill Mall. Prices seemed expensive-Indonesian standard. (Slightly more upmarket than 2nd mall we went to). Shops accept singapore dollar. 1 popular shop quoted prices in sing dollar.

strawberry milkshake

Had lunch at Kangen cafe. S can't get over the fact that her milkshake was about S$2 and her Pattaya fried rice was even cheaper - S$0.50. She was 'cheaping' like a bird.

Nasi goreng Pattaya

We zeroed in on 2 shops that had the type of clothes that S likes. KIV first. Decided to go to Batam City Square (BCS) Mall to shop. 10 minute ride away with taxi. Fare 40,000 rupiah. Easy to get taxi at entrance of Nagoya Hill Mall.

BCS is an older looking mall. However, clothes were cheaper at BCS and S tried many pieces that she liked. Bargained on price. S$10-S15 each. Walked away happy with all the find. Spent the afternoon shopping there.

retail therapy (:

In the evening, took the taxi back to Nagoya Hill Mall. I found a blouse there that I liked. At 50% off, it was a good buy.

Asked shop keeper if Kepri Mall was far away. Read about this new shopping mall. She said it was a 30 minute drive away. Shops selling a lot of Indonesian stuff.

 
Day 2

Had breakfast at hotel. Standard buffet fare. Lazy morning in hotel. Around noon, went to Nagoya Hill to get kuih lapis and looked around some shops. T-shirts and undergarments were cheap.

Bought Kuih lapis at Layers at Nagoya. Many outlets around Batam.

1 kg - 150,000 rupiah (butter) , 120,000 rupiah (margarine)

Metered taxi from hotel to port - 25,000 rupiah. (Cheaper with meter!)

Check-in was at Harbour Bay mall. Walked through mall and restaurants to departure. Kuih lapis shops in mall. Next time, can buy there just before leaving.

kuih lapis, Indonesian layered cake

 Departure 2pm. Earliest departure from Batam to Singapore 0645. Latest 2130.

Note
* S$1 = 7,420 rupiah (Sept 2012)
* Batam is 1 hour behind Singapore time
* 45 minutes by ferry boat to Batam from Harbour Front, Singapore.
* For cheaper alternative to go to Batam, a number of travel agents and online voucher progs offer special deals which have semi-fixed or fixed itineraries. Participants are brought to factory outlets, specific shopping places, temples, etc. A buffet lunch/dinner may be thrown in.