116. Chinatown

After leaving the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum. I made my way further into Chinatown with the intention of seeing several "sites". I do find Chinatown(s) fascinating, no matter where they are. Home here in Melbourne, we have a wonderful Chinatown right in the middle of the city in the Little Bourke Street area from Swanston Street all the way up to Spring Street. It's the oldest Chinatown in Australia (1851).

As I wandered around I was immersed in the sights and sounds and gaiety and hubub. I was so enjoying myself, that I did have to retrace my steps not a few times and the many tombs etc I had intended to see and photograph went unseen. I did however, manage to see a few.

Masjid Kampung Kling
This is one of the oldest mosques in the country with Sumatran architectural features. It has a three-tiered pyramid-shape rood and a pagoda like minaret, portraying a mixture of East-West architectural influences. It is the site of the Mandi safar or bathing festival celebrated by Indian moslems during the moslem month of safar. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, safar changes throughout the seasons. (From tourist brochure)

The mosque is in Goldsmith Road (Malay, Jalan Tukang Emas) and is also known as "Harmony Street" because it's near the Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple and Cheng Hoon Teng Temple. With so many religious buildings it's no wonder the street is nicknamed "Harmony" Street.

 

Above: Masjid Kampung Kling mosque
I quite liked the roof architecture, the pyramidal type roof has white sculptured joinery and blue and white lacework around the rooflines is decorative and pleasing to the eye. As far as photos go, this was the best I could do - trying to capture the roofline in one section. I'd have liked to be able to get a shot of the roof plus the pagoda (minaret) but it wasn't possible. Now if we could just get all the people milling about with their cameras and other paraphernalia out of the way I might have stood a better chance. But alas, as often happens, it was not to be.

 

Above: Entrance detail
The entrance arch which is quite unique, was built at the same time as the main building.

 

Above: Kampung Kling Mosque
It is a minaret but resembles a pagoda. This too, has a matching green roof which I couldn't get in the shot. There are a couple of loud speakers up high in the top windows. Minarets are used for the call to prayer and provide a visual focal point. I liked the smooth straight lines of this - quite plain with unfussy detail it is the simplicity which draws the eye. At least in my opinion. There is a place for fancy artwork and carving and there is a place for understated simplicity.



Cheng Hoon Teng Temple
This beautiful old temple is at 25 Temple street (Jalan Tokong) and is one of the oldest Chinese temples in Malaysia, being built in 1645 and was was founded by the Kapitan China Tay Kie Ki aka Tay Hong Yong. It is also the most venerable of Malaysia's temples. Known too as "Temple of Clear Clouds", the main shrine hall has no nails whatsoever - nails are unlucky in Chinese culture - which makes the stateliness and dignity of Cheng Hoon Teng's structure even more impressive.

 

Above: Cheng Hoon Teng Temple Gates
Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy, Quan Yin and was constructed by skilled workers from China - master craftsmen, artisans and carpenters and with its curved roof ridge, chien nien decoration, and gable design, reflects the architectural style and craftmanship of Southern China, mainly from the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong.
The roof of the temple, in Chinese tradition, has beautiful carvings. All the building materials were imported from China.

 

Above: Chien Nien ~ decorative sculptures

 

Above: Chien Nien
The term Chien Nien literally means "cut and glue," and is a centuries old art which is one of the most outstanding visual characteristics of Chinese temples. It is the art of turning ceramic bowls and pieces of glass into artistic figures that come alive with colour and symbolism and your eye is drawn to the decoratvie visual. Traditionally, Chien Nien turned waste into art, because the artisans used broken ceramic and porcelain bowls to construct the figures.


Did you know?
The building of Cheng Hoon Teng Temple conforms strictly to the feng shui principles, incorporating the fundamental belief that every aspect of life is closely related to attaining perfect harmony with nature. The temple was carefully laid out to ensure a view of the river and high ground on either side.

 

Above: Round window
This is the elaborate design on the left side of the temple gate.

 

Above: Cheng Hoon Teng Temple doors
Chinese characters on the doors

 

Above: At prayer
Inside the Cheng Hoon Teng temple. The central altar is dedicated to Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy. To her left (in the worshippers' direction) is Ma Choe Poh, guardian of fishermen, sailors and sea travellers. Next to her is the goddess of birth. On the far end is Kuan Kong. The diety with the gold face is Pau Sen Ta Tek, the god of welding.

Welding? There's a god of welding? I mean most of us know there's a god of fishermen, and a god of war, or a god of thunder - but welding? Well, chalk that up in your memory under "Bits of Useless Trivia" - Just think, next time you're at a party, or a gathering and some smartarse know-it-all brags about his knowledge, you can bring out this little gem - bet there wouldn't be too many who know that there's a god of welding, much less the name of that god!!
There was a women's sanitary product some years ago which had bits of useless trivia on the wrapping. One that sticks in my mind is "Sausages were legal tender in East Germany until 1990" - see what I mean by Bits of Useless Trivia?☻


Hang Kasturi's Mausoleum
Hang Kasturi was one of the five famous Malay warriors during the time of the Malacca Sultanate, particularly during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah (1456-1477), the other four being Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Lekiu and Hang Lekir. As young men, they studied the martial art of silat under the same silat master.

 

Above: The mausoleum is surrounded by high, white walls.
Do yon know, one thing I've never really understood is why are there always high walls around a cemetery or mausoleum? I mean it's not like those on the outside want to be in there and those on the inside aren't going to get out. Hmmm ...


What is Silat?
Silat is the word for indigenous martial arts that originates from Malaysia. Silat is one of the sports included in the South East Asia Games. The best way to describe this (Silat) in my own words would be it is a collection of different styles of fighting combined together.

 

Above: Hang Kasturi's tomb
Hang Kasturi's tomb has strong Hindu influences in its structures, typically there are the triangular holes for putting oil lamps. (So says the brochure). Me? I thought the uprights had a Moorish look to them and the triangular cutouts were for decoration.

Who was Hang Kasturi?
There's obviously been very little written about him because if there was, I would have found it by now. I've searched that many websites (even translated from Malay to English) to no avail. The bare minimum is all that comes up and by the bare minimum I do mean the bare minimum - it's not enough to fill a postage stamp.

Now, I've read through the stories and rather than do the stilted version, I'll just write it in my own words .....

ONCE UPON A TIME there lived a fellow called Hang Kasturi who hung out with his four best mates - Hang Jebat, Hang Lekir, Hang Lekiu and Hang Tuah. Kasturi and his mates had learned the Malaysian martial arts since they were knee high to a grasshopper and by the time they reached adulthood were the very best warriors around.

Word of their great fighting skill reached the Sultan's ears and he picked them to be his personal guards. Sultan Mansur Shah was pretty pleased with them for they fought his wars, helped him conquer enemies and gained him greater power.

But (there's always a but) it seems that some people at the Royal Court suffered with the green eyed monster and got pretty pissed off and plotted and planned ways to get rid of them. Word got around that one of them (Hang Tuah) was having it off with one of the Sultan's fancy women. Now - a Sultan may be thankful indeed to these blokes for all they had done for him but come near any of his women and you're up you know what creek without a paddle. So what is a Sultan to do? "Off with his head" - Sultan ordered the bloke killed, in other words, shoot first, ask questions later.

The chap charged with getting rid of Hang Tuah thought it was a crock and hid him in the jungle.

Now, when Kasturi heard about his friend, he was so angry he rose against the Sultan who later found out that Hang Tuah was innocent, wasn't dead, gave him a pardon and ordered him to kill Kasturi. Turns out both of these blokes were good and honest and hadn't been dallying around - it was Hang Jebat who had been having it off with one of the Sultan's women. But ... with the annals of time it really doesn't seem all that important today. I like to think that Jebat fell in love and the lady returned his love and they were a pair of star-crossed lovers. In another place, another time, things may have been different.

I don't really think much of this Sultan, this Mansur Shah to be honest. He couldn't be bothered to investigate whether the claim against Hang Tuah was true or not, he acted in haste and made a bad judgement. One wonders whether it was his heart that was hurt or just his pride. Understandably, a man wouldn't much like the idea of being a cuckold but he should still have asked questions. Because of his pride people were killed. They were pretty ruthless and blood-thirsty in them days weren't they?

 

Above: Tomb of Hang Kasturi information board



Sri Poyyatha Vinayaga Moorthy temple
Moving on from Hang Kasturi's resting place, we come to this colourful little beauty - the Sri Poyyatha Vinayaga Moorthy temple. Bit of a mouthful that. Built in 1781 by the HIndu community, the Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple (sometimes referred to as simply Sri Poyyatha Temple) is said to be the oldest Hindu Temple in Malaysia. The temple is dedicated to the deity Vinayagar, aka Ganesha, the elephant deity.

Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple is the main focal point for the Hindu community in Malacca as it links all the other Hindu temples in Malacca.

 

Above: The gopuram of the temple
I couldn't get a decent photo of this place - the lower section was all locked and had bars in front of it. It looked rather old and forlorn and not very happy. So I've cropped the picture and just showing the gopuram and a section of roofline.

 

Above: Sri Poyyatha Vinayaga Moorthy temple
This is what the inside looks like, I pushed the camera lens through the bars to take this photo. From what I've been able to find out, it's mostly used for celebrations now.

 

Above: Chinese temple
A Chinese temple I found. No idea which street it's in or what it's called.

 

Above: Shopping

 

Above: Orang Belanda Art Café
The Orang Belanda Art Café (or Dutchman's Art Café) is in Heeren Street near where I was staying. They do French, Dutch and Scandinavian cuisine.

An Orang Belanda also refers to the Proboscis monkey


Next: A Chinese funeral.

108. Jonker Street

New Found Friends

When I was at St. Paul's I met an English lady called Joanne and she said she was travelling with two people whom she'd met. We arranged to meet in half an hour and she brought her friends, Isa who was 22 from Hong Kong and Andanna who was Spanish and 30. We all went to the night market in Jonker Street and that first night in Malacca was a night of magic, fun and friendship.

I remember we went to this bar in a street off Jonker Street (can't remember the name and my camera doesn't take good photos at night. Unless I can rest it on something like a table or carry a tripod - one of those ones that are 4 foot tall and weigh a ton - most of my night photos come out terribly blurry and very dark. Editing doesn't help - all it does is lighten it and have coloured dots/spots everywhere.)



The residential heart of Old Malacca

Is Jonker Street - once famous for its antique shops, now is filled with clothing shops, craft shops, eating places, antiques and quirky little spots. But its real charm is at night - the Jonker Street nightmarket is famous and anyone who visits Malacca, simply must come here. For at night, the street comes alive with the sound of music and a hubbub of contained excitement.

Stalls line the street - the street vendors selling their homemade goodies, Portuguese tarts - a little like the English egg custard tarts, only better. Joanne bought 6 of them and they were oh so scrumdiddlyumptious. I fell in love with them and just writing about them brings back the aroma and taste - I can almost taste them on my tongue. Mmm mmm.

 

Above: Jonker Walk
Jonker Street, or Jonker Walk - photo taken during daylight hours. Today, Jonker Street has been renamed Jalan Hang Jebat, but people still refer to it as Jonker Street. I should imagine there'd be an outcry if the government took down this (and other) famous signs.

 

Above: Local street between Jonker & Heeren Streets
You can see an old Chinese building at the end of the street (Jonker is after all in Chinatown), there's Nancy's Kitchen (I wonder who Nancy was?), Sorvana Spa (just the place for a relaxing massage), the Karabau Rock Bar, stall holders setting up their wares and there's even a satellite dish perched precariously to the red brick wall!

 

Above: D'Arts Cafe
Ah - D'Arts Cafe while I didn't go in here, I thought their sign was excellent - Save water! Drink Beer.
Eminently suitable advice if there's a drought!

 

Above: Jonker Street night market

Here is where the fun begins - Joanne, Isa, Andanna and I worked our way through the crowds, stopping here to look at this, and there to look at that. And ay look - over there, those cute little thingies; so many things to see, so much to experience. We finished off the Portuguese tarts and decided to go for a drink. Remember that bar I spoke of? Yes, well we turned up a street on the left hand side and found this rather cute place. I remember I had sour plum and lime juice (3.50MYR) and coffee (disgusting) 4.00MYR. There was ice in the drink Andanna ordered the same sans ice (we swapped). Asked for an ashtray - it came with ice in it. We all laughed our heads off. We just couldn't get over an ashtray "with ice"!!!

OH we did have fun - we sat and talked about our adventures, where we'd been, where we were going next. Alas my friends were leaving the next day. Andanna told me here was flying to Australia (Perth the capital city of WA) and he had no money, no WHV (working holiday visa) because he couldn't get one, but intended to work "cash in hand."


The moon is made of green cheese

 

Above: Smile!
See that little round green ball in the sky? Well - that's the moon. The saying "The moon is made of green cheese" comes to mind. (The Proverbs of John Heywood 1546)


Jonker Street and the Red Lanterns

 

Above: Red Lanterns
During the day, Jonker Street is open to cars and vehicles. But come Friday night as the sun goes down and weekends - the place is transformed. The street is closed to traffic, red lanters light up the road and people throng the place looking at the many stalls and objects for sale. Saturday night especially is most busy - sometimes you can hardly move for the number of people milling around looking, stopping at one of the trinket stalls or the place selling whizz bang toys. The place is crowded with people - locals and tourists alike. Young lovers hold hands walking slowly as they gaze into each other's eyes, old uncles amble along on a night out, quietly puffing away, parents try to keep their energetic children in tow to cries of, "Please mum, can I have this?" and everywhere is a happy place.

And the food! The glorious food stalls! The famous rice balls are truly delicious, so many foods, so many tantalising aromas as they waft through the air filling your nostrils with the delicious smells of home cooking. Your mouth is salivating, your tongue moves, you lick your lips and only a plate of those noodles or bag of tarts will do the trick. You stop, you buy, and then you eat. It is a most heady feeling and rewarding experience - a veritable feast, a gastronomic delight. I was in Melaka for three nights and every night I went to Jonker Street.

 On the Saturday I found this place - a rather small, ordinary looking shop of undistinguished appearance and went in and asked for Hainanese Chicken Rice. Behind the cooking was this little old Grandmother with iron grey hair, her skinny arms stirring a large pot with a big ladle, the daughter or granddaughter doing something with green vegetables and furious activity going on. I went and sat down. The tables were round with Chinese stools. I lit a cigarette and looked around and noticed everyone there was looking at me. Is there something wrong? Do I have dirt on my nose? Why are they all staring at me? Then it dawned on me - I was the only "European" there, the place was filled with locals. I felt a bit self-conscious and it was sort of like ehm. Remember, this was my first time in Asia - I was a complete novice! Since then I've been back to SEA more than once and were I back there in that shop, there would be no feeling of self-consciousness, I'd look at them and smile and say hello and have a chat.

 

Above: Puppy photo
Anyway, back to the Friday night with my mates - we spotted these puppies. Aren't they cute? They look like little balls of fluff. None of us had our photo taken with them, instead we took photos of them. Not because we were too stingy to spend 2 ringgit but because what the heck can you do with a fluff ball so small?

 

Above: Help! Clowning around

I came back just after midnight. The others walked me "home". Got there at 12.15AM. Had a great time and a wonderful night. Joanne flies to Oz on Sunday, Andanna goes to Perth for work, but has no WHV. Isa told me of her travels and parent problems.

Here are my friends. Andy is falling into the river being "saved" by the two girls.

 

Above: Friends
The last photo of me with my friends (Joanne took the photo)

 

Above: Melaka River at night
After my friends left and went back to their hostel, I strolled along here just looking at the river flowing quietly, thinking on all that had happened that day. I arrived in Malacca, met three wonderful people who took me under their wing and extended the hand of friendship, ate and drank with them and had the most fantastic night. The memory of that night will stay with me even when I'm old and grey.

And the river? Well, the river will go on forever long after we have gone.

91. Streets of Penang

Styles and Architecture
I am including a few streets of Penang which shows different architectural styles and eras. The first is redolant of the British Colonial era while the others have their own style and atmosphere.

Above: Colonial shop buildings

Above: Market Street (Lebuh Pasar)

Above: Ladies and Umbrellas

Above: Street vendor in Queen Street

Above: Corner Penang Street and Sultan Ahmad Shah Street

Above: Under a Penang Sky
Part of the Penang Scultpure Trail, under the auspices of the Penang Museum & Art Gallery & Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang spearheaded by Friends of Penang Group.
"Under a Penang Sky" was created by Kikuchi Mitsuo in 2009. His sponsor was Dr. Tan Chong Guan.

77. Night Scene at Batu Ferringhi

Above: Lights and Palms

This looked so pretty as I walked along to the Hard Rock Hotel, I just had to take a photo. These trishaws waiting outside the Park Royal are lit with lighting and cast a lovely coloured glow at night.

70. From Green To Dingy

Finding the bus to take me into Georgetown wasn't that difficult and soon I was on my way. A lovely family near me said it was school holidays and they were going to Penang for a few days. They had two children and were from Johor which is the southern most state in Peninsula Malaysia.

Above: Scenes from the bus
There was a fair bit of greenery around - lovely trees and plants - and some interesting buildings. I was quite taken with the "Welcome to Penang Pearl of the Orient" sign which is the top left photo while the photo top right has different shades of green - see how manicured the lawn is? Wonderful isn't it.

Lower left is a group of houses or apartments. The colourful building in the lower right photo is the PSDC (Penang Skills Development Centre) which was the first skills industry-led training centre to be set up in Malaysia in 1989. For those interested, there is more information here.

It had started raining and by the time the bus approached the town area it was coming down in earnest. Asking the bus driver where I needed to get off and checking the map I was almost there. I had pre-booked my accommodation - the photos on the internet looked really nice. The area we were going through didn't seem to be all that nice. My driver pointed and said this is where you want. I looked around and my heart sank. Many of the shops were boarded up and all had security bars - there was a feel of deriliction about the place.

Stepping off the bus, one hand on the suitcase handle, the other battling with a folding brolly, I managed to walk to an undercover area outside some tppe of eating place. It didn't look non too clean. I sat on one of the chairs and with the speed of a racing car driver, the shopkeeper was in front of me. Explaining my situation I politely asked if he minded while I waited for the rain to ease. Hmmm..methinks he would rather I moved on if I wasn't buying anything, but he said alright. When you're in a tight spot, it is always a good idea to keep others happy, so I purchased a bottle of water.

Above: Dingy Streets
This was my view from where I sat - not a very salubrious area by any stretch of the imagination.
One thing that struck me straight away - there were no women - all the people were men. Many were sitting outside on makeshift chairs or wooden boxes. I thought this strange - I mean you always see men and women - and children. That was another thing - there weren't any children either. Only men. I began to feel uncomfortable and opening my brolly, started to walk towards the street where my guesthouse was. There were a lot of men sitting around, their chairs/seats blocking the footpath and not one of them moved - I had to go out onto the road to get past. In one section, it wasn't possible to do this the only way was straight ahead. I stopped, the man looked at me, looked away. I asked him could he move his chair so I could get past. He gave me a bit of a dirty look and eventually moved.

Above: An air of seediness
I turned up Love Lane which is where the Old Penang Guesthouse was located - and started counting the numbers. It looked worse and worse. I couldn't find it - I had a mental picture in my head of the photo of the place on the website and this is what I was seeking. There were some backpackers on the left side so I asked them where the place was. One young chap said "Just there" I looked, "Just where?" I asked him. He came over and walked the way I had come, pointed and said, "There." He asked how long I was staying, "Three nights" I replied, to which he said, "There's nothing here. Get out of Penang as soon as you can."

Entering the guesthouse, it was even worse inside than the outside. The man at the desk - he wasn't, well, let's just say he didn't inspire confidence of respectability. His first words were, "You wanna room?" I gave him my name and asked for Paul (the chap who took my booking) only to be told Paul wasn't there. He seemed very surprised when I informed him I had a booking. I realised later that this probably wasn't the type of establishment where people normally make a booking. I had to find some way to get out of staying there, but I also realised it had to be handled delicately - I could ill afford to antagonise this man.

Noticing the stairs I enquired were the rooms downstairs to which he replied all the downstairs rooms were taken - my room was upstairs. Herein lay my salvation. I have bad knees (arthritis) and climbing stairs is difficult. I explained this and very, very politely asked if he could help me find alternative accommodation with downstairs rooms. He wanted me to go next door to his "friend's place" but I was having none of this. I knew I had to play my cards right - I needed him much more than he needed me. I shamelessly played the "poor little woman" and appealed to his male ego. Yes, dreadful I know, but it was the only thing I could think of to do. He went to ask his "friend" - fortunately they only had upstairs rooms.

Showing him the accommodation brochure I had picked up at the airport, I asked if he could please phone a hotel for me. "Hotel very expensive" he said, "cost maybe 100 ringgit" I was past caring about price, asked again, he phoned the hotel and said, "They are booked out." Pointing to the next one on the list, I asked would he phone this one please? He did, but the answer was the same - they were booked out. This also happend with the third hotel. Beginning to feel that perhaps not everything was above board, I said, "Surely they can't all be booked out. There must be some hotels with a vacancy"

So...I had another quick look at the brochure, and chose one (I liked the name and description) and asked if he would be able to phone just one more for me. I could see he didn't want to, so before he could say no, I appealed to his better nature by saying something like I appreciated his help and he had been very kind and how grateful I was for the trouble he was taking (yeah, I began to lay it on a bit thick! - flattery will get you everywhere!) He relented and picked up the phone. I reminded him, "Tell them I need three nights"

Putting the phone down, he said, "They do have a vacancy" I was so relieved and said something like, "Oh, that's good" but he said, "They only have a vacancy for two nights". My heart sank. Damn, I needed three. Doing a quick think I said, "Oh well never mind, I'll just have to take that" and could he ring them and let them know I'll take the two nights. Quick as a flash he said, "But you need three nights". I looked at him and said that yes I did, but I'll just have to leave a day earlier. Again I thanked him for his kindness - he picked up the phone, made the booking.

I really was very grateful - I had no idea how to get to a better area, no idea which were the better areas, no mobile phone and was completely all at sea. I asked if would be able to call me a taxi. He did and judging by the converstaion the taxi driver was a friend of his. How much for the taxi? Ten riggit. I didn't care if that was the right price or an inflated price, I just wanted to get out of there.

Ten minutes later the taxi came and we were off. As we approached the hotel, I noticed the streets became wider, the buildings cleaner and more spacious and - there were women and children around. Stepping out of the taxi, I looked at the hotel and smiled. I knew I was going to like staying here. Below is the Bayview.

Above: Bayview Hotel, Georgetown

Edited to add:
There are probably 3 main areas to stay in Penang - Georgetown (main town area), Gurney Drive (night food markets & mall shopping) and Batu Ferringhi (beach). Each are quite different, and not walkable between locations. Penang Tourism is a good website.

Yes, the airport is on the south side of the island, but it's easy to get into Georgetown from there. Have a look at the local bus website The bus you want is the 401A. Rapid Bus

Old Penang Guesthouse website says "Old Penang Guesthouse is a beautifully restored pre-war building in the historic city of Penang, Malaysia and still retains much of its old world charm." It is not restored in any way and is seedy looking and dirty. There are no "Inner courtyards for relax and enjoy tea break" and it bears no resemblance whatsoever to the website.
I would not recommend that place to anyone.

55. From Temples To Breakfast

In The Middle Of The Morning

After witnessing the glorious sunrise at Angkor Wat and spending some time around the area, I walked back, found my driver and said I was ready for breakfast. He seemed surprised that I wanted to go back to the guesthouse. Maybe others usually just continue on with the temple visiting and eating breakky along the way. Anyway, I hopped back in and as we made our way back to Siem Reap, enjoyed the wonderful sights on the way.


Building Design and Architecture

 

Above: Architectural Styles
a) Top left is the Angkor National Museum which I thought looked striking. The minaret type domes and the pillars at the arched entrance combine to add a certain flair.

b) If it weren't for the fancy gold detail and Siva with Nandi on the front gable, and the Malaysian flag, you could be forgiven for thinking this building on the right was photographed back home in Australia, or indeed any number of countries.

c) The BBQ buffet and Picnic Station is just before the Museum and had I had time, I'd have gone there for a meal.

d) D'mouj is a handcraft and carpet gallery which specialises in hand-made South Asian crafts and objects d'art. The building reminded me of similar ones down on the Mornington Peninsula at Sorrento. (A seaside holiday place in Victoria)

What I found fascinating was such a diverse style of architecture in Siem Reap which is really quite a small place. It all adds to the atmosphere - modern, architectural brilliance alongside humble, timber sheds and market stalls with corrugated iron awnings and colourful umbrellas and canvas verandah shades.


Food, Glorious Food!
I loved the colourful shops and road stalls with their colourful umbrellas and striped awnings - they seem so full of life and have that special something which is sometimes lacking from western countries. It's Joie de vivre come to life.

 

Above: Local Shops and Vegie Stalls

a) The lass in the top left photo is washing some green vegetables, and no, I couldn't quite see what they were,

b) Next door are what appear to be pineapple, Svay prum`saen, a type of tropical mango and Svay Kchei (baby mango) which is used for snacks and pickles and Lahong Kchei (green papaya).

c) Here we have cigarette machines - two of them, and an assortment of dried and packaged goods along with the inevitable bottles of water. Just about all food type shops sell water. The stall keeper has removed her lilac crocs and is resting her feet while she takes a break.

d) An assortment of different goods are on offer from fresh fruit to cooking pots and baskets.


Have Wheels Will Travel
It was such fun seeing all the modes of transport. You may recall I mentioned in an earlier post that bicycles and motor bikes are the main method of travel here in Siem Reap.

a) Below is my (second) tuk tuk driver - Mr. Zolar. On his tuk tuk are written the words "Zolar Power" (solar power) which is across from where I was sitting. Like my other driver, Zolar was also pretty nifty at passing slow coaches along the way. "Slow coach" is slang for someone who is moving at a snail's pace - in other words, going too slow! In this photo we had just arrived back at Two Dragons.

 

Above: Local Transport
b) The photo on the right (top row) is one of my favourite - it shows the marvellous street scenes that are to be found here. A dad taking his daughter to school - no helmet of course, (most passengers don't wear them), in her school uniform and pretty pink and red backpack. A man on his bicycle with an assortment of goods for sale - brooms, bamboo rods, feather dusters and cleaning products, and the inevitible tuk tuk, this one with bright red upholstery. If you look closely, you will see a lady in the far right wearing a hat and scarf around her face, her feet enclosed in gumboots. She is one of the numerous people employed to keep the streets clean.

c) And here we have - The Local Coppers! Yes, it's a Police truck in a brillant shade of red. I thought it was a fire truck at first (all the fire trucks in Australia are red) and was delighted to see this Police vehicle. Police vehicles in Australia are white with blue stripes.

d) Easy Rider - bikes, bikes, bikes. If you take a closer look at this photo - see the blue sign in the rear of the photo on the right? Well, that's where my guesthouse is located - you turn left up that street and it's on the right hand side just a few doors down. I came to recognise the blue sign you see, so if I had had the time to stroll around town, I wouldn't (hopefully) have become lost. Just look for the blue sign. It's an ATM sign btw and just up from here is a local supermarket. (I didn't know about the supermarket at the time because, as I said, I didn't have enough time for walking in town. I only realised there's a supermarket here after looking at my photos!)

Chanticleer
Back at my guest house, there is a food stall just opposite which has chickens hanging up outside and the aroma of cooked chicken was nostril-twitching.

 

Above: Dinner!
This black rooster was running around outside that chicken place acrosse the road from the Two Dragons, and this was the only shot of him I was able to get. He may think he's cock of the coop, but I feel sure he will one day end up on someone's dinner plate!
Coq au vin, anyone?

Breakfast In Cambodia - Please Sir, I Want Some More
I loved the local food and was determined not to eat western food while I was in Asia, but I couldn't quite come at eating rice, noodles or pancakes for breakky. (Breakky is a slang Aussie word for breakfast.) The breakfasts on offer at Two Dragons had bacon and eggs on the menu and this I decided I could not do without. (I just love a good breakky of bacon and egg)

 

Above: Breakfast
On the breakfast menu was "Two Dragons Breakfast" which from memory included a few eggs, four rashers of bacon, several sausages, mushrooms (I think) and several pieces of toast.
Then there was "Mini Two Dragons Breakfast" - two eggs, two (Or was it four) rashers of bacon - a smaller version of the first one.

Lastly we had "Small Two Dragons Breakfast" - this was the one I ordered. (I forgot to take a photo, so have used this one instead). I thought two eggs, two rashers of bacon and two toasts would be all that I'd be able to eat. Cost was $2.95 and when it came, I saw that the bacon was over-cooked and dry looking and all shrivelled up. I thought Oh, how disappointing. I was so disappointed, but, of course I couldn't complain - that would have been rude.
But...let me tell you - that bacon was the most beautiful bacon I have ever eaten. The taste was wonderful I have never had bacon as delicious as that bacon I ate at Two Dragons, and I've eaten bacon many times in many places. I loved the taste, the texture so much, I very badly wanted to say to the girls, "Please, could I have some more?" I was reminded of Oliver in Charles Dicken's tale Oliver Twist saying at the parish workhouse, "Please Sir, I want some more."!

I can almost taste that bacon now and I find my mouth salivating at even the thought of it. When I go back to Siem Reap, I will definitley be eating bacon - and next time, I'll ask for a plateful of it. Yum.


What's With All The Tea Leaves?
After my delicious breakfast, I decided to try some Chinese tea. I had had Chinese tea at the Chinese Garden of Friendship when I was up in Sydney last year and really liked it. When the girl brought it to me, I sat looking at it. There was this lovely china "thing" with no handle and a lid. I lifted up the lid and saw - stacks of tea leaves. I sat looking at it, wondering how the heck I was supposed to drink it without getting a mouthful of tea leaves. This was a major problem. A mouthful of tea leaves wasn't my idea of a nice hot cup of tea.

So - I sat. And looked. And thought. And looked. As if by looking inspiration would suddenly dawn.☺ I didn't want to ask (I thought they'd think I was a bit of a dill if I did that). The girl came over and asked if everything was alright? Yes, thank you I'm just having a bit of a rest.

Finally, I re-lifted up the lid and gingerly tried to move the tea leaves to one side, it was then that the idea of maybe, just maybe, the tea leaves lifted out somehow. It did. What a dill I was - the whole thing came out, as you can see below.

 

Above: Chinese Tea
The tea holder (on the right) lifts out of the cup. I was so glad I hadn't asked or said anything - I'd have felt a right Royal fool. I did in fact feel like a right Royal fool anyway. I'm laughing as I write this - as if you'd be served tea and be expected to swallow the leaves. Well, we live and learn eh? So - should you ever find yourself presented with an unfamiliar tea cup, just lift the caddy thing out.