Holiday's Tropical Style

The season kicked off with Puffy the Penguin (direct from Benny's Outlet in Plymouth, MA) hanging out in front of the house. We get a lot of foot traffic on our street and for a week or two no one really stopped to see him. As they warmed up to his presence we got several gawkers and picture takers. Each night we unplugged little Puffy and he fell in a heap onto his chair. I think he was not quite cut out for the heat here!

The house was very festive with garlands and lights up the stairs and little snow ghost ornaments made by our friend Xin for her shop Mai Squarepatch http://www.makisquarepatch.com/

As usual the table was set with festive flair and we even had spray on frost for the windows.

Sophia found these giant ornaments at Ikea and they were in fine proportion to hang in the living room.

I carefully sprayed on these beautiful snowflakes.....ok, me and the stencil.

On Christmas Eve Myrna we had a feast. Jhoey and I went to Teka market and got mutton bryani for 14, Myrna made wings, veggies, prawns and more for her friends to chow down on. I made a very interesting Ginger punch. Even the Absolute 100 vodka I added couldn't get anyone, other then me, to like it.

It was pouring rain all night the 23rd and all day the 24th. If this had been Milwaukee we would have had 3 feet of snow. Luckily it isn't so it was just hot and damp.

Amy and Mohamed arrived on Mohamed's motorbike. They were set for the weather and/or for directing traffic.

They did look fine after removing their rain gear.

Jhoey, Myrna and Grace pose for a shot before dinner.

Finally united after Jhoey's escape from Saudi Arabia a few months back, Myrna hugs her young fiancee. He is a great guy and Myrna finds him very handy around our house.

The Princess of the kitchen with the Queen of the house slaving over the dishes.

Myrna's late arriving friends, still in time to have a laugh.

Ivy, Grace, Nelia, Beth and Isa with their gifts before opening them.

The dinner is served. Everyone was so polite and sober.

After we ate there was a fluke snowstorm. It had never snowed in Singapore since time began but once we went out group shots with Puffy a chilly wind blew in and flakes started to fall. The true spirit of Christmas made it to the tropics!

Ok, no one believes I am the King until I put on my crown. At least Puffy is happy to pose with me!

Merry Xmas 2008!

Go Fly a Kite!

UFOs?

A Squadron of Planes?

The Singapore Air force on maneuvers?

Just a strong man on the pier flying his kite.

Perfect beach day!

This couple is chilling.

Pretty colors, pretty day.

The loop.

Going up!

Beach parking only

As winter set in in the US, it's always summer here. The sticky, sweaty walk to the beach feels sweet when I know my friends and family back in Milwaukee, Chicago, Virginia and Plymouth are pulling on layer after layer of clothes to stay warm. I have my 365 days per year routine of coming home from work, slipping out of the slacks and shirt and pulling on a pair or shorts, a tee shirt and, when I step out of the house, a pair of flip flops.

A few weeks ago ( yes I am a poor blogger of late), we were walking in East Coast park and stopped to watch a guy flying a kite. The sky was particularly blue that day and there was a rare breeze. This guy was working hard to make his fancy kite fly and do tricks. I captured a few shots and thought I'd share them.

Fish!

Go Fish.
Myrna and her catch

Myrna makes great steamed fish. Looks like we will be having some tonight!

Mmmmmmmmmmm!

Bollywood King! In Singapore! OOPS

The new Bollywood King meats the real King - Big B

Little did we know we were seeing one of the hottest Bollywood stars.
Sharukh Khan croons and dances.
"Hare Ram Hare Ram, Hare Krishna, Hare Ram"
More cameras then people.
The big finish.

I AM SORRY TO SAY THAT THIS POST IS IN ERROR - AS A FOOLISH BOLLYWOOD POSEUR I HAVE MISTAKEN SINGER AND TV HOST ADITYA NARYAN FOR SHAHRUKH KHAN.

WHAT TO DO!

MY APOLOGIES TO BOTH AND TO ALL FANS!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aditya_Narayan

Sophia and I were having Sunday breakfast at the Food Republic in Suntec City. She had her usual egg and onion prata along with a banana prata and some Teh Tarik and I opted for the Korean Hot Stone Bibimbap.

While she was in line she heard a few guys saying there was going to be a big Bollywood star at an event in the convention center (the same building we were in). After breakfast we wandered up to see what was happening. It was the Channel Zee Carnival. Channel Zee is a popular television network specializing in Indian programing. http://www.zeetelevision.com/ We decided to kick in the $10 bucks and go in. While it wasn't much there was a pretty good selection of booths with some very nice Indian and Pakistani clothes and jewelry, some food and a couple of palm readers. there was also a big stage, a cooking stage and an autograph stage.

Moments after we got in the MC loudly proclaimed that the show was about to begin. We didn't catch the name of the guy who was to perform. It was only about Noon so we didn't think it could be the big Bollywood guy advertised as the top draw. A rather short, handsome guy in a gray suit came out onto the stage singing. He had a really good voice and the song was nice. The crowd gathered around the stage with as many cameras as there were people. The second song was a bit more up beat and by the third he had some dancers on the stage and was singing the Hare Ram song I had heard many times before (maybe even that Friday night at the rupee Room). Anyway, great set and fun to see it up close. I later realized it was the big guy, Sharukh Khan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahrukh_Khan

http://www.shahrukh.com/

Khan is HUGE in Bollywood. His recent films "Om Shanti, Om" and "Chak De! India". I always thought that the big stars don't actually sing their songs but this guy was singing and very nicely, I might add. We hung with the fans and enjoyed the show.

Afterwards we walked around the carnival and Sophia scored big by getting a really beautiful new salwar chemise and another more casual Indian inspired ensemble.

Looking forward to next year, maybe my man, the Big B will attend!

Penang - Part 2 - Heritage

Choeng Fatt Tze Mansion - Looks like a blue version of our old Singapore house
The tour is about to begin.
Indigo - great word, great color.
Detail of the work made from broken dishes.
Click to make it big.


No photos in the house - but here is the entry way.
Rickshaws from back in the day.
The lady of the mansion?
A tourist disguised as a tourist.
The Hainese Buddhist Temple and our guide, Joann.



Passing politicians extolling the virtues of their hometown.
The shrine outside is for Gods traced back to Islam. Can't be inside because pork is served their on occasion.
Even the ceilings tell a story.
The dragon guards the gate.

Stone, hand carved in Hainan and shipped to Penang.

Tools for the Buddhist fortune telling ritual. Stones to determine if the Gods want to answer your questions and sticks with numbers that lead to detailed answers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kau_Cim
A shop house in the Straits Eclectic style (1890-1940)
In need of repair but still very beautiful to see.
This (and many other) shophouse is used solely for allowing the owner to collect "bird's nest" or swallow spit. Very profitable. The entire house is closed except for small holes where birds enter and exit. They say there can be thousands of birds in the house. Think of the poop! Think of the neighbors!
Local kopi roaster. They add sugar, nutmeg, chocolate, salt and even sesame seeds to give their blend a distinct flavor.

Drying Joss sticks outside the Joss Stick maker's house. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_stick

Real Joss Sticks are made from sandlewood powder (great aroma), sticky powder and sawdust.
Mr. Lee is the last joss Stick maker in Penang and one of the few old time Joss makers in the world. Now most are made cheaply in China.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee and their "factory".
Joss stick come in many shapes and sizes from tiny to jumbo temple sized.

Penang is kind of like what Singapore would be like if they hadn't torn down most of the interesting and historic buildings to make way for modern boring buildings which have already been torn down and replaced by even more modern, more boring buildings.

In Penang there are still many shop houses, old Buddhist and Hindu Temples, mosques and hawker streets. There are also some very cool restored old homes built by people who arrived in Penang and made their fortunes. Georgetown, along with another Malaysian city, Malaka have been given the UNESCO "World Heritage" designation. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1223

Our first stop was the Choeng Fatt Tze mansion. http://www.choengfatttzemansion.com/

Mr. Cheong left China at age 16 penniless and built himself a huge empire. He had many homes and many wives. The Penang home with it's classic Chinese style adorned with many Western eclectic touches is said to be one of only two such buildings found outside of China. We took a tour with an excellent guide, Joann. She was extremely well versed in the history of the home, the architecture and more importantly the fung shwei. It should also be noted that several movies, including Indochine http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104507/ were filmed on location in the mansion.

After the tour we learned Joann was a heritage tour guide for the city of Georgetown and we promptly signed up for her walking tour scheduled for the next morning.

Saturday afternoon, as the rain ranged from a drizzle to a monsoon, we trudged around the city look at buildings, popping into temples, eating and exploring Penang's Little India.

Sunday, while it was still very cloudy and gray, at least it wasn't raining. We met Joann and the small tour group at 9AM and we were off on an extremely interesting and informative 3 1/2 hour tour of Georgetown. We learned so much about shop houses, Chinese architecture, Victorian architecture, the rituals of some of the Chinese Buddhist religions, joss stick making, food, kopi making and bird's nest harvesting that I am hoping to apply for some college credit for it.

More pictures posted soon!