Here We Learn . We Share . We Start A Meaningful Journey

We visited Yeoh Kongsi and Yap Kongsi by sheer chance while looking for Khoo Kongsi. It was funny that we weren’t really know what Khoo Kongsi is but since it’s a renowned attraction in Penang, we decided to find out what it is.

Along the way looking for Khoo Kongsi, we were attracted by several Chinese temples. We visited the temples abruptly with very little knowledge about them. It’s called on-the-spot-spontaneous investigation. It’s not that I’m not familiar with Chinese temples, but these temples just look different. They are not opened to public to pray.

After the lecture by a Singh couple in Yeoh Kongsi, we finally revealed the secret of temple look-alike temples.

<Source from Wikipedia>

Kongsi (Chinese: 公司; pinyin: gōngsī) or “clan halls”, are benevolent organizations of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname. This type of social practice arose, it is held, several centuries ago in China. The Chinese word Kongsi is used in modern Chinese to mean a commercial “company“.

The system of kongsi was utilized by Chinese throughout the diaspora to overcome economic difficulty, social ostracism, and oppression. In today’s overseas Chinese communities throughout the world, this approach has been adapted to the modern environment, including political and legal factors. The kongsi is similar to modern business partnerships, but also draws on a deeper spirit of cooperation and consideration of mutual welfare.

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So technically we can still call it temple, but it’s the place to pray the ancentors, not the place for public to pray for 4D numbers their own wishes.

After visited Yeoh Kongsi, we passed by Yap Kongsi before meeting up with Khoo ancestors. Yap Kongsi is located along Lebuh Armenian, within the George Town Heritage Enclave and the core zone of the George Town Unesco World Heritage Site.

Yap Kongsi in green ~ it underwent a restoration in 1998 at a cost of close to RM300,000. Previously it was in white color.

Next to Yap Kongsi is the Choo Chay Keong Temple, which houses the altar to the Yap patron deity, Hoay Che Chun Wang.

The pillars in the temple are delicately carved with curling dragons.

The sculptures on the wall are equally magnificent showcase the style of Chinese Dynasty.

Furnace for joss paper. Even the furnace was decorated with Chien Nien ornamentation. Chien Nien means ‘cut and paste’ which involves gluing colourful porcelain shards to create decorative. Joss paper is also known as spirit money or ghost money. They are burned in traditional Chinese deity or ancestor worship ceremonies during special holidays.

Guardian lions and the pa qua (八卦)

Chinese guardian lions, also called Fu (Foo) Lions, lions of Buddha, or sometimes stone lions (石獅) are a common representation of the lion in pre-modern China, which is believed to have powerful mythic protective powers that has traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, temples, emperors’ tombs, government offices, and the homes of government officials ~ Source from wikipedia.

So funny, I never bother to visit Chinese temples until I started blogging that I just don’t wanna miss anything include the the things/places that used to be boring to me. The power of blogging.

.: You may also want to visit my trips to Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion and Yeoh Kongsi in Penang :.

Many young people don’t really like traveling to China but to me it was fine, as it was one of the oversea trips that I could afford few years back when I still earned pathetic salary. RM2000 (approx. USD 580)  for a 8 days trip included flight ticket, accommodation and meals, not bad right?

One of the most memorable places in my China trip is a water town that reminds me of Venice. Ancient houses were built along the grand canal with rivers crisscrossing the whole town. Rivers and creeks spanned with stone bridges in various designs flow through the town. When I was brought to this place, I felt drawn into the meditation of being in the Chinese martial art movie chanting poetry and writing couplets while drinking Chinese rice wine with a swordsman who lives incognito in a remote mountain. What a romantic place to fall in love with a great swordsman. I was hoping to meet Wu Ming ((无名) from The Storm Warriors (风云) ) but if he could be easily found he wouldn’t have named himself as Anonymous.

This is the ancient town of Xi Tang, in Zhejiang Province, has a history of more than 1,000 years. It lies within the triangle formed by Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. Xi Tang is a water town crisscrossed by nine rivers. The town stretches across eight sections, linked by old-fashioned stone briges.

In Xi Tang, there are well-preserved groups of buildings of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) with relatively high artistic quality and research value. It is famous for its large number of covered corridors, lanes and bridges.

The canal is flanked by neat rows of willows. My mum and my sister were standing next to willow. But the willows here are not as beautiful as the willows found in West Lake in Hang Zhou.

For hundreds of years, its residents have been building houses along the rivers and trading near the bridges. Even until today you can still see the residents here  washing dishes in the river.

People here live a simple life. Many of them breed silkworms and raise chrysanthemums, and they have mostly retained the tradition of buying fruit and vegetables from trade boats through the windows of their waterside houses.

The covered corridor is the most well known scene in Xi Tang. It is also the most distinctive feature this historic town offers compared with other water towns. Consisting of many sections, the whole covered corridor is more than 1,000 meters (about 1094 yards) long, attracting visitors from all over the world with its particular charm. Mostly, it is tile-roofed and built along the riverside, providing shelter for people to avoid either the baking hot sun or the rain.

(Source from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/zhejiang/hangzhou/xitang.htm)

From here, you can actually board a ship to Hang Zhou. But of course we didn’t do it, we had to follow the arrangement from the tour agent.

It’s a beautiful and quiet town that allows you to just sit around and linger in the lanes to enjoy its serenity and peacefulness.

石皮弄, I always mistaken it as 后皮弄 :-p — Interesting narrow lane huh, isn’t it?

The households are connected with narrow lanes, naturally forming one of the striking features of this ancient town - narrow lanes. The town has a total of 122 lanes, narrow or wide, and long or short. Some are dark all year round; some are simply the drain of two families; most of them were the main artery of the town in the old days. 石皮弄 (弄 = lane) is the most famous 弄 here as it’s the narrowest lane in Xi Tang with only o.8 metre. 石皮弄 was formed by 2 houses owned by Wong’s family. In ancient time, wealthy families extended their great houses to the maximum and provides space for only one person to pass through at a time.

Time-honored history and brilliant Chinese civilization endow the country with numerous historical and cultural relics. Vast field gives birth to many beautiful mountains and rivers. The uniqueness of its relics can’t be found in the rest of the world. So China is definitely one of the countries that I would want to fully explore, probably after I retire.

Admission Fee: CNY 100 (tickets include both the scenic region and 11 sightseeing spots); CNY 50 (tickets for the scenic region only)

Opening Hours: Whole Day

Home to famous skyscrapers, beautiful parks and many historical buildings, Kuala Lumpur can be a city that is hard to escape from.

But despite its hold on the tourist, it is also an excellent place to base yourself while you explore deeper into Malaysia. An abundance of interesting places to visit on a day trip from the capital makes KL – as it is commonly known - one of Asia’s most enjoyable cities.

Although there are organised tours, car hire is probably the best option for exploring, as it offers more flexibility for your travels and has become much more reasonably priced over the years. Any trips you decide to take will obviously depend on your personal tastes, but there are ones to suit everyone’s likes and budgets.

For those interested in Asia’s largest and possibly most endearing animals, a good trip would be to the Elephant Conservation Farm, in Kuala Gandah. The sanctuary, which is managed by the Malaysian Department of Wildlife, is only an hour and a half’s drive from the capital and is located in a tropical rainforest. Visitors can come into close contact with the elephants and are allowed to help bathe them in the shallow river or ride them.

If Malaysia’s rich past interests you the most, then just two hours south of the Kuala Lumpur is the historic trading port of Malacca. It is the oldest port in the country and with Malaysia having been colonised over the centuries by the Portuguese, Dutch and lastly the British, it has a mixed cultural heritage. This is a place where your camera is rarely put back in your pocket and it was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2008. Things you must do include visiting the ruins of St. Paul’s Church and taking a stroll along Jonker Street to experience the famous “Antique Row”.

Another great excursion – and one of the most popular for the Kuala Lumpur-based tourist – is a visit to the Batu Caves, seven miles north of the city. A sacred place for Hindus, not just from Malaysia but all around the world, the site consists of three main caves and several smaller ones, all with wonderfully lavish decorations adorning the walls and ceilings.

During January and February this bustling complex comes further alive during the Thaipusam festival. The celebrations begin at a temple in central Kuala Lumpur when devout Hindus skewer themselves with rods and carry containers of milk either by hand or on specially decorated carriers all the way to the complex as offerings to the Hindu deity Murugan. On arrival the procession climbs the 272 concrete steps up to the temple cave.

For those wary of crowds it is important to note this pilgrimage sometimes attracts as many as a million devotees and tens of thousands of tourists, so it would be worth visiting at a different time of the year. Despite visitors also being warned of the discarded rubbish, bat droppings and thieving long-tailed macaques monkeys, this is one of Malaysia’s truly wonderful sites and makes a perfect excursion from Kuala Lumpur.

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I have been asking myself what do I actually like about Kuala Lumpur (KL). Food? Absolutely! Eating out in Malaysia is a real gastronomic adventure. If it was the beginning of the month (before my newly banked in cash runs out),  I will definitely look for decent restaurants in KL town with a seemingly endless variety of cuisine like Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western, Japanese, Korean, and many more. If it was an end of the month (when my cash has successfully escaped), I can  still easily get cheap and yet delicious hawker food in KL city. Petaling street is one of the best places to hunt for hidden gems at an affordable price.

Apart from food how could I resist shopping in Kuala Lumpur? Especially in this festive season where most of the shops have crazy sales and the shopping centres are delightfully decorated to add cheer to our shopping experience.

However my boyfriend, Don, doesn’t like KL. The traffic drives him crazy and the climate blocks his vision (drops of sweat trickling down into his eyes).  On the other hand, my brother loves the vibrant metropolitan rhythm of KL, he says the sound of the busy traffic makes a great symphony that stirs his blood (what a music freak).

I have been hearing all sort of comments about KL from my friends. Some complain about it some extol it. But what do non-Malaysians say about KL? With that in mind, I had this crazy idea on a whim.

So I told Don “What do you think if we interviewed the tourists in KL about their views of the city?”

Don: O_o “Who gonna do the interview??”

Me: “I will do the interview, you be the videoman.”

Don: “Sounds like a good idea”

Me: “Yeah, we can also show them our website and the blog4ft website where they can find thousands of entries about tourism in KL!”

Don: “We will be promoting KL indirectly at the same time.”

So deal! With the support from Don, my heart was pounding. It felt like it was possible for a symphony to be composed by the sound of traffic.

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There are a few things we need to plan prior to the project kick-off. Firstly, what is the objective of the interview? Secondly, who are our targets, and lastly, what are the interview questions to achieve the objective. (Sounds like running a million dollar project)

No. 1 -> Our objective of the interview is to gain the perspectives from non-Malaysians to improve our capital, KL.

No. 2 -> Our targets would be tourists/foreigners from different walks of life that are able to give us an outside perspective of KL.

No. 3 ->  The following are the questions for the interview:

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself (Like how long have you been in Malaysia/KL, where are you from, your name).
2. Why did you choose to come to Malaysia/KL for your vacation?
3. What are some of the places that you have visited here? Which is your favorite place in KL?
4. What is the best thing about KL you have experienced so far?
5. What is the worst thing about KL you have experienced so far?
6. What would you change about this trip if you had the chance?
7. Will you recommend people to visit KL in future? What will you tell them?

So here we are, in Pavilion to hunt for our targets!

Pavilion is the latest shopping centre in KL with a row of street-front duplexes housing flagship boutiques from the world over.

The lobby of Pavilion is transformed into a Wonderland, with dancers floating across the stage in fairytale costumes.

Stairs or seats? Guess it’s meant for both.

With the multitude in the mall and the noise of cheer, we had to look for a quiet location for the interviews in order to capture the conversations. We went to a higher floor away from the crowd and the noise. We were a bit nervous at first for the first time doing this crazy thing and we were concerned about the tourists’ reactions when asked for an interview. It was a beautiful surprise that most of them are so friendly and some agreed with the interview without hesitation. I’m not going to write long, I’ll let them speak to you through the videos.

At the end of the interview, we took a picture with each wonderful interviewee, except for the first interviewee, Caroll, a very tall friendly chap from London with whom I had to raise my head high for the entire interview session. Don wanted to capture both of us into the video but it’s mission impossible, unless he stood far away to close the gap of our height difference. Sounds pathetic huh? Can someone tell me how to grow 7 inches taller? (I’d be happy with 2…)

Caroll married to a local lady from KL 18 years ago and he is here in KL for the family reunion and Christmas celebrations. He and his family were busy shopping when we bumped into them. Despite being in a rush where his wife and his daughters were too busy to even stop for a second, he insisted to stay with us for the interview. Right after the interview, he wished us luck and left immediately to catch up with his family. What a fantastic man.

Mauricio (left) and Erwin (right) are both from London too. They arrived in KL just a day before and will be flying off to New Zealand in 2 days. When we first approached them, they did not hesitate at all to accept our request. They were so happy as if they had won a lottery. We felt oddly pleased and flattered by their friendliness.

Ali (left) and Elias (right) are from Lebanon who have been working in KL as banking consultants for 7 months. Apparently Malaysia being a Muslim country,  is just the right place for them. They visited the mosques and love the food here. They have even visited the National Zoo, which we think has not been maintained well. Surprisingly, they had great time in the zoo or perhaps, they are just being too kind to comment on anything negative. Nonetheless, despite the  great weather, the magnificent mosques, and the wonderul food, traffic conditions are terrible in KL. According to Ali and Elias, the traffic in KL is just too congested especially during rainy days. To make the thing worse, the public cabs refuse to pick up customers when it rains.

This is one of their favourite restaurants, Lebanese cuisine. Perhaps we should give it a try one day.

Wayne (left) and Mel (right) are a married couple with 2 daughters who have been traveling for 3 months! Wow… it’s a dream life that I’m hoping for. They have just arrived in KL from Sabah and apparently they prefer KL to Sabah. Mel especially loves shopping in KL and she told us the shopping centres in London cannot rival Pavilion. What an amazing comment. Oh, forgot to mention, they are from London too. We didn’t pick the tourists from London on purpose, it just happened that most of the tourists are from London. Before we ended the interview, we asked what would they recommend to their friends about Malaysia. Mel immediately said “Pre-load money in your empty suitcase!”. Now I know why am I broke every month, if tourists can’t resist shopping in KL, how can I?

I was tired after completing 4 interviews and wanted to do one last one to call it a day. We bumped into a group of teenagers that were merrily walking around in the mall. We approached them and Will (the good looking funny dude in the picture) was more than happy to say ‘Sure’ and Katrina (the very sweet looking girl) was happy enough to tag along. While the other 2 friends were rushed to the washroom. Katrina has been staying in Malaysia for 2 years whereas Will  for 7. They both go to school here. Katrina did most of the talking as she seems to enjoy her time in Malaysia especially the people here are nice, whereas Will was hesitant to reveal his honest opinions. Apparently, he thinks KL is too dirty (both myself and Don can’t agree more) and the traffic is terrible (again both myself and Don have experienced enough of the deep pain sitting in traffic for hours).

~*~ After Interview Thoughts ~*~

It’s an amazing experience to introduce ourselves to the strangers abruptly just so we can video shoot their talking. Even though we have been rejected by a few tourists but at the same time we were overwhelmed by the interviewees’ friendliness and warm-heartedness.

Before this day, I always found that there is too little shopping in KL. In terms of variety, I can find more in Hong Kong or Taiwan. In terms of price, I can always get cheaper prices in Thailand. So me and my girlfriends love chatting about the shopping paradise in Hong Kong, the States, Taiwan, Thailand, Phuket, etc. But pay little attention to the shopping in KL. Until this day I was surprised of how the tourists that we interviewed loved Pavilion and enjoyed their shopping in KL. Mel even mentioned that they couldn’t find a grand mall like this in London. I was in fact, shocked. So now I can tell my friends that KL is one of the greatest shopping paradises in world!

We even have the biggest LV outlet in Asia! In which you can easily observe the long line at the entrance all the time.

Clubbing in KL is awesome too. Mauricio and Erwin had a great time clubbing the night before. Just down the road from KLCC, you can find crowds of youngsters, revelers and yuppies patronizing the clubs, bars and pubs on the streets. My favourite pub at all time has to be Luna Bar, which is located at the rooftop of Pacific Regency Hotel Apartments. Quiet and cozy for a long night chat and drink with friends.

If you’re a backpacker who like the simple adventurous lifestyle like how you backpack to the rural countries like Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, enjoy eating street food, you can experience the same here in KL too. If you explore enough, you will be surprised that vibrant metropolitan KL is full of hawker stalls hidden in inconspicuous corners selling the food at dirt cheap prices in comparison to the higher-end restaurants, probably just next door to the hawker stalls. If you prefer a luxurious travel experience, you can easily spend more than RM1000 for a meal in the high end restaurants with 5-star service. The variety of food in KL is so diversified that even Ali and Elias are able to get Lebanese cuisine in Pavilion.

Will kept mentioning Duty Free. I guess he is referring to the duty free liquor on Langkawi island, which Don and I bought in large quantities awhile back. Yup, drinking is cakes and ale, especially drinking on an island with a cool breeze and blue ocean.

KL can be close to paradise, but not until our government resolves the traffic and taxi issues. Stuck in traffic for a few hours is just a waste of our life. Especially during rainy days when the city is flooded and traffic paralyzed, and we as drivers–or passengers–would lose a few hours of our golden time in life. Now let’s do some mathematics.

Imagine if we waste 2 hours each day in traffic, we will lose 730 hours in a year, which is equivalent to 30.42 days in a year. So in 10 years we will lose 304 days, which is close to 1 year!! Why would we want to waste 1 year sitting in traffic for every 10 years when life is already so short?!?!

Not that we as Malaysians complain about the traffic, even randomly selected foreigners (it’s so random that we just picked 5 couples at random locations around Pavilion) dislike the traffic here. To make the issue worse, for those who use taxis in their daily lives, the experience of being over-charged, denied service, or conned by taxis drivers who refuse to use their meters are all the common hassles they have to face every day. I seriously hope our minister would have a perfect strategy to overcome the issues of the terrible traffic and the horrible attitude of the taxi drivers.

Last but not least, the foreigners that we interviewed didn’t mention much about the outdoor activities, mainly because we picked only the tourists in Pavilion. If we interviewed those in the Bird Park or Deer Park, we might be able to get a different perspective of KL from different groups of differing interests.

KL is not just a metropolitan city, or a focal point for entertainment, commerce, and business. Its natural beauty is equally fascinating too. Adventure lovers can find the longest crystal quartz outcrop in the world, Bukit Tabur, which is located about 30km from KL town.

Click here to read my adventurous climb in Bukit Tabur

Click here for other hiking adventures in Kuala Lumpur.

Useful links about Kuala Lumpur:

General:

Happy Reading and Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

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As cold winter weather really starts to bite across Northern Europe there is one part of the continent that is still basking in warm sunshine. As the Spanish owned Canary Islands enjoy great weather all year round – thanks to their location a 100 miles or so off the south west coast of Morroco.

These seven islands have become enormously popular with tourists from countries such as the UK, Germany and Eire over the last thirty years.  As they are just a four hour flight, but a world away in terms of climate - especially during the depths of December and January.

Lanzarote is the fourth largest of the islands and amongst the least spoiled.  There are no high rise buildings and ad billboards were banned in the 1970´s. whilst the three main holiday resorts of Puerto del Carmen, Playa Blanca and Costa Teguise are all well contained.

As a result Lanzarote is a real nature lover’s paradise - boasting landscapes that are largely untouched by modern development.  Along with some fantastic all natural beaches, such as Caleta de Famara on the islands wilder North West coastline.

The best known region is undoubtedly the Timanfaya Volcano Park, scene of a set of huge eruptions which rocked Lanzarote in the 18^th century.  Covering much of the interior of the island in a sea of solid black lava.  A surreal sight which attracts close to one million visitors every year.

Getting to Lanzarote

Flights to Lanzarote have never been cheaper.  It´s currently possible to book returns to the island from as little as £10 with Ryanair.  Whilst other low cost operators such as easyJet and Aer Lingus are all offering competitively priced tickets too.

Places To Stay

There´s plenty of decent accommodation in Lanzarote. Ranging from apartments through to luxury hotels.  Playa Blanca in the south is home to the largest selection of Lanzarote holiday villas - with prices starting from around £400 per week.  Whilst the oldest resort of Puerto del Carmen boasts the largest selection of apartment complexes for those on a tighter budget.

Sightseeing

As well as the mandatory volcanic region Lanzarote is also home to the unique creations of César Manrique.  A local artist who sought to develop alternative tourist attractions that work in harmony with Lanzarote´s delicate volcanic terrain.

His best known project is the Jameos del Agua - where he created a huge concert venue and grotto in the shell of a collapsed lava tube.  An impressive feat of engineering which really helped to put Lanzarote on the tourist map.

~ Article contributed by Nick Ball ~