Breezing On A Malayan Float - Penang

Apologies, for time runs short and I will have to rush through if I am to complete my postings on Peninsular Malaysia.

Right, Penang. Another island in Malaysia that is well-known to Singaporeans. But is it only an island? There is Penang island but fewer people give thought to the fact that the state of Penang consists also of the area across the island. Known for ages as Province Wellesly, it is now called Serberang Prai.

Right. Pictures. Most people have seen all this already... The bridge...

There are two of them now actually, the 2nd having been completed only recently. It doesn't seem very utilized, there weren't many signs leading to it when I tried to find it, and it is curved.... Ya curved, making it, at 23km, much longer than the 1st Penang Bridge. That was in issue in Parliament actually, where the opposition asked why it was necessary to build a curved bridge and whether that incurred a lot more costs in terms of materials used and engineering. The response was that it was curved so that people would not lose concentration and fall asleep on this long bridge. Don't know but just thinking... Wouldn't it be harder to fall asleep on a shorter bridge?

Speak of bridges, when the first bridge was built in the 1980s, it changed Penang's economy and prospects significantly as getting in and out was now a cinch, compared to before. The traditional mode of transport still exists, and that is something I had to try.

Who hasn't heard of the street art....

The arty-farty cafes in the tourist district trying (too hard at times) to appear cool....

And of course the street and hawker food....

And you have Penang Hill, Kek Lok Si Temple yadayada... The place is a treasure trove of culture and heritage, as the other original two Straits Settlements territories are... But I'm not going to bore you with more touristy pictures...

Sometimes, I like to go off the beaten track... To kampongs, which despite the intense urbanisation of Penang, still exist...

And also to rolling green hill scenery, which can be partook (partaked? partaken?) from this fruit farm on top of the other side (the non-touristy one) of Penang Hill..

And that's Penang in a flash...

Breezing On A Malayan Float - Perak

Perak used to be one of the richest states in Malaysia. In fact, its name means silver, and was probably derived from the colour of tin, which was(is still?) found in abundance in the state. However, as the world's reliance of that mineral waned, so did the state's prosperity.  Today, for many Singaporeans (at least in my circles), Perak is synonymous with Ipoh and its glorious food (there is Hor Fun and then there is Ipoh Hor Fun) as well as its many cave temples.

Personally for me, however, as someone who frequents the North-South Highway from Singapore to KL, the change occurs earlier, on the road. Whereas the scenery up to KL is largely flat, with large plains of palm trees and a few undulations, the surroundings turn a little bit more rugged once one leaves KL, and one begins to see mountains in the truer sense of the word.

And talk about scenery, Perak is a lot more than just Ipoh. I myself only found out relatively recently. For one, it shares a border with Thailand and contains a good deal of the Titiwangsa mountain range. Traversing it via the Timur-Barat Highway is quite an experience. Some have spoken of elephants crossing but unfortunately I had no such encounter.

But what good is driving along the Timur-Barat if you have nowhere nice to stop. Behold the scenery at the Bellum Forest Reserve... These pictures were taken from Pulau Banding, which is an artificial island situated in a lake (Lake Temenggor) created by the damming of a river, the same way its more well-known cousin in Terengganu, Tasik Kenyir was born.

Ok... Yes, all right. There has to be mention and pictures of the food and temples which abound in Ipoh...

Interestingly, in a bid to make the place more interesting, they have started to play up the street art (the type that first sprung up in Penang) in the more historic parts of town as well...Unlike Penang, however, where street art, of whatever quality, is everywhere, in Ipoh, there are 7 official murals for the curious tourist to find. Here are some of them.

Breezing On A Malayan Float - Selangor

Much like Negri Sembilan, it is an area we used to pass through on the way to KL but never really stopped by.

I have written about and taken some pictures about its capital, Shah Alam, some time ago, http://theslugreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/new-year-in-malaysia-again-new-years.html so I won't here. In fact, that post also contained snippets about Selangor's earlier capital, Klang.

In truth, both places struck me as,while not exactly sleepy towns, places which are not indicative of Selangor's status as one of Malaysia's richest states. Indeed, all the activity and development seems to take place in the Klang Valley, which together with KL, spearheads Malaysian's thrust towards metropolitan modernity. While the towns of Subang (some snippets from long ago here http://theslugreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/weekend-jaunt-to-subang-kl.html) and Petaling Jaya have long been known to house Malaysia's upper middle class, one cannot help but feel that the urban ring outside KL is set to see yet more development. A drive outside KL along the North-South Highway and one would see impressive new condominiums in various stages of construction sprouting up along both sides of the valley on a scenic mountain route. The wealth of the region shows in the government's policies as well. Whereas for most developed cities in Malaysia, foreigners are only allowed to buy properties above RM$1 million, because of the demand for property in this state, the minimum sum for foreigners is RM$2 million for most sectors of Selangor. (Selangor is an 'Opposition" ie. non-Barisan Nasional (Read UMNO) state and some have pointed to that as a reason for the pace of development there)

That said, Selangor is not all one urban sprawl. There are plantations, kampongs and quaint little towns, like its ancient capital, Kuala Selangor.

Bukit Melawati is where the old palace is located and one can take a tram up...

 

 

 

One of the highlights are the monkeys... There are two kinds, one of which is so friendly you can stand or sit next to them and pose for pictures. There are stalls selling potatos for 1RM, which the primates like. They generally ask and accept graciously.

But taunt and tantalise them too much (shape to give but then withdraw your offer) and then this stands to happen...

Breezing On A Malayan Float - Negri Sembilan

This is a state that we always pass through but hardly ever stop at and to be honest, we only stopped by to spend a night so that I could properly say that I had been to the capital, Seremban. Wikitravel states that it is supposed to be a hotbed of Minangkabau culture and architecture but truth be told, we did not have opportunity to see much of that in Seremban. There is also a famous beach stretch at Port Dickson but I haven't been there since I was 12.

If anything, Negri Sembilan was one of the poorer states famous for its cheap and good food. However, ever since the road and expressway network improved, and ever since the KTM Kommuter, a nodal rail network around KL hooked up to Seremban, it has become rather more prosperous. The food is still good though,,,

Seremban is also, I believe, particularly famous for Siew Pau....

This is an aerial view of Seremban....

And this is its central market. It is large...

Breezing On A Malayan Float - Malacca

Next state up the road if one takes the North-South Highway is Malacca. The old town is the site of the first Sultanate in Malaysia and is a Unesco Heritage site. Unfortunately in my opinion, we do not see that many artifices from the Golden Age of the dynasty founded by Parameswara around 1400. That is not to say it is not steeped in historical installations though, as one can see plenty of buildings built by the Portuguese, who conquered Malacca as early as 1511, the Dutch, who took over in 1641, followed by the British in 1824. It is clear that Malacca has a storied history. But it is taught widely in schools here and Singaporeans are very familiar with the main tourist attractions, so maybe this piece would be on how Malacca relates to us.

I admit we probably have gone to Malacca more often than we would have done because we have a unit in a property being built at MITC near Ayer Keroh, at the outskirts at Malacca. This is the latest picture we have of it. It seems to take forever to complete!

Of course, we do spend a considerable amount of time at they city centre as well, which mind, is quite a distance from the exit at the North-South Highway. If there is a jam, it can take one more than an hour to reach Malacca town proper.

Most Singaporeans would be familiar with Jonker Street, with its iconic night market. It gets its name from Dutch. In Amsterdam, the prime street everybody wanted to be on was Gentleman's, or Heer Street. When Malacca was under the Dutch, the city was modelled in the same way. The aspiring nobleman would be found at Young Gentleman's Street, or Jong Heer Street.... See how it became Jonker?

This area is not without controversy. Jonker Street is a road by day but a pedestrian market by night. It used to be a nightly affair but in what was a shock to many, after the elections in 2013, the new Mentri Besar tried to stipulate that Jonker Street would be accessible to vehicles 24/7, potentially effectively signalling the death knell for the night market. The reason was to ease traffic congestion. Protests were vehement. Wasn't the night market touted in almost all promotional and tourist materials?And what about the congestion at the walkway near Dataran Pahlawan. That is predominantly a Malay area while Jonker Street is a Chinese one. Some commentators said therefore that the move was to appeal to ground-level Malay sentiment after UMNO's bad showing in the elections. In the end, a compromise was reached. The night market is now open during weekends....

And these are the goodies one gets to savour while there. Peranakan Laksa and the all so yummy chendol, a dessert with coconut and gula melaka.

I will also admit that nowadays we pamper ourselves and stay at the Casa Del Rio, a gorgeous hotel by the side of the river. A bit pricey though, but then again, we paid our dues staying in cramped holes-in-the-wall with mattresses with bedbugs in our younger days....

Lesser know attractions can be found away from the city centre however. There is the Portuguese village. This is where descendants of the former Portuguese colonial masters run a food centre. They are also considered Bumiputras, like Malays.

And there is also Pantai Klebang, where one can drive right up to the waterfront to view the sunset. We found it a bit of a jam getting there from the city centre though...

Nice state. And from what we hear, developing further. I just wish our property would complete sooner.