• Family travel,  Penang

    Georgetown, Penang

    It has been two years since my family and I last visited Penang and during our way back from Kedah after my uncle’s funeral last week, we dropped by Georgetown, Penang. Initially we wanted to go to Kuantan as my husband has some work to do but after confirming with the boss, the Kuantan trip was actually scheduled two days ahead. Since it was already evening, we decided to put up a night there. We found a very cheap hotel at Pitt Street that is within walking distance to Penang Esplanade; one of the attractions in Penang.

    Pitt Street
    View from our room on Pitt Street.

    Pitt Street, or now known as Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, is one of the four major streets in the Original Grid of George Town laid out by Captain Francis Light when he established his trading settlement. After naming the first street of his settlement after himself, Light realised that he may have offended the prime minister for not naming anything after him. Hence, he decided to name Pitt Street after the then prime minister, William Pitt the Younger.

    Instead of taking the short walk along Pitt Street to the esplanade, we decided to take a long walk by walking around the area passing by Lebuh China, Lebuh Queen, Lebuh Gereja, Lebuh King and Lebuh Light. After Lebuh Light, we reached the esplanade. It was a great walk as we got to see fascinating heritage shophouses.

    shophouses01

    shophouses02

    shophouses03
    Fascinating buildings! I didn’t get to capture these buildings on my previous trip here back in 2010.

    After admiring the buildings, we crossed Lebuh Light to get to Penang Esplanade. This esplanade consists of  Padang Esplanade (or Taman Padang Kota Lama), Fort Cornwallis, Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse, City Hall, Town Hall, Penang Museum, Municipal Fountain, Victoria Clocktower, Cenotaph, Logan Memorial, Supreme Court, Convent Light Street, St George’s Anglican Church, Francis Light Memorial, Cathedral of the Assumption, Argus Lane, St Xavier’s Institution, Protestant Cemetery and Eastern & Oriental Hotel.

    Padang Esplanade
    Padang Esplanade.

    Penang Town Hall
    Town Hall.

    Built in the 1880s, the Town Hall (also known as the Ang Moh Kong Kuan – White Men’s Club) is now the oldest municipal building in the state and boasts a spacious ballroom, where regular local events and exhibitions are staged.

    Fort Cornwallis
    Fort Cornwallis. Can you find Yassin and his dad?

    Fort Cornwallis is the largest intact fortress still standing in Malaysia. The fort dates back to the earliest days of British settlement on the island. When Captain Francis Light landed on Penang Island in 1786, the cape where he landed was called Tanjung Penaga in Malay. There, he established the British settlement and trading port of George Town. To defend the site, he built a simple stockade out of nibong palms.

    lighthouse
    Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse.

    Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse is one of the oldest lighthouses in Malaysia. It was erected by the British in 1882 and previously known as the Fort Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse underwent renovations in 1914 and 1928. As part of the renovation, the name was also changed to Penang Harbour Lighthouse. But considering that it stands within Fort Cornwallis, the lighthouse is later called the Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse. Visual distance of the lighthouse is 16 nautical miles.

    There are more buildings that I like to cover but I don’t want to make this a very long one, so more posts on Georgetown soon.

    So… after walking for hours, we were hungry! We went to the food stalls next to the open field, not sure what to eat. My husband saw a long queue at one particular stall, Hameed Pata Special Mee Sotong and he went and order. Although we had to wait for almost 40 minutes due to the long queue, we were happy that we ordered Mee Sotong. It was delicious! We also had Coconut Milkshake from the same stall. It was worth the 1% body fat that I gained, I tell you. LOL.

    Mee Sotong
    Spicy Mee Sotong. It is actually a mee goreng with sambal sotong.

    coconut milkshake
    Coconut Milkshake with Vanilla Ice-Cream.

    We had a blast! Yassin was happy to revisit Penang. Here are some more photos around Georgetown.

    seafront
    Seafront.

    sunset in Georgetown
    Sunset in Georgetown.

    Yassin at the playground
    Yassin playing at the Taman Kota Lama playground (Day 2 before we leave Georgetown).

    husband chasing bird
    My husband chasing the birds.

  • ARTWORKS,  watercolor

    2012 Year-end Paintings for sale

    Here are some of my paintings for sale. Do e-mail me at emilayusog@gmail.com if you are interested in buying. Thanks bunch!

    rabbit girl
    Rabbit Girl. Acrylic on canvas. 16″ x 16″. RM450.

    gothic
    Gothic Girl. Acrylic on canvas. 12″ x 12″. RM400.

    cataleya-girl
    Cataleya Girl. Pen and watercolor on watercolor paper. A4 size, framed. RM500.

    sleepingbeauty
    Sleeping Beauty I. Pen and watercolor on watercolor paper. A4 size, framed. RM500.

    sambar
    Sambar Girl. Graphite and watercolor on watercolor paper. A4 size, framed. RM400.

    iban
    Iban Girl. Pen and watercolor on watercolor paper. Painting size: 10″ x 10″. Frame size: 19 3/4″ square. RM500.

    orangulu
    Orang Ulu Girl. Pena and watercolor on watercolor paper. Panting size: 10″ x 10″. Frame size: 19 3/4″ square. RM500.