We had a three day weekend, which happened to fall on my birthday weekend, so we decided to go on a mini-holiday to The Cameron Highlands. It is about a 3 hours drive from Penang, and is Malaysia’s most extensive hill station. Discovered by the British in 1885, it was primarily used for tea growing due…
Siem Reap, Cambodia
We recently took a long weekend trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was an amazing trip. I had absolutely no preconceived ideas what Cambodia would be like. I knew it would be hot, but Penang is hot so that really wasn’t a concern. The only thing I knew about Cambodia, is terrible things like, war, landmines…
Expat Feelings
We were able to take a lovely short holiday to Cambodia at the end of April. It was amazing. That sort of thing is the best part of living here, it’s what makes all this worth it. Before I get into what we saw and what we did, I would like to tell you more…
Tokyo Disney Land and Disney Sea
When we decided to take a holiday to Tokyo a few months ago, we decided to include a couple of days at the Tokyo Disney Resort. B is obsessed with The Mickey Mouse Club House, it is seriously the only thing he ever wants to watch with his TV time. I also was in…
Chew Clan Jetty
One of Penang’s unique features are the Clan Jetties. The Clan Jetties are villages built on stilts over the water by Chinese immigrants over a century ago. I have found some sources that say there are 8 and some that say 7. I know one was fairly recently destroyed by fire. There used to be…
Langkawi The Jewel of Kedah
Since my parents were here for three weeks we decided that we had more than enough time to take a little side trip and show them more of this breathtakingly beautiful country that we are living in. We decided that since we had not been to Langkawi ourselves yet it was the perfect weekend trip….
Temples
Penang is rich with religious shrines and temples of all kinds, in addition to Kek Lok Si which I wrote about last time. There are two really neat temples within walking distance of our condo. They are conveniently located right across the street from each other. I took Mom and Dad over to see…
Kek Lok Si
Penang has a lot of temples and shrines, they are all beautiful and interesting in their own right. One of the most impressive is Kek Lok Si. It is said to be the largest Buddhist Temple in all of Malaysia. The name Kek Lok Si means Temple of Supreme Bliss in Penang Hokkien. It is…
Chinese New Year – 2016
We just wrapped up our first Chinese New Year (CNY)/Spring Festival here in Penang. It is now the year of the Monkey. I was vaguely familiar with Chinese New Year as a concept before moving here, it was certainly not something I gave a whole lot of thought. It is a major holiday here in Penang….
Penang Hill
I am a little behind on posts this month. We were so fortunate to have my parents come over from the States for a nice long visit. We kept them busy,so there will be quite a few posts coming in the next couple of weeks. One of the first things that we took Mom and…
Thaipusam
Thaipusam is a three day Hindu holiday/festival that takes place in the Tamil month of Thai, which is January/February. It is the annual processions by devotees offering thanks. It is a major holiday for the Hindu people on Penang. It is celebrated to honor Lord Subrahmanya also known as Lord Murugan. He is a god that…