Cheap! Airlines Ticket by Malaysia Airlines

MATF (Malaysia Airline Travel Fair) will be a wholly virtual affair much like 2007. And just like last year, it should be a 10 day event with some likelihood of extension depending on the reception and their sales figures. Too bad the travel fair will only last for 3 days.

This year, MAS will be holding its annual Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair (MATF) from Friday to Sunday at eight locations nationwide and offering six million seats with up to 70% discount.  The offer is valid for a seven-month travel period from March 1 to Sept 30, to encourage travellers to plan their trip and to experience the national airline’s Malaysian Hospitality. 

You can visit MATF at:

1. Kota Kinabalu – Magellan Sutera Harbour Resort

2. Kuala Lumpur – Kuala Lumpur Convention Center

3. Johor Bahru – Persada Johor International Convention Center

4. Kuching – permata Exhibition Center

5. Kuala Trengannu – Trengganu Trade Center

6. Penang – Penang International Sports Arena (PISA)

More on MATF, visit http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/main_MY.aspx?lang=en-US

Kek Lok Si – Temple Of Supreme Bliss!

One of the finest Buddhist temples in South-east Asia, Kek Lok Si temple stands majestically on a hill in Air Itam. Known as “The Temple of Supreme Bliss”, it is built in tiers culminates the beautifully crafted ”Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas”. It took more than 20 years to build which features gardens, a turtle pond, shrines and beautiful buddhist sculptures.

The temple consist of many prayer halls, pagodas, bell towers and just about every other typical temple structure you can think of, in varying styles from Burmese to Chinese to Thai.

It is known that The Kek Lok Si project was inspired by the chief monk of the Goddess of Mercy Temple of Pitt Street. With the support of the consular representative of China in Penang, the project received the sanction of the Manchu Emperor Kuang Hsi, who bestowed a tablet and gift of 70,000 volumes of the Imperial Edition of the Buddhist Sutras.

The main attractions that dominate the scenery will be the 7-storey pagoda and the huge bronze statue of the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin — a popular diety in Penang. If you want to get a close-up look of the Kuan Yin statue, walk to the furthest hall and take an incline lift to the hilltop. The air-condition incline lift is more like tram and it could bring you up with a cost of RM2 each way.
 
The 7-storey pagoda or “Pagoda of 10,000 Buddha” is another interesting attractions. This pagoda combines a Chinese octagonal base with a middle tier of Thai design, and a Burmese crown, reflecting the temple’s embrace of both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. It is located at the new prayer hall  where you must pay a ‘voluntary’ donation of  RM2.

At the Kek Lok Si Temple ground, there is a beautiful gardens and sacred pond. One of the famous ones will be of course “The Liberation Pond” (Sacred Turtle Pond). Chinese tradition believes that a turtle is a symbol of longevity, strength and endurance. It is an act of spiritual liberation when a turtle is captured and set free in this pond.

There is no admission fee to the temple itself. Small fees is needed if you want to visit the pagoda and Kuan Yin statue. It is best that you wear a comfortable running shoes and bring a bottle of mineral water before visiting the temple. For more information on kek lok si, visit www.penang-vacations.com

Penang Botanic Gardens – A Nature Delights

Penang Botanical Gardens or fondly refer to as “Waterfall Gardens” was established by the British back in 1884. The garden are bound by evergreen tropical rainforest and divided by a cascading stream and sprawling with 29 hectares of prime and undulating grounds.

The lush greenery gardens are Penangites favorite park and a popular tourist destination. The garden also act as an institute of learning, studying and researching of live specimen both in-situ and ex-situ. Every year, countless groups of undergraduates, students, government agencies and private sectors will come to the gardens to acquire wealth of information and knowledge on aspects of botany and horticulture.

Some of the interesting plant that can be found there includes:

• Cannon-Ball Tree: A beautiful fast growing tree which reaches 25m in height. The leaves have a life span of approximately 6 months after which they are shed rapidly so that the crown is usually bare for a day or two.
• Candle Tree: An evergreen tree with brown trunk and growing up to 6 to 10m. The flowers are big, solitary, bell shape and white in color, measuring 8cm wide.
• Argus Pheasant Tree: A tall deciduous tree reaching 31m in height with rounded crown and strong buttressed trunk when old.
• Ebony Tree: An evergreen, stout and shady wide spreading tree with dense dark green glossy leaves. It has a compact, dome shaped conical crown.

Besides being a botanic centre, the garden is a popular recreational spot. Some of the recreational activities include jogging, walking, jungle trekking and aerobics.

The Penang Botanic Gardens has been the permanent host to usher the annual international floral fest normally held in May. Participants from overseas, government agencies, private sectors and local councils are invited to participate in this annual event. The colorful events provides a wonderful experience and is and event not to be missed.

Entrance to the garden is FREE and is open daily from 5am to 8pm.

Black Swans At The Penang Bird Park!

Bird enthusiast has another thing to look for when visiting Penang bird Park comes December. After import ban was lifted, the park saw a new breed of rare water birds making its way into Penang most famous birdpark. Visitor can now view five rare Black Swans and five Mute Swans which were imported from Holland at a hefty cost of RM50, 000.

The Black Swans with a scientific name – Signus Atratus, is a large water bird which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Black Swans are mostly black feathered, with a line of white flight feathers of the wing edges that sometimes show when at rest, and are conspicuous in flight. The bill is bright red, with a pale bar and tip; and legs and feet are greyish-black. Cobs (males) are slightly larger than pens (females), with a longer and straighter bill. Cygnets (immature birds) are a greyish-brown with pale-edged feathers.

The migrating mute swans species (Signus Olor) are normally found in the wilderness and temperate areas such as Europe. The Mute Swan is one of the heaviest flying birds, with males averaging about 12 kg (27 lbs) and females more than 9 kg (20 lbs). An exceptionally enormous Polish cob weighed almost 23 kg (50 lbs), surpassing the longer-bodied Trumpeter Swan to make it the heaviest waterfowl ever recorded. Its size, orange-reddish bill and white plumage make this swan almost unmistakable at close quarters. Surveys done by airplane, however, often mistake the species, creating questionable counts. The most similar species is the Whooper Swan, but it has a yellow and black bill, lacks the curved “swan” neck, is longer and heavier, and lacks the characteristic projection above the bill.

The park plans to breed the cygnets (immature birds) of both species and supply them to others Zoo’s in Malaysia. According to the park director, this is the 2nd attempts by the park after more than 10 years ago, more than 10 swans has been devoured by python from the nearby pond. Others new bird can be found here include African guinea fowls, three species of African starling, barbets, hornbills and finches from Africa.

Photo by Flickr 

Penang Toy Museum

Splended Toy Museum now in Penang !
It is the passion of one man which resulted in a record-holding collection of figurines and toys.

Reputed to be Asia’s first and largest museum dedicated to collectible models, toys and figurines, the Penang Toy Museum is one of the must-see attractions if you visited Penang. It doesn’t matter whether you are young or old as the collectibles of more than 100,000 toys will definitely delights you. You’re just as likely to hear a 45 year-old Star Trek enthusiast exclaim in awe at the miniature Star Trek space crafts as you would a 6 year-old bubbling over the giant-sized ‘Stitch’ doll.

Among the collectibles that you will see at the museum are the figurines from various computer game characters including Superman, Tomb Raider and Spiderman. There are also impressive collections of miniatures and figurines from tv shows and movies such as the X-Files and Doraemon.

One of the highlights of the museum is the Chamber of Horrors, which features figurines and collectibles from horror movies such as “Nightmare on Elm Street”& Sleepy hollow. The museum also features audio and kinetic capabilities whereby sound clips from the particular character is played once the motion sensors built into these figurines detect movements from the visitors. Some of these figurines are also movable at the activation of its motion sensors. The experience is indeed exhilirating and fascinating.

Opens 9.00am to 9.00pm daily. Entrance fees are RM10 for adults and RM6 for children below 12 years old. Check out some of the photos that I took during my visit to the museum.

If you like to see more of this, visit my website at www.penang-vacations.com/penang-toy-museum.html

Penang New World Park – A New Era Begins

Penangites and tourist has a good reason to be happy with the opening of Penang newest park. The New World Park was officially launch by the chief minister on Burmah Road today and is set to attract plenty of Penangites as well as tourists.  Comes with a tagline ‘A New Era Begins’ , the park aims to bring back the glorious ‘Sin Sei Kai’ (new world in Hokkien) days of the late 1930s to the mid 1970s.

It was during those years that many unforgettable events is being carried out such as carnival and entertainment centre with performances by striptease queen Rose Chan and boxing and wrestling events.  

The place will be offering great entertainment from live band performances to acrobatic shows. If you like Penang food, the park will definitely be a crowd puller with more than 28 hawker stalls offering delicious Penang famous cuisine. Apart from this, there are also 39 retail stores, bistros, cafes and restaurants.

So… Check out this place if you have the time.

Reviving KTMB Service in Buterworth

GOOD NEWS! To those who wish to come to Penang via railway. This is because, the 10-coach Express Rakyat train was re-launched at the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd station in Butterworth after the service was discontinued seven years ago. 

The Ekspress Rakyat train leaves the Butterworth station at 7am daily heading for Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The journey to Singapore takes about 14 hours.  “The Express Rakyat train from Singapore to Butterworth will leave KTMB station in Tanjung Pagar at 7.40am every day.  And there is a possiblity of increasing the number of coaches to 19 if there is a demand.

The current service will be faster by at least an hour due to the completion of double-tracking system between Rawang and Ipoh. Previously, KTMB only run on a single track.

Exotic Penang Beaches

Penang’s northern shoreline is famous for its beautiful beaches of golden sand and water sports activities. The Tanjung Bungah, Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang beaches offer expansive stretches of glittering sand interspersed with secluded coves within the shelter of gigantic rocks. It is along this famous coastline that resorts of international standard have sprouted up, offering a host of water-based recreational facilities. This includes The Shangri-La’s, Copthorne Orchid Hotel, Bayview Beach Resorts and many more.

If you crave for privacy, you can head for Monkey Beach, Pantai Keracut and Pantai Mas accessible via the trails in the Pantai Acheh Forest Reserve from Teluk Bahang. Another beaches at Penang southwestern is The Pasir Panjang Beach which is a good clean stretch for swimming and can be reached after a 25-minute hike over hilly land from Betong.

Batu Ferringhi is no doubt one of the famous or “famous in the world” Many tourist come to the beach in drove especially during the holidays season. Pubs, restaurant, shops, hotels is easily available and there is even a daily night market for those who want to try their bargaining skills.

Photos tell a thousand words, enjoy it!

Batu Ferringhi beach

Batu Ferringhi watch tower

Hello Kitty & Friends – Juru Auto City

Juru Auto City was blasted with glittering lights from the recent lantern exhibition. The Penang International Lantern Festivals which is the annual event here features many cute & ferocious cartoon characters such as hello kitty and friends, dinosaurs, birds and many more.

This year theme is Hello Kitty & Friends in Penang Safari with the cutie hello kitty being the main attractions. The exhibition is being held in conjunction with Mid-Autumn festivals. For this year, the exhibition is very long; starting from Sept to Dec. Entrance to the event is RM15 for adults and RM10 for children.

Below are some of the photos that I took during the festivals. Enjoy!!!
 
 

  

 
 

If you like the photos & would like to see more of it, visit my website at http://www.penang-vacations.com/lantern-festivals.html

Penang is in “Festive Mood”

Finally…

Chinese New Year is coming and Penangites are gearing up for the important occasion. The Year of the Rat may be a month away but the festive mood is already very much in the air at markets and shopping malls here. At the Chowrasta Market, one of the island’s biggest and oldest street markets, loud Chinese New Year songs greet market goers and stalls have started selling festive goodies and decorations.

ACCORDING to Chinese legend, the Rat tricked the Ox in a race and emerged the winner to head the 12-year animal cycle.  And now, although there are about three weeks to go before the Pig passes the baton to the Rat, the latter has already “sneaked” into some shopping malls in town to announce its imminent arrival.

Most decorative items are in bright red and gold colours and carry the mouse theme. Bright red T-shirts, some with Mickey and Minnie Mouse motifs appear to be a hit with shoppers. The price at major shopping malls haven’t come down yet. Normally when CNY is getting nearer, most shopping malls will start to do promotion. This will be the best time to do bargain hunting for cheap stuff. I’m waiting eagerly right now with my biggest payout due to 4 month bonus last month. Shhh… Don’t tell anyone!

Happy Chinese New Year & “Gong Xi Fa Cai”