Here And There
Posted by Scott Calderon on Thursday, September 23, 2010
Today I was taken around Penang to many different places. Here is one of the state mosques.
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It didn't really sink in until today that I am staying in a Muslim country. Malaysia has 3 big populations. About 2/3 are Malays, and the other 1/3 are either Chinese or Indian. Since 2/3 of the population is Malay and they are all Muslims Malaysia is considered a Muslim country. That is why cigarettes and alcohol is so expensive here because Muslims cannot smoke or drink. A 6-pack of regular beer here is about $10 here. During the today's drive my friend's dad took me to the town where he was born and raised. We stopped at a Hindu temple built by his grandfather.
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This temple started as a wooden hut, but over the years has been upgraded and remodeled. It was just redone a few years ago. To this day my friend's uncle still looks after the temple. Then we continued to drive up the mountains in the middle of the island and I was treated to this view.
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Next we drove to Air Hitam Dam.
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This was a waterfall that fed into the lake formed by the dam. This trip to the dam was very special for my friend's dad as he has not been here in over 20 years and he has many pictures throughout the years of himself and my stepdad in front of the dam. So when he comes here he thinks of my stepdad (a very close friend of his) and he remembers all the good times they have had. He was very happy to be at the dam with me and hopes one day he and my stepdad will return to the dam one last time. From the dam I was again treated to another spectacular view of the island.
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This is a view of Georgetown the main city on Penang. The tall building you see is the tallest building in Penang and has a mall on the bottom floor. Behind it you can see some water and then land. The land is mainland Malaysia (Penang is and island). There is a bridge connecting the two and they are even working on a second bridge. Once we left the dam we stopped at another Hindu temple.
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There are 3 types of temples in Malaysia (Chinese pagodas, Hindu temples, and Malay Muslim mosques). They all have their own style. This is a traditional style Hindu temple above. After that we ate lunch. I had chicken rice which is Chinese, but known as a specialty in Singapore.
It was okay. It was just chicken and rice. I think it is probably much better at some other places. Just another simple day in Penang. The weather has also been great here too. It is warm and a little humid, but no too bad. It has rained a little, but not too much especially since it is rainy season.
It didn't really sink in until today that I am staying in a Muslim country. Malaysia has 3 big populations. About 2/3 are Malays, and the other 1/3 are either Chinese or Indian. Since 2/3 of the population is Malay and they are all Muslims Malaysia is considered a Muslim country. That is why cigarettes and alcohol is so expensive here because Muslims cannot smoke or drink. A 6-pack of regular beer here is about $10 here. During the today's drive my friend's dad took me to the town where he was born and raised. We stopped at a Hindu temple built by his grandfather.
This temple started as a wooden hut, but over the years has been upgraded and remodeled. It was just redone a few years ago. To this day my friend's uncle still looks after the temple. Then we continued to drive up the mountains in the middle of the island and I was treated to this view.
Next we drove to Air Hitam Dam.
This was a waterfall that fed into the lake formed by the dam. This trip to the dam was very special for my friend's dad as he has not been here in over 20 years and he has many pictures throughout the years of himself and my stepdad in front of the dam. So when he comes here he thinks of my stepdad (a very close friend of his) and he remembers all the good times they have had. He was very happy to be at the dam with me and hopes one day he and my stepdad will return to the dam one last time. From the dam I was again treated to another spectacular view of the island.
This is a view of Georgetown the main city on Penang. The tall building you see is the tallest building in Penang and has a mall on the bottom floor. Behind it you can see some water and then land. The land is mainland Malaysia (Penang is and island). There is a bridge connecting the two and they are even working on a second bridge. Once we left the dam we stopped at another Hindu temple.
There are 3 types of temples in Malaysia (Chinese pagodas, Hindu temples, and Malay Muslim mosques). They all have their own style. This is a traditional style Hindu temple above. After that we ate lunch. I had chicken rice which is Chinese, but known as a specialty in Singapore.
It was okay. It was just chicken and rice. I think it is probably much better at some other places. Just another simple day in Penang. The weather has also been great here too. It is warm and a little humid, but no too bad. It has rained a little, but not too much especially since it is rainy season.