My Little Cleaner

Sweet Pea has discovered the need for things to be cleaned! :) Hooray!! I'm a bit unsure about her method. Check out my previous entry Bath Time.

Today I saw she was using her glasses to clean things. I asked her if the ponies needed a bath and she happily said yes. We got a paper towel wet and she went to town. She wiped down the living and dining rooms. I was very impressed when I saw her lift things off the table so she could clean underneath them! When I grabbed the camera, she said "No pictures momma, I'm cleaning right now!" When she was ready, she posed for me with her towel. She even cleaned the pieces from her My Little Ponies!

Clanhouses and More

We visited a couple of clan houses in Georgetown. The Khoo Kongsi is a clan (family) association of the Leong San Tong (Dragon Mountain Hall) clan, whose forefathers came from Sin Kang clan village in Hokkien province. They settled here and built this beautiful temple. The carvings, colors and design are amazing. The original temple mysteriously caught on fire and was rebuilt by 1906. Some say the gods started the fire because the temple was too ornate. 

During Chinese New Year and the Hungry Ghost Festival (July/August) the clanhouse is full of celebration and people. The Hungry Ghost festival is a time when they feed those who have died in order to protect the clanhouse members from incurring the anger of the spirits. They also have performers come to entertain the spirits. The opera house creates the perfect location for performers to sing, dance and entertain.

The Theater

The Cheah Kongsi temple was one of the locations Anna and the King was filmed. Apparently the Thai government did want the filming to take place in their country, so Penang was used. We drove all over the place where the movie was filmed.

Detail of the Clan House

Portions of "Anna and the King" were filmed here {school scenes I believe}

The Chew Jetty is another clanhouse. It's known as the floating house. This one is built on stilts along a portion of the coastline. Tradition typically has generations of people living in the clanhouse. Sons marry and stay with their family sometimes in the same home as parents and grandparents.

The Clock Tower

Fort Cornwallis was a star-shaped fort built by Captain Sir Francis Light.

It was quite impressive walking on top of the battlements, unfortunately the location of the fort didn't provide mush of a defense.

More Cannons

Kapitan Keling Mosque is a mosque built in the 19th century by Indian Muslim traders. The land was donated by Captain Light. The mosque was simple, but so beautiful. I loved the white decor and the beautiful arches.

The Beetle Nut Sculpture

After leaving the Khoo Kongsi, we hired a trishaw driver for a two hour tour of the area. Ms A was so excited to go for a ride. I was a bit nervous to ride the bike in traffic. Our driver had 32 years experience and took a few risks that made me a bit nervous (like driving into opposing drivers or easing into the perpendicular traffic to cross the street), but we were safe and Ms A had a great time.

Kek Lok Si

The Kek Lok Si project was inspired by the chief monk of the Goddess of Mercy Temple of Pitt Street. This temple built in tiers culminates the beautifully crafted ''Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas'' or the Pagoda of Rama VI, named after the Thai king who laid the foundation stone. It towers just over a hundred feet and is reputed to be the largest pagoda in Malaysia. Construction commenced in 1915 and upon its completion in 1930, it was opened with a series of grand ceremonies every seven days over a period of forty-nine days. 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.

Normally the temple is not so decorated, but since we visited it during Chinese New Year the Chinese lanterns and the colored lights were up. One of Reed's co-workers mentioned they light up certain buildings each night, so by the end of Chinese New Year celebrations {two weeks} the entire temple complex is lit up. We had a marvelous time wandering around this immense temple built on the hillside of Air Hitam, which means black water. Reed walked up to the top of the Pagoda of Rama VI. It was a fun evening. We look forward to seeing it in the daylight. :)

Kek Lok Si lit up for Chinese New Year. To the left is where they were working on a HUGE Buddha.

Tons of Little Buddhas

In front of the pagoda

School and Prayer room

I love the rows and rows of Chinese Lanterns

We had fun taking pictures of the lanterns and the moon.

Reed climbed up the Pagoda and took a few pictures.

Ms A and Mommy below

Bath Time

Ms A has been having a difficult time taking baths here, usually she has a shower instead. The shower heads are detachable, so we can control the water a bit better. She hates to have her hair washed because the water gets in her eyes and ears.

The other day she decided her doll needed a bath, so she spit on her. I talked to her about how spitting is not nice. Today she came in to ask if we could give dolly a bath. We took her in and I had Ms A bathe her with a washcloth. It was so sweet watching her tenderly wash her doll. Afterwards, she told her dolly how brave she was and then told me that dolly was cold and to dry her off. Again she was so soft. When we were all done, she told the dolly that her 'itchies' were all gone.

Rock -n- Roll

Around 4:10 pm our time, I was sitting at my computer preparing for a talk on Sunday. All of the sudden, I felt like my chair was swaying back and forth. I thought it was me, so I asked Reed if he felt it as well, he did. I looked at the chandelier and saw it swaying as well. I remembered a earthquake we felt in Idaho when I was younger. My mom, who is from California, tried to convince us that is was an earthquake and pointed out the swinging chandelier. Reed and I thought it was the wind, but we had seen stronger winds and not felt them. I decided to check out the USGS site http://earthquake.usgs.gov.

Sure enough there was a earthquake in SIMEULUE, INDONESIA. Very exciting! We are safe and far enough away to feel the swaying motions, but not get hurt.

Our landlord was here at the time and he assured us that Penang doesn't have earthquakes or Tsunamis. :) It's usually Indonesia that has those experiences.

Echo, Echo

We came home from a busy night of shopping and discovered we had a visitor waiting to come inside. Sweet Pea kept on shouting "Echo, Echo!" She usually does that anyways because of the echoing areas in our complex.  This time she seemed a bit more concerned than playing. Suddenly she said "There's an echo in our house!" Reed and I realized that she was talking about a little three inch GECKO that had rushed inside.

Sweet Pea was so excited, but very concerned that it was in our home. She wanted to touch it, but was scared when it came towards her. Reed finally helped the gecko leave after it had crawled down the hall and into the living room. She calmed down considerably. The gecko was pretty quick, so I couldn't take a picture. :)

We have seen the geckos throughout the area, but none have made it in our home. At least none that we know about :). They are good to have around because they eat mosquitoes and other pests.