Wonders About Chinese New Year

You will be surprised by the number of Calendars teh world is still using. It is over 50 different calenders, which means 50 different new years celebrations. We all celebrate the new years Eve and countdown the last seconds to bid goodbye to the current year and welcome the new one, but Chinese new year celebration is a whole new level of celebrations,

Chinese New Year always falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Other Asian countries such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam also celebrate new year using the lunar calendar.
The celebration extends for 15 days , it is the longest new year celebration period in the world.

Chinese families take long hours trips to visit their families and celebrate the new years Eve with them.
There is a variety of ancient customs that are unfortunately starting to fade, But the most important ones are the Lion Dance , the firecrackers and the red lanterns and paper cutouts on doors. As there is a story behind.

The Lion dance Story 

Legend has it long ago there was a people- eating monster called NIAN , it was so scary that looked like ether a dragon a lion or a unicorn (Funny because Unicorns are beautiful!!!). On the first and the 15th of every first month of the lunar year, the monster would come out of the mountains and seek the villages t o eat their people.  the fright and fear grew into their hearts that they would no longer open their doors or celebrate that period . Until one day , an old wise man suggested to make noises by beating drums and lightening fireworks and hanging red lanterns on their doors supposedly the Monster is afraid of the color red. 

The next time the monster appeared during the coldest nights of winter, the villagers did exactly as what the old wise man told them to do. As expected the plan worked and the monster was so frightened by the noises coming from teh firecrackers and teh drums that he went running in every direction until he fell from exhaustion. Then people killed it and celebrated their united efforts.

Since then, Chinese have kept the tradition by beating drums and gongs and playing with firecrackers ( It doesn't sound as pleasant if you are trying so hard to sleep at 3 am and they haven't stopped the noises yet)

HAPPY HORSE YEAR 

Wandering GeorgeTown

Where do I start? GeorgeTown is this  little wonderful place based in an island called Penang. the place itself has so much to offer in so many levels such as its unique street art, fabulous cuisine and heady mix of history and cultures ... Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007, George Town is officially recognised as having unique architectural and cultural townscapes without parallel anywhere in Asia.

Being here for quite a long period of time I kind of learned how to live like a local and deal with them. Although, they would still see me as a tourist, but that's just because i'm white.

Of course for the first couple of days, I've done some pretty touristy things, such as visiting the museum, going around the streets and taking pictures everywhere I go.
 So here is how I spent the first couple of days;
 I came to the hostel a bit late at night and I was tired so I went straight to bed, waking up very early in the morning I decided to rent a bike. the price for one day was 10RM only which is like 2 Euros 20 Dhs.

I had no idea where to go or what to do so I just kept cycling but don't get me wrong! I had a map!but I got lost at some point and gave up on it. so my pretty little red bike took me to the History museum which costed me 1RM  and that' like 2.5 Dhs, so cheap right?

Captain Francis Light

 It was interesting learning a bit of Georgetown's history  and how it was founded by Francis Light long story short , one king (of Keddah) offered Penang to Francis Light in exchange for military protection from some threatening tribes (Siamese and Burmese armies)  and since then Penang became a British possession in 1786 and Captain Francis Light helped estimating immigrates people from both India and China to settle down , work and build the cultural diversity we find now in Penang .
Long story short, Penang/Georgetown was founded by a British man called Francis Light.

Bridal bed on the Wedding Night

Malay Student Posing for my Photo

Traders

I past by Love Lane street which is a famous old street full of hostels and boutique houses to find myself in front of a Chocolate Museum!! they have all these kinds of chocolate flavors, I tried them all for free of course which is very cool! the worst chocolate I've ever tasted in my life was the Durian (fruit) flavored one..eww eww.. puke puke.. It tastes like a 3 days garbage. 

My next Stop was Esplanade. It is the heart of historical monuments from the British colonization. just sitting down by the sea side reading a book and taking nice pictures gave me a fresh breeze and I instantly fell in love with the place.

                   

  

A dreamer contemplating the beautiful view

                                     

An other dreamer enjoying his composure in this charming place  

Bengali Mosque/1803

Kapitan Kelling Mosque/19th century

Kapitan Kelling Mosque/19th century

St George Church/1818

Mahamariamman hindu Temple during the Indian new year 

Yap Kongsi Temple/1924

Fort Cornwallis

  

Queen Victoria Memorial Clock 

City Hall

Cheon Fatt Tzi Mansion aka The Blue Mansion

Riding my Bike along the Esplanade sea side

I followed the long sea side until I stumbled upon a very nice place called the Chew Jetty Clan

The Chew Jetty is actually a whole settlement of wooden houses built on silts and the name “Chew” is the surname of the residences and that’s where the name was derived. Migrant’s families with this surname would live together in this area. These clusters of wooden houses were built by the Chinese poor immigrants who work near the port during the nineteen century.

As of today, It became one of the famous attractions in Georgetown, where you can buy small souvenirs and see the daily life of the families who still live there as you walk by their houses.
It is indeed one of my favorite places. How I captured the picture of the humble life they lead everyday made me realize that one should be grateful and accepting of whatever life has to offer.
these people allow the tourists to encroach on their daily routines, having no privacy with all their open doors  welcoming the breeze coming from the sea.

From The Chew Jetty Clan you can see the Penang Ferry  which  is the oldest ferry service in Malaysia.this It connects the Island with the main Land in Butterworth. The ferries are designed for vehicles to roll-on/roll-off. Some board pedestrian passengers on the upper deck and small vehicles (cars) on the lower deck, whereas some board vehicles on both decks. The benches for passengers on the upper decks have pivoting backs that can be flipped back and forth so passengers can sit facing in the direction of travel regardless of which way the ferry is going. 

                                     

A view from the Chew Jetty on teh Ferry

Leaving the Chew Jetty, I had no Idea where to go.. so I noticed some of the other bikers taking the same road, so I followed them like a lost puppy and VOILAAA I was in the middle of all these wall painting also known as Georgetown street Art concept created by the Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic during Georgetown Festival. and developed by several talented artists with different projects such as 101 Lost Kittens Project,Children At Play Mural,Ernest Zacharevic's Murals and so many others.

Skippy, the Giant Cat

102nd Cat

people taking pictures with Skippy the giant Cat

 "Take Time To Sit With Your Pet" Art Installation

"Little Children on a Bicycle" Mural

"The Giant Rat" Mural

We're just Fabulous

"Love Me Like Your Fortune Cat" Mural

This cute piece was hidden in an alley and was very hard to find

Penang is a big Island and I spent enough time to see a lot, it would be unfair to this beautiful city if I don't talk about all the unique attractions so I will definitely make an other entry about the rest of attractions and places I visited.
I had amazing time in this wonderful city, definitely helped me wander and wonder a lot through all the amazing experiences I've been through during the time I spent  here which I will talk about in details some other time.

Holiday in Penang will never be complete, if you do not take an old fashion ride in Penang trishaw

All the Pictures Are self taken.