I AM THE BORNEO EXPLORER 婆罗洲探险者

The fame of Penang's snake temple goes back a long way. Two postcards which are believed to date back to the 40s show the temple's altar replete with coiled snakes. During its heyday, the temple reputedly drew hundreds of local and foreign visitors daily. The scene inside the temple and outside was one of festivity, what with the many stalls selling souvenirs and other items, and the temple hall jam packed with devotees and visitors. Even today, thousands of devotees make a trip to this "Temple of the Azure Cloud" or "Pure Cloud Temple" (as it is called) during the birthday celebrations of the resident deity, Chor Soo Kong which occurs thrice yearly, on the 6th days of the first, sixth and eleventh months of the lunar calendar respectively. Local devotees as well as those from as far away as Europe and neighbouring countries in Asia bring offerings of candles, incense and eggs (for the snakes). Holding aloft sticks of burning incense like bouquets of flowers...

I didn’t sleep well last night, the room temperature are too cold. The reception didn’t give us the remote, and had preset the temperature to 16°C. So my friend and I woke up early, we’re starving. We then roam around the town area to look for a place for breakfast, the shops here only operate at 9am, and some are 10am. If we’re at Kuching now, the coffee shop had start operate from 6am. When at George Town, I was like walking in a history class. Most of the buildings have this British looks, and is like walking in a history class. I’ve walk in some very old temple for photos, and when asked about the history, most of them are over 100 years old. :O Trishaw service are everywhere at George Town, the price range can be around RM5 to RM10 for one trip. The population from what I can see, Chinese had the most, and then Malay and India are even. Most of the Chinese here speak Hokian, but the ways they speak are different from how we speak at Sarawak. My friend and I had no direction, don’t...

I reach Penang around 10.30pm, my friend and I choose to stay at George Town area. George Town was founded in 1786 by Captain Francis Light, a trader for the British East India Company, as base for the company in the Malay States. He obtained the island of Penang from the Sultan of Kedah and built Fort Cornwallis on the north-eastern corner of the island. The fort became the nexus of a growing trading post and the island's population reached 12,000 by 1804. Why do I want to choose George Town, cause on July 8, 2008 George Town, Penang was added to Unesco's World Heritage List. After roaming around George Town with my travel buddy, we decided to stay in this very unique looking hotel, is called Cathay Hotel. Sandwiched between the hectic Jalan Penang and the backpacker strip of Lebuh Chulia, Lebuh Leith is a relatively quiet and unassuming street. The Cathay Hotel here is an old whitewashed colonial-era villa, set a little back from the street in its own little courtyard. Steppi...

There will be a worshiping ceremony on the coming weekend at the Buddhist temple, I company my friends to Sunday Market to buy fruits. There is a little boy at the fruit stall helping his mom. He has dark skin, and short hair. His math is good; he can calculate our fruits price without using the calculator. I was impress =O my math sucks. Sunday Market start at Saturday evening 3pm onwards, till Sunday 12pm. The stall are cheap, my friend who has a stall there told me it only cost around a few dollar a day to rent the place. The fruit stall owner dig all the fruits out, and repack into small packing. This is the smart kid. I ask how is the apple? He just smile, then I asked him again, if the apple is not sweet, can I change it with you? He smile, and give me a shy look. Hahaha… is nice to talk to kids. We’ve survey all the pricing first before buying them, Sunday Market at Satok Kuching is the best place to get fresh fruits. ------------------------------------------------...

It was a hot weekend last week; my friend and I went to enjoy the cold stream water at the Matang Family Park. The last time I visited this place was three years ago. The park here beside steam water, they also had chalet which cost a hundred plus for one night, then there is area which they kept all the orang utan. The park here is taken care by the Sarawak Wildlife and National Park department. So upon entering the park, we need to pay entrance fee. Wilson and the Wildlife Wilson love swimming

”We still go to the beach?” I asked my friend once I’m in his car. I follow a group of friends to Sampadi Beach on the first of January. “Ya, still going :)” my friend answer me. Our destination is a open beach, it does not have beautiful resort, does not have toilet, does not have barbeque stand, does not have security guard, is just an open space. To get to the beach, need to pass by Matang, then cross a river by using a ferry. While crossing the river, the rain had stop. The win is strong and cold, can tell that a heavy rain is coming. It tooks us about one hour to reach the beach, we unload all our drinks, chicken curry, lamb curry, eggs, chicken wing, fried noodles, junk food, and many more. The senior uncle and aunties, they start the fire for barbeque. While waiting, we all walk around the beach. The win is so strong that I had a feeling that I was going to blown away by it. The rain start to drizzle, I feel cold and hungry. The beach is cover by coconut trees and pine trees. Th...