An evening stroll at Mengkuang Dam

You will never walk alone

Visitors thronging the park

Reflection

Fishing is prohibited

Some young visitors feeding fish with bread at the bank

A big round bark on one of the rubber trees

An unusual branch from the same tree

Picnic at the hill slope under the rubber trees

A scenic view from the bank to the main entrance

Hot spot for picture

Sky over Mengkuang Dam

Slope up to the rest area

R & R

A wall of Mengkuang Dam

Not to miss out the beautiful landscape and wonderful spot to relax, Bigfoothill took a quick stroll at the Mengkuang Dam near Bukit Mertajam, Penang.  It will be closed to the public from August 1, 2011 till July 31, 2016 for the dam expansion to cater to the demand for water in the State of Penang in the coming years due to the rising populations and consumption.

There are many visitors on the weekends and it was receiving exceptionally higher number of visitors today.  Many came with their family and friends.  Most of them brought their best digital cameras and equipments to capture the moments as the place are sentimental to many visitors.  It could be the place where many met and fell in love with their spouses, the place where they shoot their outdoor wedding pictures, the place for exercise and jogging with their whole family, young and old. 

The closure of the Mengkuang Dam and recreational park to public is unavoidable.  It is for the benefit of all Penangites to have the expansion to meet the water demand in the future.  In view of the construction activities and the movement of heavy vehicles within the dam and park, it is for the safety of the public that the place is restricted for this period.  Let us bear with the inconveniences for the next five years.  For our safety and also to protect our health from contamination of our drinking water store at the dam, let us hope the government and people can work together to monitor the dam and park throughout the construction period to ensure that we have a better place to continue to enjoy at the end of the project. 

There are many other recreational parks in Seberang Perai and Penang Island that the visitors can do their regular exercises and activities. We need a little effort to go to a new recreational park and adapt to it. Any kind of mass development projects are bound to have some kind of objections from the general public especially those that have been used to the place or the ease of doing their economic and social activities in the surrounding areas. 

For those coffee shops, nearby food stalls and fruits vendors, their livelihoods will definitely be affected most as some of their clients are mostly visitors to the Mengkuang Dam recreational parks beside the locals. Let us hope that they will find new clients from the workers involved in the construction project during this period.

There were many dissenting voices including the politicians when the previous government proposed the construction of the dam back in the 1980's.  Today, the present state government who were once the dissenting voices in the oppositions have to switch roles and work together with the Federal Government to implement the expansion program for the benefit of all Malaysians and visitors to our country.  We cannot promote Penang as World Heritage Sites if the tourists do not have clean and healthy water for drinking and washing.

In fact, this project have been overdue.  You can read the The Star article on this project two years ago.  Bukit Mertajam will definitely reap the benefits from this project as the Dam is situated in its vicinity. There was the centralized sewage project at Bukit Minyak that was going on for the past two years. The ongoing railway double tracking is causing its people a lot of inconvenience due to the many road detours and heavy traffic jams daily within town and residential estates as the people commute between their house, offices and schools.  As soon as these projects are completed, we will enjoy a smoother ride home with less congestion.  Meantime, the town have been dusty.

A number of Penangites from the island side have had the impressions that the mainland side of Penang are dusty and dirty since many years ago when bigfoothill got to mingle with them.  I hope this perception will change someday in the future. Dirty?  Any part of our country are dirty if we are all throwing and dumping rubbish everywhere we set foot on.  It is everyone's duty to keep our environment clean and make it a habit not to litter at our convenience. Look at our other recreational parks that have so much waste plastic bottles and other wastes that got stranded on our drains and rivers. I am sure we have seen people who throw rubbish out from their cars while driving on Malaysian roads.  Can't we keep it in our vehicle till we park next to the rubbish bin and dispose the rubbish?

It is also hope that the government and contractors will replace and replant the trees uprooted in the course of the implementation of the the mega projects, upon completion as rapidly as they chopped it down and bulldozed it when they started the projects. Many times, we lack the will power and enforcement to get the contractors to deliver what is promised under the plan including the compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) reports to green the place after the project is completed. Measures should be put in place to hold back the retention fund until full satisfaction of a job well done.  May the local councils monitor this compliance and may the Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) be more active in this area for the community instead of being political. Let us love Mengkuang Dam, Bukit Mertajam and our Mother Earth.

Bridging the gap and a reflection of a fisherman's life

 

Fisherman scooping cockles and crabs near Penang Bridge

Recently, I had captured on my camera this fisherman who went out to the sea near Penang Bridge to scoop up cockles, crabs and mantis prawns.  It is tough for most of us to beat the traffics to get to our offices in the city and industrial estates daily across the channel.  Have you ever fancy that your office is located in the middle of the sea? There are no traffic lights to halt you along your journey.  Instead of driving an automobile and an air-conditioned car complete with radio and digital media players while listening to your favorite deejays spinning your chart topping songs, why not get into a boat like this man for a day and experience the transformation at his floating office along the busy bridge? If you ever get caught on the snarls when some pile ups occurred on the bridge, we can only think of getting onto the speed boat to get to our destination.

Bigfoothill salutes the fisherman for his unfailing toils to bring the harvest for the day to shore and into our kitchen daily.  It is a very risky profession that many of us will not switch to considering that many of us are academically blessed and qualified for the cool office jobs.  Moreover, their jobs are lowly rewarded monetarily. They are facing the same social and economic crisis no less like us due to the rising fuel cost for transportation and increases in prices of other consumer goods.

Think for a moment... can we survive a day without seafood in our diet? How many times we complained that the seafood prices are highly expensive or it is not fresh for our palate?  Can we survive a day as a fisherman with our academic achievements? Or we need the physical and mental strength?  Do we need to learn to "drive" steer our boat before we can jump into the boat?  Do you know how to swim? Can you repair a leakage? We need to be skillful and plenty of skills to be a fisherman.  We need to know the time to go out to the sea and the time for low tides and high tides. Where are the winds' blowing direction and how deep is the sea by just looking at the water. Can we withstand the searing heats of the Sun, and the wet and cold showers of the rain and thunderstorm. Where are the schools of fish to be found.  When to cast our net and how to pull it up without getting it entangled?  Which spot can catch what type of sea creatures? Have you heard of tales of how fishermen have saved how many human lives that fell into the seas in the past and those that "fell" from the bridge and were rescued alive or dead? They responded to our SOS. They are the sailor, captain and rescuer of our lifeboat.

Did the fisherman learn all these skills in the comfort of a conference room like many of us in our calling? Is there a fancy party to celebrate their graduation ceremony?  How nice are the smell of the flowers and the  graduation "robes" that we will happily wear, hug and kiss our heroes and heroines, take memorable pictures with our loved ones? Hopefully, we do not complain of the fishy smell or distance ourselves from them the next time we walk pass a humble fisherman.  Let us be reminded of their sacrifices and passion for the noble and lovely jobs they did out there in the dangerous seas they call their workplaces and offices.

Let us greet and thank them from the bottom of our hearts like we do when we see our teacher and master. Wave to the fishermen the next time you meet them or when you see them on the boat out in the seas. Let us honor their friendships that are unsinkable in time of crisis. Let us cheer them on in moments when they are in solitude and in need of our solidarity.  They embrace a charitable profession with life, blood and sweats, love and passion.

Thank God for the safety of our family and the jobs we keep for we do not have to do the hard and risky labor like the fishermen and do not have to suffer the agony of anxiety like their families while waiting for their daily safe return home to bring the food  and to put on our dinning table. May God bless the fishermen and their families bountiful harvest, abundance of wealth, passion and happiness, and keep them safe and in good health.

This is the day in Penang

Sunrise over Bukit Mertajam seen from Penang Island

Did you fancy watching sunrise in Penang?  Pull yourself up at 6.00am and go to the Eastern seaside area along the seafront near the Esplanade right through the ferry terminal, Weld Quay, Tun Dr Lim Cong Eu's Expressway up to the Bayan  Lepas Free Trade Zone coastal road. Pick your favorite spot and wait for the ray of lights to emerge between 6.30am to 7.00am.  Bring along your cameras, Iphone and whatever mobile phone with camera function and you will be in for the beautiful moments which you will probably want to capture and share with friends.

How many of us, especially those living in houses and apartments with the vantage views along eastern coastal areas in Penang, and those living on the Mainland and other places in Penang Island really wake up that early everyday to catch the glimpses of Nature.  There were some photographers with their equipments trotting onto the nearby fishing jetty to capture those moments on that day. They were the rare few people like Bigfoothill.

Time to rise early and jump up and down yeah!  This is the day the Lord has made. At least I have celebrated one day in my lifetime watching the sunrise in Penang with my kid.

Please enjoy this You Tube video of Hillsong Kids uploaded by kidsrealm

Credit goes to Biblos.com for the reference on Bible verses. Also, credits go to Hillsong Kids and kidsrealm for the uploaded video.

Working or relaxing at Penang Island

Rest and Relax

Angling and relax

TV3 helicopter flying low near E & O Hotel seafront

If you are in Penang and after a hard day's work, you can find a nice spot like here near the E & O Hotel to relax and unwind.  Bring your sporting gears and go for a jog near the Esplanade or just pack you fishing gears, get some baits like prawns and fish and you are ready for some nice catch.  Here under the tree shade, you can sit at the edge and catch the sun going down near the Tanjong Tokong seaside.

Do watch out for surprise aerobatic show from the local TV3 station helicopter crew who fly pass E & O Hotel and nearby areas once in a while.  This is no Hawaii Five O stunt. 

Do work hard and let your heart out. Have a great day with five star rest and relax spots by the sea when you are in Penang.

Long Hibernation and Weddings

Bigfoot went into hibernation mode at the hill.  The period of inactivity and low metabolism was to conserve energy due to scarcity of food available at certain time of the year.   Actually not.  Bigfoot was actively having plenty of food and feasting at Chinese Weddings, Malay Weddings, Church Wedding and royal weddings.  Really missed out the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Duchess Kate but somehow, I was glad to catch glimpses of the Royal Couple's visits to Canada on BBC channel recently.

Had some wonderful time clicking my Sony Alpha 380 DSLR camera and recording on Sony Handycam DCR-SR47 the brides and grooms and their families, relatives and friends during the customary rites and wedding ceremony and reception.

Tang Yuan is a dessert made of glutinous rice flour roll into rounded ball and boiled with sweet broth.  Some balls are dyed in different colours.  Some are stuffed in the center with nuts and other ingredients.  In Chinese culture, it is prepared and eaten once a year to welcome winter during the Dong Zhi or winter solstice.  By consuming it, one becomes a year older.  Today, this dessert is popular at many Chinese hawkers fair and restaurants, and can be eaten all year round.  On this wedding eve, the bride and bridegroom will offer prayers and bowls of Tang Yuan broth to the God of Heaven and are fed this Tang Yuan to signify growing up or Manhood and Womanhood.

Red paper cutting with Double Happiness and Dragon & Phoenix designs and Chinese Inscription, A Hundred Year Everlasting Good Couple

Romantic Bear Couple in Traditional Chinese Costumes.

The Journey to fetch the bride across Penang Bridge

The Wedding Car

The wedding entourage

The twin roses to pin on the Groom's suite by the Bride

The bride's veil is to cover the bride when she is presented to the Groom which in Chinese's Culture to signify her purity and a virgin bride. In today's fashion and contemporary, the veil becomes a piece ornamental dress and part of a head gear.

The desserts and beverages to welcome the groom's entourage

Traditionally, the Chinese couple will have their wedding bedroom beautifully decorated and some good elements are placed on the bed and in the room. Hey Mickey and Minnie, Bedtime.

A blessed couple having a Money tree sprouting in their toilet.  USD and Euro rolls. For richer and for poorer...till as long as we both shall live

Bear Couple lives happily ever after and bears children yeah!