Penang, Malaysia

It's quite some time(just over an year) that I am working & living here. This place attracted me from the day one. It might be it's scenic beauty or it's open culture or something like a peace of mind for myself. But always there has been a comfort of home, one would always like to have, away from home.

I am not intended to write a story about myself but I would like to write about this beautiful place Penang.

Penang is the name of an island in the Straits of Malacca, and also of one of the states of Malaysia, located on the north-west coast of peninsular Malaysia. Penang is the second smallest state in Malaysia after Perlis, and the eighth most populous. A resident of Penang is colloquially known as a Penangite.

The island and mainland are linked by the 13.5km long Penang Bridge and ferry.

Total Area: 1,046.3 km²
Population: 1.4 million

Climate:
Nights are slightly cooler, and rainfall is quite evenly distributed throughout the year, with more rain from September to November.
Temperature (Day) 27°C -30°C
Temperature (Night) 22°C - 24°C
Mean Annual Rainfall 267 cm
Relative Humidity 70% - 90%

Culture:
Culturally diverse, this mini melting pot consists of 44.2% Chinese, 37.9% Malays, 10% Indians and 7.9% of other races.

Religion:
The official religion is Islam, but there is freedom of worship. There are numerous mosques, Christian churches, Buddhist and Hindu temples.

Food:
The island of Penang is truly for the gourmet, with a taste sensation for every connoisseur. Here, the adventurous eater can sample the distinctly different cuisine of Malays, Chinese and Indians.

It will truly be a gastronomic crime if one did not sample the local fare while in Penang. Hawkers (open air stalls) are in abundance everywhere, and offer a great variety of food that one could stay for two weeks and still not be able to savour every dish available.

Festivals:
For it's multi-ethnic society, Penang has kaleidoscope of festivals and celebrations which seems to last the entire year.

Chinese New Year is celebrated usually in late January or early February, and it marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar year. Traditionally, on this day, parents would present their children with money, wrapped in an ang pow (red packet). Visiting of friends and family usually occur on the first and second days. A huge family dinner on the fifteenth day of the new year (Chap Goh Meh) marks the end of celebrations.

Chap Goh Meh - Celebrated on the 15th night of the first month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The highlight of the festivity is the 'orange-throwing' ceremony, in which local maidens cast oranges into the sea for would-be suitors to catch.

Thaipusam - a tribute to Lord Subramaniam, the highlight of this Hindu festival is the carrying of kavadis by devotees in order to fulfill their vows. On the first day, a pocession with a chariot containing the statues of Lord Subramaniam and his consorts is led from Sri Mariamman Temple to Waterfall Road Temple.

The Birthday of the Goddess of Mercy (Kuan Yin). Around March and July, worshippers flock to the Goddess of Mercy temple to pay their respects. The Goddess is said to possess the 'milk of human kindness'.

Wesak Day - is the Lord Buddha's birthday, and Buddhist temples are brim full of worshippers and priests. In the evening, there is a street procession of gaily decorated floats, including one with a large illuminated statue of Buddha.

Hari Raya Puasa falls at a different time each year based on the Muslim calendar. This celebration marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. During the period of festivities, Malay houses are gaily lit and decorated. Visits to the mosque for special prayers and later to homes of relatives are a must.

Birthday of HM The Yang Di-pertua Agong On the first Saturday of June, people throughout Malaysia celebrate their Agong's (King's) birthday with parades and festivities.

Saint Anne's Feast is celebrated at the Church of St Anne from 26th to 28th July, with mass and a candlelight procession within the church compound.

Hari Raya Haji is a religious day for Muslims, especially for Hajis who have made their holy pilgrimage to Mecca.

Festival of Nine Emperor Gods is celebrated around the end of October. Devotees go on a 9 day vegetarian diet, at the end of which, a pilgrimage is made up the 1200 steps to the Kew Ong Yeah temple.

National Day The 31st of August is Malaysia's independence day.

Deepavali A festival of lights celebrated by the Hindus, which commemorates the happy return of Lord Ram after his victory over Ravan.

Christmas Day Celebrated in the same spirit by all Christians, with midnight masses conducted in all churches.

A Journey to Goa (गोवा यात्रा)

Am not a professional writer or a frequent blogger, although at times I do feel to write about my journeys or thoughts or maybe about people I admire.

This is one of the journey I would love to talk about. It's been with my family and also it's about one of the famous tourist spot around the world, a well known name, Goa.

In 2006, I was working in Penang, Malaysia. My family members planned a trip to Goa (from Delhi) and asked me if I would like to join them on this trip, which I accepted without any second thought. At that time I was single or should I say engaged.. oh yes, I was engaged and my fiancee was there at some place between my journey destinations, somewhere between Mumbai to Goa.

So, the day reached, time to catch my flight from Kuala Lumpur which means I have to manage to reach KL(Kuala Lumpur), as I couldn't secure a ticket from Penang to KL. I reached to Bus Stand, luckily got a ticket to KL. I bought plenty of phone cards and planned to talk to my fiancee all the way to KL(5+ hours of journey). So the fun started from the first minute itself as the bus destined to KL started. Oops.. what a fat man was sleeping on the seat beside me. But who cares, what I had on my mind was a few moments that I might get to see my fiancee on this trip. And the talks were on and on..

I reached KL and I didn't slept even for a minute on the way. And as soon as I reached at the airport, I started feeling sleepy and I was afraid as if I went to sleep, I might miss my flight. And she helped me here, gave me a call at the right time to wake me up. All the way to Mumbai, I had thoughts about her alongwith my family members whom with I was going to spend my holidays luckily.

From last 5-6 years, I think we never gathered when each and every member of family were there. It was altogether a different feeling to imagine all of my family members, that too totally free to spend some time only for each other from their busiest of schedules. All in all, those were the moments giving me the happiest time ever in my life.

I started from KL and reached Mumbai, landed at about 2:00 o'clock in the morning. Came out of the airport and now I have to plan for my further journey. I enquired about different airlines, but as it was the peak season, there were no seats available in the morning flights. So the only options available were either by road or by train. The total traveling time to Goa from Mumbai by road was told as approx 12 hours and by train it's almost 7 hours. So I planned to go by train and reached railway station.

It's long time that I had traveled in a train. The only ticket I could get was of IInd class. But I was happy that at last I had managed to get a place to travel. The train was supposed to start at 7:00 AM in the morning. I reached to platform and wooaahhh.. such a crowd, so many people. I can imagine what it will be like for a few European people, who were around that place to catch there seat. It must be a scene for them to capture(a few did so), as they hardly got to see such a gathering in there lifetime.

Not enough seats were available for such a huge waiting crowd. Those which were available, were already captured by local station people/beggars/tea-vendor's customers. All in all, it was a place to give you a real image of India, which normally remains invisible to our high profile politicians.