Bukit Bendera

March 13th, 2008 at 21:51 · Filed Under Holidays, Malaysia, Penang, Photography, Scenery · 1 Comment 

Bukit Bendera or Penang Hill is one of the famous tourist spot. The weather is cooler up there. We took the 2:00PM funicular train up the hill. Single trip takes about half an hour to reach the top. It was the first time for my kids and I to go up the hill. The first time I visited Penang about 30 years (and the last time was about 10 years) ago I did not go to Penang Hill due to some reasons I could not remember. It has got great views along the track and on top of the hill. I recommend to go Penang Hill off peak season when the funicular train is not packed by tourists, otherwise it will be a humid and uneasy experience especially with younger children.

At about 410 meters above sea level, the weather is cooler but no cooler than Fraser Hill. The visibility is not good, indicates pollution on the island. Here you can see the Penang Bridge and Komtar.

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Pulau Tikus

March 13th, 2008 at 21:50 · Filed Under Buddhism, Holidays, Malaysia, Penang, Photography, Scenery · Comment 

Pulau Tikus (Rat Island) is neither an island nor an area infested by rats. It is a name of a place on Penang Island which is said to be named after the actual Pulau Tikus Isle. Despite of its name, it is one of the upper class neighborhood with many mansions, bungalows and colonial buildings, and many high-end condominiums such as those along Gurney Drive.

We went to the Burmese and Siamese Buddhist Temples in Pulau Tikus after visiting Kek Lok Si. Although it is one of the tourist spots, one still can find serenity at both temples comparing to Kek Lok Si. These photos are taken at the Siamese Buddhist Temple which is situated directly opposite of the Burmese Buddhist Temple.


Two high-end condominiums in the background.


The two guardians outside of the temple.


The sleeping Buddha.

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Kek Lok Si

March 13th, 2008 at 21:49 · Filed Under Buddhism, Holidays, Malaysia, Penang, Photography, Scenery · 4 Comments 

Kek Lok Si (or 极乐寺 in Chinese) is a Buddhist temple situated on a hill in Air Hitam in Penang. It is the best known Buddhist temple on the island and possibly the whole Malaysia. My last visit was more than 10 years ago with LA when I was giving talks at USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia).

We climbed up to the temple from the foot of the hill via a passage surrounded by souvenir stores. Sad to say, along the passage way, I saw garbage and many deserted stores. This is an awful site to this famous tourist spot on this pearl of orient.

Nonetheless, the temple is quite well maintained and many beautifying and expansion project are being carried out. IMO, the temple is rather too commercialized. Everywhere money, money, money. Encouraging tourists and Buddhist visitors to donate or buy stuff, good for the island economy (and the temple) but it is overdone. It is no exception in this materialistic world the temple has to seek financial for its survival and continue expansion and beautification to lure tourists. Sad, isn’t it?


The Goddess of Mercy and her two guardians on both side (photos below).

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Scenic Zakimi Castle

August 2nd, 2007 at 17:30 · Filed Under Blogging, Days in My Life, Environment, Karate, Okinawa, Photography, Scenery, Training Journal · 1 Comment 

Here are some scenic photos at the foot and top of Zakimi Castle.

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Richie owns a shop on Okinawa?

August 1st, 2007 at 16:35 · Filed Under Days in My Life, Dietrich, Family, Karate, Okinawa, Photography, Scenery · Comment 

Sensei and I went to the Okinawa City to do a frame for a souvenir. I came across a shop with a very unique name which I am familiar with. The name of the shop is “Richie Rich”. I created a song for Richie when he was a baby/toddler based on a ringtone of LA’s phone. The song goes like this: “Richie rich rich, Richie Richie Rich.” Wow! I do wish Richie owns a shop on Okinawa!

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Okinawan Fishing Village

July 29th, 2007 at 15:42 · Filed Under Days in My Life, Environment, Karate, Okinawa, Photography, Scenery · Comment 

After the breakfast, we went to a fishing village in Yomitan-son. Sumako wanted to buy some tempura. The fishing village was very clean. Although it was hot and sunny, it was still rewarding to see the great scenery of a local fishing village. It was low tide in the day time at this time of the month. I could see the crystal clear sea water on the shallow sea bed after the low tide.

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Another great breakfast

July 29th, 2007 at 12:07 · Filed Under Days in My Life, Eating Out, Environment, General, Karate, Okinawa, Photography, Scenery · Comment 

Like last Sunday, Breyette Sensei and Sumako Sempai took me out for a great breakfast at Boulanger Patissier at a seaside. There was Renaissance Hotel nearby.

The patries were so tempting to look at and of course they were very delicious. I wanted to eat everyone of them but I got a small stomach. Here are some photos of the pastries they baked just to share with you.

They are mouth watering, ain’t they? The environment is cosy, soft classical music is playing, French atmosphere and of course the fresh pastries aroma right out from the oven!

After we had our breakfast/brunch, we went down stairs to browse the local market. Because of the typhoon Min-Yi the week before I arrived, the prices of vegetables and fruits became very expensive. I also saw some clay pots that were used to store Japanese wine. They were very expensive just for the pot itself.

The scenery outside was very attractive as well. Although it was hot and sunny, the breeze from the East China Sea was refreshing with the view of blue water.

The beautiful scenery by the blue sea reminded me of my late sister, Angie. She would love to be on Okinawa and she would jump into the sea. She loved the sea so much.

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