My weekend

This weekend was Malaysia's 50th anniversary of their independence day. There is a lot of national spirit in this country. There are countless flags hanging on the roads, and on people's cars. Malaysians are very proud to be an indepedent country. "One people, one country" was the phrase I heard on the radio. Behind the scenes, it isn't that simple. Malays were treated more superiorly than the Indians and Chinese in Malaysia. They have what you call "primary and secondary citizens".

It was a public holiday on Friday due to the Independence Day, and the family took me to Ipoh, and then to Penang (4 hours drive, north of KL) for the weekend. We stayed with Ken's parents, his mother not only took us to eat all the Penang's best food, but she also cooked us heaps (I meant heaps) of yummy food, e.g. cheescake tarts, mooncakes, etc.
We went to a Seafood restaurant on a sandybeach, watching the sunset. Well, I didnt see the sun setting - but saw the sky getting darker!

View from the restaurant.
Ate baby chicks.. I felt so cruel, but that guilt disappeared whenI tasted the tender juicy chicken.

This is my favourite dish, crab meat with cheese and mushrooms.. so heavenly. There were live sea animals on display in the restaurant.

These yucky looking creautures were called prawn mantis.
We walked up the hill to view a temple, the walk up was not what I imagined.. the numerous souvenir stores lined the walk way all the way up.. it was crowded, humid and hot!

People purchased candles and wrote their names on them to receive blessing from the gods.
They had sculptures of all 12 animals.. some were boring.. but I thought the monkey and the dragon looked the best. I had a photo of me with the pig which I will find later.

Turtles... so many cute turtles!
I watched a determined turtle trying to climb up.. without success of course.



Roof tiles - you can purchase a roof tile and write your name and messages on there.. e.g. live in peace..

We went to Hawker food stores. Its an outdoor foodcourt with many food stalls..
We had pig tails in our soup, I played with it a bit. But decided not to eat it.
This Indian bread was delicious.. thin, covered with a light layer of syrup and peanut crumbs.
Fried oysters - ok Im not a big fan of oysters so had just a little. Limin's cousin opened a stall there and we bought a plate full.

I forgot to introduce the turtles the family keep as pets.. There are two, one bigger and more vicious than the other. They are both very active and stretch their necks above water everytime a person approaches. So cute.

There are lots of turtles in Malaysia, and very cheap to buy as pets.

I felt right back at home stepping into the CCC shop! The prices there are pretty dear as well.

The scenary driving up north to Ipoh and Penang was splendid. Lots of trees and hills. Reminded me of the scenes from King Kong.

It is a total concidence everyone was wearing red in this photo..