Penang Hill

We visited this hill more than two decades ago and this time round, we noted many changes.
The train that takes us up is new and the highest station was where we all got off.

                                                                 The train isn't in yet                                                  

                                                                     The Train

                                                             Scenes along the ascent

There were some pretty flowers but not enough to make it a really beautiful place.

                                     This wooden structure houses restaurant and small shops

An Indian temple and a small mosque can be seen up there.

                                                            Front view of Indian Temple

                                                        Side view of the Indian Temple

                                                                      The Mosque
There are buggies that will take you on a 2 kilometer ride along the road but we didn’t take any as we preferred to walk. Many foreign tourists were also wandering along the road near the train station.

                                                                     African Tulips

                           The Solitary African Tulip standing sentinel behind the Indian Temple

                                                                     An old cannon

We spent about an hour up there before taking the train down.

Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang

One of the places which we did not visit last year during our trip was the Kek Lok Si Temple.  So this year we went there during the Chinese New Year season.

This temple is situated on high ground. It was very pretty at night, very well lit by different colored lights and red lanterns.  A cool breeze made it even better.

The complex is huge and a towering statue of the Goddess of Mercy dominates.

Many people went to this temple to pray. There is also a garden and other statues of deities.

Georgetown was visible as we looked down from the temple grounds.

 Here are more views of the temple by night silhouetted against the night sky.

A Lovely Day in Singapore

Today it didn’t rain so we were able to go downtown to Orchard Road, Singapore to look at the street decorations.

The weather was cool and it was a real treat to walk along the wide pavement enjoying the beautiful decorations put up for Christmas.  There weren't too many people so it was an enjoyable, easy walk.

Below are some of the lovely decorations for your enjoyment.

                                                            Two Types of  "Trees"

Top Left:  The huge Christmas Tree outside ION building.  Top Right: the interior of this tree
Bottom left: more decorations outside ION building   Bottom Left: Colorful ball lights in trees

Left: Decorative lights strung across Orchard Road
Middle & Right:  More decorations outside ION building

                                               More Decorations of Reindeer & Snowman

Right: Decorated column and panda inside foyer of ION building
Top right:  a decorated street lamp
Bottom right: Two toy soldiers on guard outside a store

Top: Decorative lights strung across Orchard Road
Middle:  Golden ancient Chinese coins and flowers outside a building heralding the Chinese New
               Year which is around the corner (Feb 8 & 9, 2016)
Bottom:  A decorative arch of gold coins and flowers outside the building.

These lights will come on at night, making the whole of Orchard Road a twinkling fairyland.