"LIVE" - Ovation of the Seas (April 9-26, 2018), Bill & Marie's slow boat to China

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[travelgoddess1]

Bill, as always, great photos and great commentary! While we are just arriving at Costa Maya on Freedom, you are in a very exotic part of the world that not a lot of people visit. Now I feel that I have been there! :):):)

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

We stopped at this stand to sample durian, It is a fruit similar to jack fruit but it really smells. It was tasty though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up was a stand with fresh coconuts. I guess a chance to cleanse our palettes of the durian,

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

I am going to get some sleep, I'll finish this up in the morning.

[JaniceB]

Beautiful pictures. That ride down looked pretty scary and so did the statue of the snake, yikes!

[PCWalton1]

Next was a stop for lunch and that was at Passions of Karala, primarily India food. I will not profess to knowing most of what we ate, I know there was some fried fish, mutton and chicken marsala. We ate off of banana leaves instead for plates. I had a nice Tiger Beer to wash it all down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went for a walk in the area named the Street of Harmony. So named due to the various religious building in a sort area. The "Street of Harmony" in Penang starts with the St George's Church at Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, and ends at the Acheen Street Mosque.

 

Between the St George Anglican church and the Lebuh Acheh mosque are other 19th century houses of worship – the Taoist Goddess of Mercy Temple, the Hindu Sri Mahamariamman Temple, the Kapitan Keling Mosque, and the Taoist Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple.

 

First a stop at city hall

 

 

 

St George church

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

the Taoist Goddess of Mercy Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People will pay to have others pray for them. The small figure represent those paying customers

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

 

 

Due to the heat we then made a side trip to the Pinang Peranakan Mansion as it afforded to air conditioning it part of it.

 

The Pinang Peranakan Mansion in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is a museum dedicated to Penang's Peranakan heritage. The museum itself is housed within a distinctive green-hued mansion at Church Street, George Town, which once served as the residence and office of a 19th century Chinese tycoon, Chung Keng Quee.

 

The mansion contains thousands of Peranakan artifacts, antiques and collectibles, as well as showcasing Peranakan interior design and customs, such as the typical grand long dining table (Malay: tok panjang). Due to its unique architecture and interior design that reflect the lifestyles of the Peranakans in Penang, the mansion has been featured in television series and reality TV shows, such as The Little Nyonya, The Amazing Race and The Amazing Race Asia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bigeck]

Your posts remind me that I have seen enough Roman and Greek ruins, and Pagoda’s for a lifetime.

 

JC

Time to go back to Asia.

It's certainly got me thinking. Looking forward to Beijing

[bigeck]

I lived in Cairo for three years and drove to Alexandria every couple of months. The road takes you by the Giza pyramids. Most other travelers were aghast when I mentioned that after a while the pyramids were just a pile of rocks to me.:cool:

Same here with St Andrews golf course. Don't get the fuss

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bigeck]

Hi Bill and Marie

Looks like a great holiday so far.

How do you find the food off the ship

[VPIcruiser]

I am really enjoying your photos and trip report. Thank you for sharing.

[depplep]

Simply stunning pictures! I remember seeing Andrew Zimmern eat durian on Bizarre Foods and he could barely keep it down. You are a brave man. Really enjoying the review.

[PCWalton1]

Next we made a brief stop to pose by a local famous street art. Little Children on a Bicycle is a mural on the wall of a shophouse on Armenian Street, George Town. It is one of the two murals along that street painted by London-trained artist Ernest Zacharevic, in conjunction with the 2012 George Town Festival. It depicts a little girl taking her younger brother on a bicycle ride. The joy in their faces echoes down the street, providing a ray of cheer and adding character to Armenian Street.

 

Here is a picture of our travel friends Sue & Jim along with the two of us at the mural. On weekends the line to take a picture runs down the street. When we arrived there was about a dozen others already taking pictures

 

 

 

Next stop was the Hindu Sri Mahamariamman Temple however it was closed.

 

 

 

 

If I have my notes right the next stop was the Teowchew clan house. Clan houses were like welcoming center to the various groups coming from China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

 

We then made a quick photo stop at the Kapitan Keling Mosque. The Kapitan Keling Mosque is a mosque built in the 19th century by Indian Muslim traders in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. It is situated on the corner of Buckingham Street and Pitt Street (Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling). Being a prominent Islamic historic center, it is part of the World Heritage Site of George Town and lies at the center of the city's Tamil Muslim neighbourhood, the chulias. It is the first permanent Muslim institution to have been established in the area, dating from the early 1800s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then took a much deserved stop for refreshments and sir conditioning before heading back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

A couple of token pictures from Marie's phone to prove I am here.

 

 

 

 

 

I really want to thank Mark Ng from 'Simply Enak' tours who made this extremely hot day a delight. One of the best our times I have had.

 

[PCWalton1]

Bill, as always, great photos and great commentary! While we are just arriving at Costa Maya on Freedom, you are in a very exotic part of the world that not a lot of people visit. Now I feel that I have been there! :):):)

 

Hi Karen,

Costa Maya, a definite beach day in my book. Hope you enjoyed it

[PCWalton1]

eek that downhill ride would freak me out! scaredy cat over here!

 

Beautiful pictures. That ride down looked pretty scary and so did the statue of the snake, yikes!

 

It does look scary but it was rather tame. I barely noticed as I was watching the scenery.

[PCWalton1]

Hi Bill and Marie

Looks like a great holiday so far.

How do you find the food off the ship

 

Hi Alex,

The food has been great. Very flavorful, lots of spices used. Some a little hotter than I like but worth trying. It made our trip to Izumi last night a pale comparison. :D

[gliles]

You can't imagine how much I am enjoying this. We are going on the Ovation from Beijing to Singapore in October and haven't been to that part of the world before, Japan was the closest. Can you try to post more pictures of the ship if you have time pretty please?

[PCWalton1]

I am really enjoying your photos and trip report. Thank you for sharing.

Much appreciated, thank you for coming along.

 

Simply stunning pictures! I remember seeing Andrew Zimmern eat durian on Bizarre Foods and he could barely keep it down. You are a brave man. Really enjoying the review.

I didn't care for the mushy texture but the favor was pleasant. It's really the smell that is the distraction. I read somewhere this description of the aroma:

“turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock”

I think it is accurate, especially on a hot muggy day, I can see why it is banned on Singapore mass transit. ;p