Balik Pulau Favorites

Favorite thing: Many of the ethnic Chinese families in Balik Pulau are Hakka.

Saw this typical home with spacious ground for growing garden flowers, fruit trees and rearing of chickens and perhaps ducks.

There is a red banner cloth over the front door and it is still the first week of Chinese Lunar New Year.

Compared to the high density of 20 storey flats with common car park and lifts or the terraced double storey modern homes with security grilled windows, high gates and space enough for 1 car to park or 2 cars if garden is sacrified, this quiet house seems to be a dream house bungalow with no noisy neighbors and plenty of space to run about.

Favorite thing: Seeing chicken shed reminds me of bird flu. While bird flu is still causing human fatalities in Jakarta, fortunately, this is not happening in Penang and Malaysia. Perhaps the lower density and different rearing system. Yet, I could see ferral pigeons gathering below the chicken shed feeding over dropped fodder.

Also reminds me of the time we had a durian fruit feast at one of the houses in this neighborhood. The durian was great but the entire floor of the house were invaded by houseflies as a result of chicken rearing.

Gone are the days, when most chicken are reared running wild and being round up every night. Hopefully, chicken rearing technology will continue to improve so that we have safe chicken, no flies and no avian flu threat.

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Favorite thing: When driving through the hills of Balik Pulau, we were captivated byt this picturesque Chinese family home with tall durian fruits in the yard.

Perched on a hillslope overlooking into the valley and sea below, the fengshui and the view is great.

Imagine when it is dark and the stars are shining brightly above and the moonlight shimmering on the sea. Of course, there will be a symphony of insect and animals calls.

Care to retire here or just a weekend stay.

Favorite thing: This large purple flowers caught my attention. Have seen them all over Penang growing wildly.

Often large yellow and black stripes bumble bees will zoom around these flowers.

Remember how we used to dig out the roots of these plants. There are bulbous root formation which can be sculptured into humanoid forms.

Still, I am wondering what is the name of this botanic plant. Please email me if you know.

Favorite thing: Have you heard of "Touch-Me-Not" or "mimosa pudica"?

They grow wildly in Penang as weeds with thorns and beautiful fluffy purple flowers.

If you touch the leaves, there will move, fold and close. It is another nature's amazing creation that we overlook.

Fun for the kids to play for a few minutes. Just know there are thorns and do not uproot them for replanting in your garden. You can find them growing in the open along roads and car parks in Penang.

This photo was taken near the "Titi Kerawang" stalls when going round Penang Island.

Favorite thing: If you go hiking in the hills of Penang, you will see different varieties of "monkey cups" or the scientific family of Nephentes or water pitcher plants.

As the larger varieties contains a sizeable volume of water, it is not improbably that a monkey may drink from one of them and hence the name.

The monkey cups actually traps insects to supplement its protein intake from the lnutrient poor leached soil that it is grows on. The plant prefer strong direct sunlight and so it is easy to spot.