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It is really amusing as we discover the ancient sites in Melaka such that during the tour we are unable to realize the tiredness of viewing the ancient sights of Melaka. Penang is also one of the state of Malaysia just like Melaka; after exploring Melaka being in Malaysia we must travel to visit Penang as well, which is only located at the distance of 510 km or 315 miles away from Melaka.

The common aspect between Melaka and Penang is that, Georgetown, the capital of Penang Melaka are both UNESCO world heritage sites, so there are plenty of heritage sites to explore in Penang as well.

You will find a major number of population in the rural area in Penang i.e. Balik Pulau and Telok Kumbar and in the lower urban parts are areas like Tanjang Tokong, Kampong Melayu Air Itam and Perak road where cosmopolitan culture is settled like Indians; scattered in Gelugar, Bayan Baru and Tanjong Bunga. In the whole urban area all the Chinese majority dwells; those areas are renowned as Butterworth and Mukit Mertajam.

Bus from Melaka to Penang

To travel from Melaka to Penang by bus is certainly economical and enjoyable if you really wanted to enjoy the tour by bus from Melaka to Penang in six hours and thirty minutes then you may grab some of the bus services as mentioned under:

  • Billion Stars departs from Melaka Sentral around 8:30am and arrives at two destinations in Penang at Butterworth and Sungai Nibong.
  • There are consecutive two Transnasional bus services that will take you from Melaka Sentral at the time 8:30am 8:30pm and reach in Penang at Butterworth.
  • Cepat Cekap Express departs in two different timings that are 11:30am and 12:15pm from Melaka Sentral and Alor Gajah and both of them reaches in Butterworth.

It is thus remarked as immensely adventurous to travel by bus from Melaka to Penang because the original history of Malaysian Peninsula can only be studied if we come to know in reality by travelling through and observing each and every state of the island being discovered by the major historians.

For instance, the reality of Malaysian Island can be vastly studied by discovering its three major states that are Melaka, Penang and Kuala Lumpur as the settling of Chinese culture, emanation of British, growth of the sultans of Melaka and its independence are certainly observed in the above mentioned states.

In order to take the chance of viewing the adventurous and ancient sites by taking the bus from Melaka to Penang you can also avail direct bus services that are available in Melaka Sentral towards Penang Island. Remember that it is certainly necessary that due to avoid rush of passengers you must come earlier to Melaka Sentral and avail the bus service as per convenience of travelling.

To reach the Penang Island in a bus you may impeccably take the pleasure of viewing the beautiful ancient sites of Malaysian Peninsular. Like Melaka you will come to know that Penang is also the second beautiful ancient Island of Malaysian strait where you fully get equipped with the historic nature of the peninsula such that if you choose to reach in Butterworth you will innumerably find plenty of tourists here.

If you have traveled from Malacca to Penang and would like to share your experience, please do so by adding comments below. To learn more about Penang, here is a recommended Penang travel guide.

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Melaka Chicken Rice Ball is considered to be one of the special dish that is enthusiastically eaten everywhere in the Melaka; state of Malaysia. If you come to visit Melaka to enjoy its original taste of beauty, then you cannot come back home without eating this dish as it is known to be one of the identifiable dishes here. It is also among top 10 must-try food in Melaka.

Every restaurant here offers Melaka Chicken Rice Ball dish in bulk; having a distinct taste for tourists. This dish is made as simple which is specially served with chicken and rice; the shape of rice is made like a small ping pong ball. This is thus cooked by using other special ingredients that certainly enhance the aroma of food; those unique ingredients are chicken stalk served with sauces in bottle containers filled with chili sauce and gloomy soya sauce in it.

Melaka Chicken Rice Ball Restaurants

There are many best chicken rice balls restaurant here in Melaka. Following are said to be the favorite of all; who really analyze its original taste. Such restaurants are mentioned as follows:

Around Jonker Street

We can see the stall here in Melaka located beside Jalan Tun Sri Lanang, on Jonker Street that is famous for Melaka Chicken Rice Ball particularly. If you are staying in Hotel Sentral Melacca then you can spend no time while eating in this restaurant. It remains open after the breakfast till noon. We feel like homely by eating here in an open area without any hassle of waiting in a queue.

Chicken Rice Ball at Hwa Chang Chicken Rice Restaurant

Another restaurant to try delicious Melaka Chicken Rice Ball is Hua Chang Chicken Rice Restaurant. After eating in an open area we tried chicken rice balls in this restaurant. The most favorable thing we got to know that it is very economical to eat here and we certainly have to wait for our turn to taste this food. It also remains open in business hours and only found closed on Thursdays.

Chicken Rice Ball at Kedai Kopi Chang Hwa

Mostly visited restaurant by tourists here is Kedai Kopi Chang Hwa; situated also on Jonker Street at Jalan Hang Jebat adjacent to Hoe Kee restaurant. It is especially opened on weekdays and the people here at Jonker Street have to stand in a long queue under the sun with their umbrellas to have Melaka Chicken Rice Ball as it is majorly a coffee shop and chicken rice balls are moreover kept for selling.

Chicken Rice Ball at Hoe Kee Restaurant

Chicken Rice Balls at Hoe Kee Restaurant are served with special decorum here that gives a sentimental feeling to its visitors. The furniture used here for its customers is  made of marble with a bright red colored theme. This restaurant is considered to be one of the second famous restaurants in serving quality Melaka Chicken Rice Ball. The chicken used here is famous for its special brand i.e. Hainan Chicken presented with the quality rice. Your mouth will definitely get watery after eating a tendered soft chicken with smooth balls and only crushed into pieces when chewed. Whereas, the quality of food eaten here is worth it more than other restaurants in Melaka and it doesn’t cost much only twenty cents for each rice ball.

These are some of the recommended restaurants to try Melaka Chicken Rice Ball. If you want to recommend a place or share your experience, please do so by adding comments below.

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Rainforest World Music Festival

The Rainforest World Music Festival is a unique festival that brings together on the same stage renowned world musicians from all continents and indigenous musicians from the interiors of the mythical island of Borneo.

Its formula of afternoon informative workshops, ethno-musical lectures, jamming sessions and mini concerts, followed by evening performances on the main stage has proven to be a hit with the audience, who come from near and far.

The festival site also sets up a variety of food and drink stalls, an arts and crafts area as well as a counter for festival memorabilia, Sarawak souvenirs and CDs by the performing artists, all this contributing to a fun filled, wholesome festival experience. World Music plus a country fair atmosphere in the midst of lush greenery.

The Rainforest World Music Festival, a not-to-be-missed occasion, guarantees a smashing time in the heart of the Borneo Jungle.

For further information about Rainforest World Music Festival, please contact us.

Sarawak Tourism Board
5th – 7th Floor, Yayasan Sarawak Building
Jalan Masjid, 93400 Kuching
Sarawak, Malaysia

Phone : +6082-423600
Fax : +6082-416700
Website : www.sarawaktourism.com

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Bukit Larut cable car

The Perak government will go ahead with the Bukit Larut Cable Car project despite financial constraints and objections from various quarters. State tourism committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohd Radzi said the Taiping Municipal Council was conducting a study to find the best approach to manage and develop Bukit Larut to be sustainable environmentally and economically.

The council will manage Bukit Larut, popularly known as Maxwell Hill, in line with the recommendation by the auditor-general. Nolee said the state government sought financial assistance from the federal government under the 11th Malaysia Plan but the amount and form of funding was still being worked out.

Nolee said the project was estimated to cost RM65 million but the actual amount had yet to be finalised. Malay Mail had in a special report on Saturday highlighted plans on the cable car project, which was mooted by the state government in 1997.

Nolee also defended the project against criticism by non-governmental organisations which claimed it would cause environmental damage. She said the development plan did not include construction of hotels or accommodation. “Only the existing resthouses will be refurbished and upgraded. In fact, some have already been upgraded.” More walkways, gardens and public amenities would also be built or upgraded within the specified area around the top station, she said.

“Cable cars are the most environment-friendly form of public transportation, not only in construction, but also operations and maintenance. They have been used in Europe for more than 150 years. “It is widely used in gazetted national parks all over the world. Asia is  catching up with this trend. Look at China, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia; they are opening up their highlands using cable cars and not cutting the hills to build roads,” she said.

On fears the project would become a white elephant, Nolee said the Langkawi cable car and Penang Hill funicular railway had proven to be successful tourism products as both facilities transported more than one million passengers a year.

Some quarters have questioned the viability of the project, saying it would need 42,000 visitors a month, or about 1,400 a day, to ensure it is not a losing concern. Nolee also cited the Taiping Zoo and Night Safari, which received more than 650,000 visitors a year, as examples. This figure, she said, strengthened the state government’s optimism in achieving a sustainable and viable tourism product.

The 3.5km cable car line will link the jeep track station at the foothill to the resthouse near the top station. The distance between the two points using the Land Rover service is about 10km.

Source: themalaymailonline.com

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The Games We Used to Play

By: Fatini Idris

Kids are too attached to their gadgets these days. There’s nothing wrong with it – iPads, smartphones, even gaming consoles provide great entertainment and can be useful educational tools when used correctly and with close adult supervision. When I see my niece playing with her dad’s iPad, I can’t help but reminisce about the times in my childhood when my free time was spent playing outdoor games with my friends, and I wonder if there will come a time when a generation in the future may not know about gasing, konda-kondi or teng-teng. Let’s take a walk down memory lane and remember the games, and maybe it’ll inspire you to take your kids out and play them like you used to:

Gasing 1

Known in English as spin-top, gasing is a popular game among Malay youths, especially boys. There are many other versions of gasing in Malaysia alone – let alone the world – but a simple one as pictured above is the most popular. The top is usually made of wood or iron, and a long string is wrapped around the top halfway from the bottom where the tip is, towards the middle of it. To play, the player throws the top on a flat ground where a large circle is drawn on and make sure that the top lands into the circle. Other players will then join in, and the one with the longest spinning gasing wins the game.

Gasing

Another version of the game involves one player trying to strike out another player, by throwing their gasing to move their opponent’s top out of the circle. You can play with just one other person, or as many as 10 others. There’s no set rule when it comes to the number of players… it’s all about making the most of your time.

Konda-kondi

Konda Kondi 1

This game looks simple, but looks can be deceiving! The game reportedly has Indian origins, and to play, you need to have a sharp mind and be quick on your feet. There are actually several ways to play the game, although the requirements are similar: players are divided into two teams (offensive and defensive), it is usually played on a clear field, and two sticks are required; a long one of about 2 – 3 feet in length to flick and a shorter one of about 6 inches. A small hole is dug in the ground to place the smaller stick to be flicked and flung by the longer stick.

Konda Kondi

One of the common methods to play is to have a player of the offensive team to flick and fling the smaller stick as far as he can using the long stick. The long stick is then placed inside the whole, while the players of the defensive will try to catch the short stick before it hits the ground, and throw it back to the long stick in the hole. If it hits the stick, the offensive player is out, but if the smaller stick lands right across the longer stick, the whole offensive team is out, and the roles between the two teams will reverse thus giving the defensive team a chance as the offensive.

Tarik Upih

Tarik Upih

It’s like sledding, but instead of using sleds during winter time, we play it by using palm fronds all year round. It requires at least two players – one to sit on the frond, and the other to pull the frond on its other end. You can make a competition out of it by racing with another duo, and whoever crosses the line first is considered the winner. The game is usually played in the rural or suburban area and it’s a rarity to see them being played in the city. So on’t miss the chance to play if you come across it!

Chapteh

Chapteh or sepak bulu ayam in Malay is a popular game in many Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. The game requires dexterity, and tests your ability to balance and keep the chapteh in the air for as long as you can by kicking it upwards using the heel of your foot.

Chapteh 1  Chapteh

Usually played in a small group, players are judged individually on the number of kicks they make. The players agree on a winning tally of kicks before the game starts, and the first person in the group to reach that tally, or the player with the highest score in the group, is considered the winner.

Ketinting

Ketinting or teng-teng is another traditional game that can also be found in other parts of the world, such as in the USA, where it is known as hopscotch. The two basic features of the game are the square boxes drawn on a flat surface (either by using chalk or drawing up the soil), and the players’ jumping skill. It is usually played by two or more players.

Ketinting 1  Ketinting

To play, the first player must throw their gundu (a small item that is used as a ‘marker’ in a game; in this case, it’s usually a pebble) on the first box. If you miss it, your turn will be void, and the next person takes their turn. If it lands, you then hop on one leg on each boxes except where the gundu lands on – meaning that, if it lands on the first box, you must skip across it. You can land on both feet when you’re at the ‘home’ or the last box, and make your way around back to the beginning on one leg, picking up your gundu when you reach it. The next player will then take their turn. As the game progresses, you must aim your gundu at the next number, until it reaches the ‘home’ box.

There are many other traditional outdoor games that I did not mention here, and some may have already been forgotten. Why not we take our time to teach our little ones these simple games, and make it into a fun activity for the whole family? It’ll be a great bonding experience, while at the same time preserving a slice of our heritage.