Georgetown, Penang

I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog and I better get started. Back in March, Joseph and I had the opportunity to go to Georgetown which is a British colonial historical city in Penang, Malaysia. It was the main colonized city in what was called the Straits--meaning the strip of coast down Malaysia into Singapore. Since I love British colonial architecture, it was a great place to see so much of it. Eventually, Singapore replaced Georgetown (named after King George III) in economical and political significance in the 19th century, so Georgetown is a bit of a ghost town with a lot of run down buildings and big plantation homes that would be stunning if they were all restored.

Below are the government buildings. They seemed to be totally empty. It was kind of strange that such beautifully restored colonial buildings were not really being used. Georgetown is just a small part of Penang, and the big business district is a ways from the old town.

The iconic clock tower. I think the Dutch actually built it? I'll have to check my facts on that one.







The Suffolk House--a pepper plantation first settled by Francis Light. He first came as an officer in the military. When he retired, he returned for commerce and set up this plantation which became the home of later governors and such throughout the history of Georgetown.





Now for the Chinese aspects of the trip. We learned of how the Chinese came down also for commerce and integrated into the Malay culture creating a whole new culture as they Chinese men married the local Malays. This influenced the style and language. Joseph and I stayed in "The Blue Mansion"--a restored home of a wealthy Chinese man known as the Rockefeller of the East. It was a fun and interesting place to see and experience the Chinese version of a home with open courtyards, balconies and rain in the house.

Below is the Chu Family Jetty--a very extended Chinese family that lives on houses out into the water and probably used to be fishermen.

Our rickshaw escort who took us all around Penang.


A very large, traditional Chinese temple that is privately owned by a large Chinese family. In a way, it is ancestor worship, as they send their ancestors on with lots of gold (fake) for their afterlife. It is also to please the gods, and for good luck to get to heaven.

Bottleneck Park

During Spring break, I took the kids to a local park famous for its unique trees imported from Australia.  The kids are pictured in front of the Bottleneck Tree.  I must admit, it was a very unique tree.

The park is Kampong style--a Malaysian architecture of these open thatched houses.

Here are the kids after working in the rice fields all day coming back with our family water buffalo.

We finished the morning with Kampong fishing where the kids get to catch little goldfish with nets inside the Kampong.  They had a lot of fun doing it, however the fish didn't last long at home.

The Merlion and Luge

Abigail studied Singapore history in her 5th grade class and had to pick an important monument or place in Singapore culture/history. She picked the big Merlion statue on Sentosa island. It is a lion head with with a fish tail and has come to symbolize Singapore somehow. I can't tell you much about it; you'll have to ask her if you are interested. So in February we all went out to Sentosa on one Saturday while she took some pictures for her project and then had a little fun on the Luge. Sentosa has turned into a resort and amusement park of sorts for Singapore.

Only in Singapore would you find a sign like this in the carpark: Warning: Beware of possible PEACOCK ATTACKS to cars. PARK AT YOUR OWN RISK. It then proceeds to tell you what happens during mating season when peacocks get aggressive and see their own reflection in the cars. Too funny.


The ride down was a lot of fun, albeit a little short. Sentosa doesn't really compare to the Rockies or Alps. Xander was just tall enough to ride his own Luge.



The ride down was fun, but so was the ride back up. That is Abigail and Maggie in case you can't tell.This little cutie was too small and played in the nearby water fountain while Joseph and I took turns going with the bigger kids.

Weekend Getaway

I had the chance to have a fun and relaxing weekend in Ubud, Bali with my sister over a weekend in February. Only a 2.5 hour flight, Bali is a very close paradise. I couldn't believe how pristine and beautiful everything was. The culture, the food, the Hindu architecture--all of it is enchanting, making Bali a unique and enjoyable destination. I could definitely go back and explore more of this Indonesian island. We stayed in central Bali--Ubud in a resort on one of the many river gorges in this area. It was a beautiful setting for a hotel nestled into the hillside. I had my first full massage in the outdoor spa overlooking the river.

We spent the first day exploring the main roads and shopping district of Ubud where I learned that my sister is much more decisive than I am and can drive a hard bargain. Cami also came with several restaurant recommendations and they proved to be winners. The food was as delicious as it was beautiful.

A street corner in Ubud with the Hindu offerings--rice and flowers wrapped in some sort of leaf. These offerings are littered all throughout the country in every conceivable setting.

We spent a day exploring some local craft villages known for their silver jewelry and wood carving. My favorite thing was meeting a lady who owned a shop and she let us have a look in her own living quarters--a Balinese style compound she shares with her married sons, containing religious structures and private rooms surrounding an open courtyard. Below you can see the entrance to her home as well as the courtyard with apartment. This is such a unique concept of a home and we saw the outside fences to these homes all around in Bali.

On our final day in Bali, we headed north to see an old palace that was once the home of a king and queen. It was nestled in rice terraces in a valley alongside a river. We didn't realize how many steps we had to descend to get there until we were climbing back up in the heat of noonday.Not far from the palace is a famous, old temple with sacred waters. We saw the sacred waters behind the temple, bubbling with a black smoke coming out just beneath the surface of the water. We were lucky to go on a day when the locals were their worshipping and performing all the typical rituals. Upon our return, we took a walk through the rice fields, stumbling on a quaint organic, outdoor restaurant situated in the rice fields. We stopped to share a very healthy tasting salad and beet, sweet potato, orange, passion fruit smoothie for me. I'm positively glowing--but I'm afraid it is more from the sweat and sunscreen rather than the organic serenity.

Et Cetera

Joseph took the big kids on a 6 mile hike around McRitchie reserve. It was a long hike but they sure felt proud when they finished.

Maggie in her "Read-to-Feed" school assembly. She is beginning a program where she gets sponsored for every hour she reads. In 2 weeks, her 3rd grade class will put all their money together and decide on which animals to buy for families in developing countries. Maggie has a big heart and is very philanthropic. As a consequence, she is very serious about this whole thing and I am sure to be out of quite a bit of cash when this is all over. That's okay. It is for a really good cause.

Abigail took this cute picture of Juliet with her new camera. Juliet is a very calm, patient and sweet girl and a complete joy to have in our family.
I like this picture because it reminds me of my baby pictures. I think out of all my kids, Juliet has the most of me.

Abigail is a beautiful girl but she is always so camera shy.

And her daddy's girl through and through, Ella takes more from Joseph than his deep set blue eyes, curls and round face. She is energetic and very strong willed. Her new passion is drawing. I recently showed her how to draw stick figures and now our house is littered with stick figures on white papers representing mostly Ella, but Joseph and myself too.

Chinese New Year and Xander's Field Trip

We recently celebrated Chinese New Year here in Singapore. It is the biggest holiday of the year here, mostly because the bulk of the population is of Chinese heritage. Joseph went to Chinatown with Xander's kindergarten class during the festivities and took some fun pictures that represent what we see all around us during the holiday. I thought I would post them because someday when we move away it will be fun to reminisce about the things that were so familiar to us at one time of our life.

Xander with his school buddies. He sure has a fun time at school and enjoys just about everything about it. The other day he was sick and was missing his first day of school this year. He was pretty distraught because he thought he would miss something fun.

We see a lot of dried meat stalls around CNY. I recently learned that it is because the Chinese do not want to use knives (bad luck) after the start of the new year so they buy dried meat to steam with rice.

Xander took this picture of Joseph. (That was pretty brave of Joseph to hand over his huge camera.) Joseph is standing next to a stand of pomelos--a sweet citrus fruit popular during CNY.

Burning sticks for ancestors--the smoke goes up to heaven and reaches them.

Chinese lanterns hang everywhere.

Cherry blossoms bring to mind springtime and new life. In China I think they bloom around CNY. I love this picture because of what Xander is wearing. He was so excited about the field trip and carefully picked these clothes the night before to wear (normally he wears a uniform to school but it was free dress for the field trip.) Plaid on plaid and just perfect.

Read and gold are the colors we see around us everywhere--they symbolize weath and prosperity.

A CNY delicacy. I used to know what it was made out of but I forgot.

I just love my happy, optimistic boy.
Shop houses in Chinatown.

Birthdays Galore

We celebrate quite a few birthdays in the Gordhamer household in the first two months of the year, beginning with Abigail on January 18. She turned 11 years old and got her own camera this year. In fact, I borrowed it to take this picture of her opening another present. She is sure growing up fast these days.


Not to far behind, on February 8 came Maggie, celebrating her 9th birthday. After her sister's birthday, she was very eager for her own. These two girls do a lot together and pretty much celebrate their birthdays together. Maggie really wanted an amethyst necklace and that is what she got this year. A girl after my own heart.



Joseph is just a week after Maggie, almost a Valentine's baby, on February 15. He is getting up there at 36 years. I asked him the day before his birthday what kind of cake he wanted. I must admit, I was hoping for something really simple (like brownies--just what he wanted last year.) Sadly for him, by the time his birthday rolls around I have had enough baking cakes and sweets. He wanted German Chocolate Cake. I have never made that before but I gave it a try. 9 eggs and 3 hours of my afternoon produced the masterpiece you see below: German Chocolate cake with coconut frosting all made from scratch. It really was delicious and a big hit with all the kids. They all had fun decorating the wrapping paper too.