January 2020

January has very much been a transition month for us. We had some loose ends to tie up from the sale of the house and the delayed handover. As this month ends we have completed everything but still wait for deposits returned on utilities.

We love the ever-changing view with Mount Jerai on the mainland at the centre of the panorama.  

I also enjoy the pool on a daily basis. 

We have compared notes with other folk making house sales and the problems seem universal. They need to become more efficient and severely question slow Government processes.

Helen has successfully started her home tuition again and Coco escorts each person into the apartment.
Helen had some drama in the car last weekend when the from left tyre blew. Fortunately she was not traveling at any speed. I recovered the car with the help from a very nice Dutch man who helped me put the spare tyre on. The hardest part was getting it from under the car.

We had one bad night with Coco in the middle of the month. She was exuding both ends for 24 hours but after a trip to the vet and a whole pharmacy administered she made a good recovery. Two days later she was romping again on the beach. She continues to have fun with the big boys and has recent interests in stick-fetching and crab-hunting.

Conventional crab hunting

The dog method of crab-hunting

Coco really enjoys her hour on the beach each morning and she has two heros to copy.

We had some drama one morning when a camp fire had soldered during the night and then got very active in the early morning. The Bomba boys were soon had it under control.

The audience had strict instructions not to cross the line in the sand.

Coco now has a penchant to fetch sticks from the water.

The dogs have had two interactions with a trio of otters. It is very interesting to watch. The otters seem to have a game called 'dog-bating' and they seem to win.

We are enjoying the apartment and see a number of things we were not aware of before. There is a nearby boat club and waterskiing, yachting, para-sailing and wind surfing are popular activities.

There is a regular procession of cruise ships coming into the port of Penang (essentially one per day). The largest is ‘Quantum of the Sea’ and the smallest is a modern sailing ship that can take 72 passengers. 

Quantum of the Seas

Star Clipper

I read an article that said Quantum’s bigger sibling ‘Symphony of the Seas’ has a 1-million-dollar budget per week for food alone!! The general timetable for each ship is that it arrives before 7.30am and leaves about 11 hours later. If two arrive around the same time there could be 6-7000 passengers dumped on George Town for the day.

Genting Dreams

Costa Fortuna

Norwegian Jade

AIDAbella

Saphire Princess

Mein Schiff 6

Marella Discovery

Vasco da Gama

The nights at sea are also interesting. Local fishermen operate under white lights near shore whereas on the northerly horizon more and more green lights appear each night. (see separate blog).

The white lights just allow the fisherman to see the nets as they would in daylight. Lights seen on the boat below.

We had a visit by royalty as the Malaysian King and Queen and their large retinue drove 4-5 times along the adjacent road. There were two ambulances and a helicopter associated with the procession.

Gambling is strictly forbidden for Muslims but despite being a largely Muslim country Malaysia has complex and convoluted gambling allowances. Malaysia has one land-based casino and three turf clubs. There are also a number of off-track betting facilities. The gambling industry is dominated by five operators; The Genting Highlands Casino, Magnum 4D, Sports Toto. Da Mai Cai and the Malaysian Racing Association. The jewel of the Malaysian gambling industry is the Casino de Genting. It is the largest casino in the world and hosts millions of visitors each year. It has 10,000 guest rooms while the First World Hotel and Plaza has 7,351 rooms. The casino floor has more than 200,000 square feet and space to home 3,000 slot machines and 400 gaming tables.

Despite the official allowance of such gambling there were 22,000 people arrested for illegal gambling in a year and numerous illegal machines were destroyed. Tax revenue from legal outlets is large so there is a dilemma with religion v revenue.

Penang hosts up to three gambling ships that go out of Malaysian waters twice daily with gamblers on board. We can see these ships from our apartment.

This is the Oriental Dragon that is a gambling ship based in Hong Kong and registered in Panama. It was constructed in 1972 and has had 7 name changes over the years. It was one of Royal Caribbean’s first cruise ships. Like 'Leisure World' it operated as a gambling ship off Batam for the Singapore gambling trade until on-land casinos ruined that business.

The 'Leisure World' has also had a long history since 1969 and has had 5 name changes. It was the first ship built for the Norwegian Caribbean Line that has changed its name to Norwegian Cruise Line and has gone on to be the world's third biggest cruise line. The ship was originally called 'Sunward'. So this little ship was the prototype of most of the cruising monsters of today.  It was a casino ship off Singapore for a number of years but since 2000 it has been operating as a casino ship out of Penang. It is registered in Funafuti, In Tuvalu!!!!!.

In case you wonder what Funafuti looks like it is an atoll in the Pacific. The population of 6025 is around 60% of Tuvalu's population. It does have two football clubs and an international airport and it is sinking. The ship may last longer than the island. Surprisingly the Tuvalu Ship Registry is run from Singapore.

The third casino ship (the smallest) operating out of Penang is shown below in a size comparison with 'Quantum of the Seas'. The Taipan 64 passengers and 32 cabins compared with Quantum with 4,905 passengers and 1500 crew. 

I have been a little slow off the mark with my photographic excursions. There was the Asian Emerald Cuckoo pair at the botanic gardens and of course the White-bellied Sea Eagles that fly passed the lounge window. There was also an Asian Dollar Bird that was hawking from a branch near the swimming pool. I got out of the pool and went to get my camera. The bird gets its name by the round white patch on each wing (not very round in the picture) that resembles a silver dollar (apparently).

I had a trip across to the mainland where I like being when the sun rises. The moon was just on the wane and a plane was lit up by the sun that had not yet appeared over the horizon. A four-engined plane with a Singapore Airways logo on the tail could only be an Airbus A380 800. Checking later the flight was seen to be SQ 317 from London. It turns out the Dani and Rob would be on the same plane on the way to visit us in February.

The Yellow-bellied Prinias were singing their morning songs and a juvenile Crested Goshawk was relaxing after attacking a squirrel unsuccessfully. The Macaques were around in numbers as usual.

My main photographic trip this year will be to Ecuador with Joe and Maryann McDonald. I have been on various trips with them some years ago and they were all memorable and good fun. it will be mainly about hummingbirds but Toucans, Quetzals and the Cock of the Rock will hopefully be included. This will happen in the back half of April.

The quiz has started well with a third and two firsts. The team will suffer during the year as various members go on holiday.

The team went out for dinner on the bonus question winnings from last year. It was a great night.

 While Helen is the Masterchef....the sous chef is fully in business. Wholemeal bread, Raison/cinnamon bread, chicken sausages, burger patties and mince pies come off the production line. Kefir and Kombucha are also produced. Mr Weber has also recently been adopted.

Finally we wish all family all the best for the Year of the Rat..........although I am glad we have left them behind.

Festivities for Chinese New Year go on for most of the month.