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.
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.
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.
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.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.
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 |
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.
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.
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.
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