Round-a-bout...

Monumen roundabout di jalan Besar, Balik Pulau ialah seni bina asal yang dibinakan pada tahun 1882 oleh Koh Seang Tat (1833-abad 20an). Koh Seang Tat ialah seorang saudagar Hakka yang kaya, beliau telah dianugerah sebagai Kapitan Cina oleh kerajaan British. Kerja Kapitan Cina ialah menjaga kebajikan kaum Cina. Monument ini dibina untuk memperingatkan kunjugan Sir Federick Weld K.C.M.G Gabenor Selat Melaka.

Semasa penjajahan British, orang British telah memperkenalkan teknik-teknik menggunakan kereta kuda. Kuda digunakan oleh orang kaya seperti Koh Seang Tat dan orang British. Roundabout ini berfungsi untuk kuda dan lembu minum air. Kuda dan lembu digunakan sebagai pengangkutan untuk mengangkut cengkih, buah pala, getah, pisang, dan kelapa. (Fong Ten Sent)

Monument roundabout juga telah menjadi petanda di Balik Pulau. Pada zaman dahulu, orang menggunakan penunjuk arah untuk mengecamkan arah. Dua ukiran simbol singa didapati di bawah monumen. Simbol singa digunakan sebagai lambang British. Jadi, ukiran singa ialah untuk mengingati British. Selain itu, air akan keluar dari ukiran mulut singa. Menurut penduduk tempatan, air berasal dari gunung (O Keau Shua, Hokkien) di belakang sekolah Sacred Heart melalui sistem paip.

Kepercayaan bagi orang Cina ialah jika ada air orang Cina akan mendapat untung; jika tiada air, orang Cina akan malang. Dan orang Cina menganggap singa sebagai simbol hero.

Bahan asal monument ini dibina dengan menggunakan batu-bata.Penjagaan dan pembaiki roundabout diubahsuai dari masa ke semasa. Seperti sekarang 2006, sportlight, pancut air, peti elektrik dan mozek telah ditambah di roundabout. Lima tahun yang lepas, pokok kelapa plastic telah dipasang dan diturunkan kerana tidak cantik.

Kerajaan telah mengumumkan roundabout ini akan dikekalkan selama-lamanya.

From PID Balik Pulau - Roundabout Balik Pulau.

Happy Holidays & New Year 2010!

Happy Holidays all.... and New Year 2010 soon!

Be merry... ho ho ho...

(and safe travel if you'll be driving/riding around!)



From Balik Pulau with love...

Why the Balik Pulau (micro, media) brand?

It's our Blog name referring to the very area or township where the blog authors reside, instead of some other generic names, or made up brands....

But why the sparsely populated rural area the size of half of Pulau Pinang (Penang Island), or roughly 20% of Pulau Pinang state, but with well under 5% of the Malaysian state's population?

Why not the larger, and presumably more popular "Penang" brand, or heck, just "Malaysia" brand as agreesively pushed by the government of Malaysia for decades now since the "Malaysia, Incorporated" vision first introduced in early 80s by Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister? Or "1 Malaysia" perhaps, as re-introduced by Dato' Seri Mohd Najib bin Tun Razak, present (sixth) Prime Minister of this fast developing nation?

Obviously, the two other, larger geographical brands are more popular, at least as shown in Google Search frequency.... Why micro is better?

BECAUSE GROWTH IS BETTER THAN PRESENT SIZE (and "micro" is trending, especially in developed countries like the US, France and Japan - microchip, microblogging, microworking, micropreneuring etc.!):

Consider that along with "Malaysia", the two most popular Malaysian destinations, "Kuala Lumpur" and "Penang" (versus other cities, or even states in Malaysia - yes including Perak, despite the 2009 political brouhahas!) have been stagnant on people's interest level, based on the five-year search record provided by Google Insight. In fact, in the case of "Kuala Lumpur", the its popularity has even tanked over the years, perhaps due to recent shift of federal government's administrative centre off to Putrajaya, and some urban competitions from neighboring Subang Jaya, Klang, Ampang, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam etc.


In the case of Penang, even Penangites seems to not show much interest of its own, rather too big of a place to call home, despite it being in some of the most prestigious list of travel destinations - most people in Balik Pulau can hardly relate much of happenings in Kepala Batas, Bukit Mertajam or Nibong Tebal and vice versa.


Even sadder, George Town, despite it being elevated with humongous interest by both Penang State Government and Federal Government of Malaysia to make nurture it more as a favorite travel destination following the UNESCO's Heritage Site status in 2008, also continues to drop in web search popularity.

On the other hand, the parliamentary areas of Penang like Bukit Mertajam, Kepala Batas, Balik Pulau, Bayan Baru, Nibong Tebal and Gelugor are showing steady increase in popularity:


Back to Balik Pulau, the hottest news headlines have been as follows:-

A	Balik Pulau’s online marketing bid (MOST POPULAR!)
B	Dr Hilmi Yahaya retains post as Balik Pulau Umno division chief
C	12-09-2008: NS camp in Balik Pulau is illegal, says MPPP president
D	Suspend AG and IGP, says Balik Pulau MP

And stuff that interest people so far have been education (MRSM & Politeknik Balik Pulau) and travel (maps) - two areas that have been focussed on and can continue to be further explored to make Balik Pulau an even more enticing destinations for domestic and international visitors, students and tourists alike.

Betting on the "micro trend", and our love for Balik Pulau, if you have not heard, our own (local) Media Project has been in the works, following the recent Blog Bash event on March the 23rd:-

1. Besides online blogs and various web sites at balikpulau.org domain, a print periodicals, dubbed the "InfoBiz" (geared towards connecting businesses and the local communities), will be launched in July 2009 for regular publication and distribution to at least 20% households of Balik Pulau's Teluk Bahang, Pulau Betong/Kongsi Town and Bayan Lepas/Teluk Kumbar area (not including Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone).
   
   
2. Facebook: Join us in the fast growing Balik Pulau Group (from ~7 netizens after nearly two years since its inception, to over 70 today - a ten times of growth in less than two month since our Blog Bash event!) - Network for business, or just for fun! Who knows if we'll be throwing in another Durian Bash soon...
   
   
   
   
3. Twitter: Say hi to @BalikPulau on the biggest chat room (or whatever you want to call it) the world has ever seen! We somehow have over 600 followers already, from various corners of the world, in just three months since inception.

More coming soon to your mailboxes, both online and offline... (be sure to register with us! Or you'll miss all the fun, and the world will pass over you...)

Interested?

Contact folks at Kelab Usahawan Sosial, d/a Pusat Internet Desa, Bangunan Pejabat Pos Malaysia Berhad, 11000 Balik Pulau, Penang (phone/fax: 04-866-2706)

Durian season has started!

Durians, durians!

The thorny fruits smell bad, but taste like heaven... or so said most European tourists to Malaysia. But for us Malaysians who savor all the exotic fruits and great spicy delicacies, taste come first, and we can forget the rest!

When two friends came to visit us in Penang, we just got to take 'em to Balik Pulau (instead of letting them wander cluelessly elsewhere!)...

A quick check at www.durian.com.my, a site run by/for Bao Sheng Farm in Sungai Pinang (midway between Balik Pulau and Teluk Bahang) since 2000 (or earlier) shows that the open-for-business season had just started a day earlier, from 15 MAY 2009.


All agreed, we set the time: 11 am on Sunday - time to eat all Durians we can, for just RM25 per person for the buffet option.

It was raining that morning though, so we waited for almost an hour beginning the originally planned time, before departing from Taman Sri Indah. I called the phone number off Bao Sheng's website, and Mrs Chang answered to welcome us, and confirm our arrival time so they may prepare whatever necessary... :)

Asuad & Fina were coming all the way from Tanjung Bungah. The rest of us were coming from Balik Pulau, and Ija wasn't going to let her two boys missing from the Durian savoring adventure - the first time for all of us indeed to set foot at this farm!

The five of us from 'Lik Lau' arrived at the site around 12:30 pm, and found the couple locked in their brand new white car. The dogs that the Chang family kept at the house must have scared them away from the hillside house with a nice observatory wooden veranda.

After a brief sightseeing around, and small introductory chats, Mr Chang get to business - explained us the 'deal', but we all knew what we came there for: definitely all-you-can-eat deal, or 'buffet' as the house owner termed it. It's good to know that kids eat free there, or at least for our small party that day, not for the whole 'kindergarten group' as we had kid the Chang husband & wife couple.


The rest of the durian feast story, we left it in the following slideshow... enjoy:

We ended the two hour feast with a brief tour to grab some fresh nutmegs (as a another friend from Sungai Petani called me that very morning asking for one, for medicinal purpose), where I also dropped my precious N95 (of which these pics and videos get extracted from) and scarred the entire front cover of it. ;( - oh well, at least, the little all-in-one wonder machine still is fully functional...

To complete the Penang's tour, a visit to peak of Bukit Bendera ("Penang Hill", by train) is a must which we indeed took afterwards, after a short stop at the other Penang's famous Anjung Indah observatory area (at the peak of Bukit Relau at the midway of Relau and Kongsi Town).

George Town & Penang Bridge from top of Penang Hill

Masjid Bukit Bendera during Sunset (Maghrib prayer time)

And a visit to Ayer Itam must also include a stop at world's famous Nasi Kandar outlet at Lorong Kampung Melayu near Sunshine Hypermarket at Jalan Thean Teik (Farlim), for that other Penang's favorite: spicy, Indian/Mamak food...



More photos are on author's Facebook album: Durian & Buah Pala @ Balik Pulau, Penang - and here's another movie-in-a-slideshow-movie (song "Berdua Lebih Baik" borrowed from Acha Septriasa - Heart the Movie):

Bao Sheng Durian Farm is run by Bao Sheng Agriculture Sdn Bhd (mostly by Mr Chang and family who also live there) and located at 150 Mk.2, Sungai Pinang, 11010 Balik Pulau, Penang, Malaysia.

For more information, contact: 012-411 0600 / 012-401 0800 (Fax: +60 4-829 9000) or email to bsfarm@durian.com.my - More pictures and information from the farm's official website: durian.com.my

Minum Petang Zaman Gawat

The heroes of Malaysian economy, especially during these trying times for the world, have got to be the operators of mom-n-pop's eateries all over the country. They are not however the big restaurants boasting air-conditioned dining place, but, the small shops and hawkers by the streets of Malaysia, highly visible in cities of Penang and Kuala Lumpur. Consider that you can get a bowl of laksa or noodle to satisfy your afternoon hunger and craving for just about RM1.50-RM2 (about half a US dollar!), and a drink for as cheap as 50-sen to RM1 (your spare coins!).

Check out the prices: 80-sen kopi-o (black coffee), RM1 goreng pisang... a good afternoon snack for under RM2!

In Balik Pulau, there are many of such eatery stalls, both near Pekan Kongsi and Pekan Genting (Simpang Empat). Besides laksa, one can enjoy all kinds of Malay, Chinese and Indian and even Western delicacies including various soups, takua rendang, fried bananas, pasembor, nasi lemak, mee rebus etc. and desserts such as ais kacang and cendul, all for well under RM3 each (under US$1).

Hard to find: 50-sen red syrup! (except maybe in university/college canteens)

Writer was enjoying an 80-sen sirap limau (lime syrup) at the stalls next to the Masjid Al-Mokhtar, Balik Pulau (district mosque) when writing this short note... The stalls are generally open at about 4-7pm daily. BTW, FREE broadband wi-fi too from the public library next to the this small hut - who needs Starbucks!

The stalls at Pekan Genting however opens till late nite. For a plethora food items and goods, check out the weekly Night Markets on Wednesday and Sunday near Genting between 5-10pm and the weekly Agro Market on Sunday morning near the new Market Complex near Kongsi.

Balik Pulau on Wiki

The single paragraph on "Balik Pulau" at the biggest (online) encyclopaedia on earth - WikiPedia has grown into six paragraphs today, yay!:

"Balik Pulau (literally meaning back of the island) is a town in Penang, Malaysia. Durians and other kinds of fruits are planted there. Balik Pulau is famous for its durian plantations which include the 'ang heh' (meaning red prawns) and 'holo' (meaning gourd like) variety. The area was affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Balik Pulau is also one of the thirteen parliamentary constituencies in Penang, possibly the largest in land size, stretching about half of Penang Island, from Batu Feringhi (famous for modern resorts and beaches) at its north to Teluk Kumbar (traditionally a fishing village but now a booming town close to Bayan Lepas) at its south. Its current Member of Parliament (MP) is YB Yusmadi Yusoff from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), having won his March 2008 general election bid, a historic win for a member of an opposition party, as well as for several other parliamentary constituencies and state governmentship of Penang that also surprising fell to opposition power. All three Members of State Legislative Assembly (ADUN) for Balik Pulau regions of Bayan Lepas, Pulau Betong and Teluk Bahang however continued to be held by members of the National Front (BN) coalition party. Chief advisor of PKR, the controversial Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is currently seeking a comeback into Malaysia's political scene had also hinted in February 2008 that he may contest in Balik Pulau in a possible re-election in May 2008, which he however did not as of June 2008.

Modern Balik Pulau is a self-sufficient township, serving the greater Southwest District (Daerah Barat Daya), one of the five districts in the state of Penang with basic municipal facilities including a hospital, a police headquarters, a fire station, a post office (postcode: 11000), a TNB power station, a TM telecommunications station, a PBA water authority office, a district judicial court, an Islamic Syariah court, a district land office, a government-owned Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), a sports complex, a bus station and a new big wet market complex and food court (opened in December 2007 to replace the much smaller older market located less than 500 metres away), all within a 5-minute driving distance from its three-junction town centre (an subtown area called "Kongsi").

Balik Pulau is also home to several schools and higher learning institutions. Among the secondary schools located around Balik Pulau are SK Kongsi, SK Balik Pulau, SK Genting, SK Pulau Betong and Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM). Its higher learning institutions include Kolej Kemahiran MARA (KKM), Kolej Teknologi Pulau (KTP) and there is also a Tourism University being developed near its western coast of Pantai Acheh.

Commerce-wise, the town has several major banks (Ambank, Maybank and CIMB), many restaurants including at least three Indian-Muslim Nasi Kandar outlets operating around the clock (24x7: one at Kongsi (Bharvin), one at Taman Indah (Habeeb Mohamed) and another (Bharvin) at Simpang Empat), a 24-hour convenience shop (7-eleven), at least three petrol stations (two Petronas and one Shell), several clinics and various types of shops supporting its local residents numbering around 50,000 (or 38,610 qualified voters as of March 2008), many of whom however commute daily to towns like Ayer Itam, Georgetown and Bayan Lepas to work. Broadband Internet connectivity is available from TMNET (DSL), and all major mobile providers (3G and GPRS Edge).

Besides great food and breathtaking sightings (from the three major roads connecting the town to other parts of the island), another attraction for visitors include its remote beaches at Pantai Pasir Panjang at its south and Pantai Kerechut at its north, two rather clean and normally quite beaches. Pantai Pasir Panjang which is located near the tiny Pulau Betong island, had witness the terrible tsunami that happened in 2004. The beach also hosts the White Resort Camp, which is the National Service Training Centre ("Pusat Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN)") for selected secondary school graduates."

Wanna help me expand and improve it into a more useful piece? Handle this editing priviledge with care...

We need some decent translation into Bahasa Melayu too, which is only about three short paragraphs at the moment:

Balik Pulau merupakan sebuah bandar yang terletak di Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Durian dan buah pala ditanam di kawasan ini. Balik Pulau terkenal dengan penanaman durian. Kawasan ini juga menerima kesan daripada kejadian Gempa bumi 26 Disember 2004. Terdapat beberapa sekolah rendah di Balik Pulau termasuk Sekolah Rendah Chong Teik.

Balik Pulau juga terkenal sebagai "The Village Behind The Island". Ini kerana ia juga merupakan namanya jika diterjemahkan dalam bahasa Inggeris. Terdapat beberapa sekolah menengah dan sekolah rendah di Balik Pulau. Ini termasuk SK Kongsi, SK Balik Pulau, SK Genting, SK Pulau Betong, dan sebagainya.

Terdapat satu lokasi yang sama taraf kepopularannya dengan durian iaitu Pantai Pasir Panjang. Pantai ini menerima tempias ombak tsunami pada 2004. White Resort iaitu sebuah kem Pusat Latihan Khidmat Negara turut terdapat di sini. Resort ini menjadi pusat latihan kepada pelajar selepas menamatkan alam persekolahan.

With regards to where Balik Pulau is located at and how big the area is (per elaboration in the Wikipedia article), Barisan Nasional Pulau Pinang has posted a nice electoral map for the entire state of Penang - you won't missed the left-most/west-most region in brown color:


It's worth noting too that since my first article written over a year ago, the number of online resources on this little town of ours has also grown significantly to more than double at 115,000 webpages based on Google Search and over 300,000 webpages using Yahoo! Search. The number of images or videos seems to have not grown at all though -- we need more sharings of local productions! (There has got to be a lot more than 700 photos capturing this beautiful town of over 50,000 residents)

Don't know where to upload? Try some of these free services:-

1. Google PicasaWeb
2. Yahoo! Flickr
3. YouTube (for video)
   
4. SlideShare.net (for presentations)
   
5. Facebook (everything while networking, socially)
   

When uploading, be sure to tag your media with "balikpulau" or "balik pulau"!

Durian Season is Back!

It's already May, and for the next three months or so in Balik Pulau etc: Deroyan, deroyan... liulian!

Enjoy the videos...

Learn English first:



Then have a Mat Salleh try his/her first durian:



Then look for more originals in the orchards:

RM700m Penang Tower in Balik Pulau?

Yes, old news... but I wonder what happened to the proposal?

Nation
Sunday November 20, 2005


RM700m tower proposed for Penang

BY NG SU-ANN

PENANG: A proposal has been made to build a RM700mil “smart tower” like the Kuala Lumpur Tower on Pondok Upeh Hill in Balik Pulau here.

Balik Pulau MP Datuk Dr Hilmi Yahaya said it would house the world's first revolving hotel, a revolving restaurant, meeting rooms and telecommunication facilities.

“The proposal was submitted to the state early this year by a group of local and foreign investors.

“I hope the state will consider it as soon as possible,” he told reporters after opening the Koperasi Pelancongan Pulau Pinang Berhad's (Kopel) annual general meeting at the P. Ramlee House yesterday.

Dr Hilmi, who is also the Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary, said to avoid cutting trees to make a road up the hill, the proposed cable car system linking Penang Hill and Teluk Bahang should also be linked to the tower.

He also urged the state to make the system more comprehensive by providing links to Balik Pulau and Relau, instead of merely between Penang Hill and Teluk Bahang.

Originally from http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/11/20/nation/12648637&sec=nation
(article no longer made available for public access by publisher)

Balik Pulau's White Resort

It's not what you'd think... nope, not a Jerejak type of resort, or a Batu-Feringgi-ish hotel in Balik Pulau area (in addition to the 'famous' Upeh Inn and a few homestay houses as the only major lodging units for overnight travellers). It's the newly built training camp for National Service Training Programme (PLKN)

Here are some pics by blogger Zhenglik:-





Camp contact details:-

NAMA KEM : KEM PLKN WHITE RESORT
ALAMAT KEM : MUKIM 7 & MUKIM J, KAMPUNG GENTING
DAERAH BERAT DAYA
11000 BALIK PULAU
PULAU PINANG
NO. TELEFON : 04-8661926
NO. FAKS : 04-8661926
EMAIL : PLKN_Mutiara@khidmatnegara.gov.my

The new National Park Centre in Teluk Bahang...

The new centre for Taman Negara Pulau Pinang at Teluk Bahang is under final completion and set to be officiated by TYT Tun Dato’ Seri Utama (Dr) Haji Abdul Rahman Bin Haji Abbas next week on 5 JAN 2008, according to the official website for the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN) at http://wildlife.gov.my. See below for the photos showing the new structure at the gate to the 'End of the World', Jalan Hassan Abbas.



To get there, once can either take the road passing Batu Feringghi from Georgetown, or another much more snaky one from Balik Pulau passing Sg. Pinang and Pantai Acheh. Photo below shows direction from the Kongsi roundabout in Balik Pulau.


A couple friends of mine came over from Kuala Lumpur to trek the trails from Pasir Pandak (Teluk Bahang) all the way to Pantai Kerechut, and I took a chance to join them -- our first visit to Kerechut Beach since all of us were there some 17.5 years ago, when we were still teenagers back then. The trekking took our group of five about 50 minutes, my longest so far in years, through the jungle trail of about 2.7 kms. We took some pictures and soak in the sea water a bit before trekking back to Pasir Pandak. We spotted a couple boats that cost about RM80 per trip (for up to eight person per boat) at the beach as well, bringing a few groups of students and visitors -- that could be your alternative way to reach this remote beach if long trekking (involving hiking to to ~400m hills) is not your in thing...

On the way back, we stumblend upon another penang-based school-mate friend who decided to bring her entire family too to meet up with us at the beach, although arrived some two hours late.


Adios TNPP! We'll be back for camping perhaps some time soon...





The stills are stored here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mnuttyx/PantaiKerechut20071229

And here's a flashback on the original plan for turning this area into a National Park:

| View | Upload your own

The New Balik Pulau (Part II?)

No names like "Bandar Baru Balik Pulau (3BP)" (New Balik Pulau Town) have been thrown in yet, but Balik Pulau has clearly been embracing massive development all these years (read the first blog post on this site dated 7apr07), and to top these development, this month beginning 1 DEC 2007, BP folks get to flock every morning at a brand new RM17M public market complex -- the largest of its kind in the Malaysian state of Penang (after several postponements dated since Sept 2007, perhaps due to refusal by the traders at the old market to move after a very short notice). The new market complex and vicinity hosts a new wet market, MPPP district office, bill payment centre, food & drink stalls, bazaar shops (I managed to get a haircut at Khairi's, the only barber in the complex so far), Pasar Tani site (every Sunday), bus hub, shoplots (to be opened in early 2008), new low-cost housing flat (to open soon) and terrace houses (pending final construction works).

I first spotted the news about the new market in mid this year, hence a blog post on 3may07. Not too long afterwards, on 12may07 to be exact, we started hearing about the new Rapid Penang (a cousin to RapidKL, wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance Malaysia) bus hub coming to Balik Pulau at the same spot as the new market. After passing the heavy-in-construction zone for so many times, I finally had the chance to capture the view of the new amenities for Penang on 15jun07, including having an aerial view of the zone from a hill peak near Relau Hill Forest Reserve, which had been renovated during mid this year and named "Anjung Indah". Not long afterwards, by end of June applications are being accepted for the stalls in the Balik Pulau complex.

Soon later, by end of July, the long awaited Rapid Penang bus service and one of its major hubs that is to be located next the new Balik Pulau market, is all ready for launch for the first week of Aug 2007 when an MP from Balik Pulau, Dato Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya was spotted on 29 Aug '07 in Kongsi Town distributing the Rapid Penang flyers. The next day, NCER officially arrives in four northern states of Malaysia including Penang and the northern half of Perak. Two weeks later, Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was back in Penang (in addition to his occasional trips for Umno and Eid events, as hosted by Dr Hilmi) to officiate the two-year KKTM, the RM152-million higher learning institute for skills and talent training located at Simpang Empat/Genting, near MARA and Umno district office.

Today, I finally had a chance to check out the new market complex in operation, together with Pasar Tani on its new site situated next to the market complex/Rapid Penang bus terminal. If my prior trip got me the photos of the empty buidings, today, my new set of photos capture the buildings and surrounding areas filled with people, although not many enough yet I suppose (many of these low-rental stalls are even yet to open three weeks since the complex started operating). Check 'em out here:



And it's not over... So far, we've welcome a new police HQ (IPDBD), mosque (al-Mokhtar), colleges (KKTM, ICT etc.), schools (Teknik etc.), bus terminal (Rapid Penang), market complex, sports complex and soon we'll welcome a tourism university (yes, the big U!), more IPTA & IPTS (higher learning institutions, private and public), national/global brand shops (we only have ONE, not including banks: 7-eleven!), better roads via Genting (to Batu Maung/Bayan Lepas -- it's just too long to reach the airport or the upcoming Second Penang Bridge now!), more broadband (wi-fi) hotspots, more industrious workplaces, among others...

Better economy and social development for the town? I'd be just fine with if 3.5G/HSDPA would reach this part of the island, and the good eateries for tomyam, nasi kandar, and ais kacang stay... Perhaps, better e-commerce in Malaysia too, or I'd have to keep dreaming to see a Tesco/Carrefour/Walmart hypermarket on this part of the island.

Panggilan Ibadah di Mekah dan serata dunia...

Umat Islam di seluruh dunia hari ini, 10 Zulhijjah 1428H bersamaan dengan 20 December 2007 merayakan sambutan Aidil Adha, baik yang di Mekah menunaikan ibadah haji mahupun di mana-mana saja yang menghayati ibadah korban dan solat sunat hari raya di masjid-masjid serta terus mengeratkan tali persaudaraan sesama mukmin dengan berjabat-tangan, bertukar-tukar ramah dan berkunjung-kunjungan sesama saudara, rakan dan jiran, baik yang jauh mahupun dekat...



Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar!



Takbir akan terus bergema di masjid-masjid seluruh dunia serta dalam pelbagai majlis-majlis komuniti selama tiga hari ini sehinggan 13 ZULHIJJAH 1428H (23dec07) memuji kebesaran Tuhan Yang Maha Esa dan petunjuk yang disampaikanNya melalui perutusan-perutusanNya, Rasul-rasul Ibrahim AS, Ismail AS, Musa AS dll. dan akhirnya Nabi kita Muhammad SAW.



Eid mubarak greetings from the editor of BalikPulau.org!


Maaf Zahir & Batin...
(sesama kita bermaaf-maafan dan mensyukuri Nikmat Tuhan Yang Maha Pemurah)

Homestay in Pulau Betong, Balik Pulau

Homestay programme for five more villages

By ZULKIFLY MOHAMAD

THE Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) has identified five more villages in the state for its homestay programme.

Perda chairman Datuk Hilmi Abdul Rashid said the villages were located at Teluk Bahang, Pulau Betong and Jalan Baru in Balik Pulau, Sungai Chenaam in Nibong Tebal and Sungai Semilang in Juru.

He said the Rural and Regional Development Ministry would allocate, through Perda, RM100,000 to each village for the programme.

“The homestay programme in these villages will start early next year,” he said in an interview.

Hilmi said the allocation would be spent to improve basic amenities in the participating villages, including signage, landscaping, multi-purpose halls, streetlightings and roads.

He said several attractions would also be introduced in the villages such as steam bath, traditional massage and stalls selling handicrafts.

He said the homestay programme would enable residents in the villages to earn extra in-come.

“They can sell handicrafts and traditional cakes or earn extra money through stage performances and kompang, wau (kite) and top spinning demonstrations for tourists,” Hilmi added.

He said those participating in the homestay programme would get income by renting rooms at between RM60 and RM120 per room which are rates decided Koperasi Pelabuhan (Kopel).

Kopel, which is chaired by Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhammad Farid Saad, will manage the homestay programme.

Hilmi said the Mengkuang Titi homestay programme had proven that it could be successful if it was well managed and promoted.

More than 8,000 tourists, including those from the United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Britain, had stayed in Mengkuang Titi under the programme.

SOURCE: The Star Malaysia (Metro)

p/s: Pulau Betong Village, not the Pulau Betong Island ;)

Permandangan Indah Balik Pulau

Permandangan Indah Balik Pulau
Originally uploaded by fizi_isma

Wah! We didn't know there's a huge settlement of people at the back of the island.... ;) [you should have seen the lights of the new Balik Pulau on evenings/nights -- it's like Los Angeles, hehe...]

Fizi Izma photo blogged some of the sceneries of Balik Pulau at a flickr album documenting family trip to Anjung Indah (peak of Bukit Penara/Hutan Simpan Bukit Relau and nearby attractions...