Suffolk House gives off a colonial vibe (in a bad way)

Being fascinated by the architecture of the building, and the fact that it is located right in the middle of Penang, just hiding in the garden beside the road I've passed by numerous times, my family and I visited Suffolk House last Sunday. I was prepared to spend a fortune there for an overpriced afternoon tea set and surprisingly I ended up beyond disappointed.

Not sure we were late or not, we arrived there at around 3.30pm. While I guessed it was a perfect time to have a tea time, apparently not. We were not alone. There was some sort of event on-going there. We were the only one who were there specifically for afternoon tea. We were immediately being told that the afternoon tea timeslot would be ended at 5.30pm. Our waitress was the main reason that I ended up disappointed. She gave off a vibe that we were not welcomed at all. The fact that she had to mentioned there would be another event that evening in the room we were sitting in and they would need time to cleanup after us, I was like: "what the hell do you have to mention that?", while we still had about 2 hours left until then. 

As expected, the whole experience was pricey. The tea set was average. The building was ok, I have seen better. Although the room we were in was very cozy, the rudeness of the waitress, the very well-dressed customers of the event happening in the adjacent room, just made us not very comfortable to stay any longer. After we left, we went over to the public park opposite the building. It was here that reminded me of Parasite the movie. While the Suffolk House and everyone there were the rich, there were homeless folks camping in the park just a bridge away. And what was even stranger was that there were many ordinary folks oddly choosing to picnic beside the very little bit of greenery between Suffolk House compound and the busy main Jalan Ayer Itam. The contrast of the rich and the poor was just eye-opening because I would never expected to see this in Penang itself. I have seen this kind of contrast in Mumbai before and this is almost on a par with it. 

My verdict is, if you have extra money and want to get a glimpse of how our ancestors felt during the oppressive English colonial times, Suffolk House can definitely deliver on that end 🤣

Suffolk House viewed from the public park opposite

The celebration of the 9th day of CNY is a dick-measuring contest

The story of the week has been how everyone having not-enough sleep over the 9th day of Chinese New Year, a.k.a. the Pai-Ti-Kong festival, a.k.a. the Hokkien New Year. Since I am staying Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth, the situation is just the worst. The excessive array of oblation, the luxurious food offering, extremely elaborate deco over an exaggerated high table, and of course the never-ending firework and firecrackers, the ridiculousness of all of it has made me rethink the purpose of the celebration.

First, the food waste must be a problem because there is simply no way each household could consume this huge amount of food. From what I heard before, there is also a misbelief that the food offerings are not meant to be eaten to worsen the situation. Second, we Malaysians often like to complain about the open air burning from Indonesia, but during this festival alone, the amount open air burning of the offerings plus the firework collectively, has made the air pollution spiked during that few hours. Third, all the plastic and rubbish created, who else gonna clean it up except the city council, a typical NIMBY mindset. And finally and especially, the most annoying problem of all, the excessive noise from all the firework and firecrackers.

This video was taken at 12am sharp. Imagine the same scene but over 3 hours long!

Perhaps I could understand firework and firecrackers for any kind of celebration. But firework at hours way pass 12am is just something that baffles me. Sunday night, Monday early morning, I could still hear the exploding sound of firework and firecrackers after 1am. The most annoying part is that the noise is sporadic, this house opens fire, 7mins or so later then another house opens fire. I thought the people are worrying about economic downturn. But from the amount of firework I have seen, it seems like everyone is doing just fine with so much money to burn, literally. It is not a nice way to put it but it is seriously feels like a dick-measuring contest, to see who's bigger, who's longer, who shoots higher and louder. To put it simply, those who have released firework after 1am are just selfish. To say that they assume everyone doesn't have to work the next day is just wrong because I don't think they think of anyone else. It is highly likely that they are the same people who complain about noise of firework during Hari Raya and Deepavali. Don't tell me that firework is not their tradition. If the celebration of the 9th day of CNY is to commemorate the Hokkiens hiding in the sugarcane plantation from a potential massacre, how the hell firework achieve that purpose? To simulate the chaos of the massacre?

When a tradition no longer makes sense, it is time to get rid of it. To be honest firework is only impressive for the first few minutes, after that it is just boring and annoying. All that is left is the prolonged sporadic noise. If firework is a must, why don't we all synchronize and release the firework together at 11am sharp, for example? I could imagine it to be an incredible scene to behold, instead of what we have now. In that case, everyone could also go to bed before 12am.

The king has returned with Santé

A good song evokes thoughts and emotions. Stromae's latest song, Santé, certainly does that for me. It makes me thoughtful and it reminds me of a lot of things, such as the fact that is clearly an ode to the blue collar workers, a.k.a. the essential workers, the backbone of the society, low pay but indispensable. The fact that "santé" means cheers and health at the same time, to which I see it as very fitting as the world just walks out of the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. The song is also meant to cheers for the healthcare workers as well, as they were the real heros serving at the frontline during this worldwide crisis.

Stromae disappeared for so long, only to return with this masterpiece. I know Stromae since Alors On Danse, arguably his most famous song. I could still remember when Alors On Danse was first released in year 2009, my second year living in France, it was played non-stop in every club and every dance floor in France. Stromae's songs have always been very danceable hits with a heavy dose of social commentary. This time it is no difference with Santé. I learnt from the video by Adam Neely that there is so-called micro-rhythm that carries the whole song. The slightly-off-beat beat is quite genius. Once you notice it, it becomes an earworm and it somehow just makes you want to move your body, dancing to it. I also like how the actors in the music video dance awkwardly and spontaneously. It is just fitting to such an unconventional beat, a pure expression of emotion.

Air Hitam Dalam Educational Forest - a half-cooked tourist spot

Apparently it is a hotspot for bird watchers. But I am no bird watcher, the main attraction for me is the 200m long suspension bridge that goes through the canopy of the forest. It is an unique experience to walk on it. The forest is mainly made of swamp. Luckily there are many elevated footpaths that allow visitors to explore leisurely around.

Overall, it has a lot of potential, but it just never gets popular enough. My visit there just gives me the impression that the place is abandoned. At the unremarkable entrance, the letters of the signboard are either missing or at the verge of falling off. There is no entrance fee and no security guard either. There are a few shop lots meant to be eateries or souvenir shops but remain vacant and mossy. There are signs of expansion of the elevated footpaths with foundation pillars built and ready but as of now they are left to rot. There is also a jetty beside a nearby river, which I guess there used to be a plan to provide boat tour along the river but now left neglected as it is. The only commendable thing about the park is the clean toilet. But I guess even that is to be expected since not many visitors, means nobody uses it, means a clean toilet. Unfortunately that is the reality of many supposedly touristic spots in Malaysia. Money is invested initially, but due to a multitude of reasons, becomes either unfinished or left to crumble due to lack of maintenance. It is like the saying in Inception, this place is like an old man, filled with regrets, and waiting to die alone. It is just sad to see.

Old Sungai Muda Railway Bridge - a hidden gem at the border of Penang and Kedah

While Taiping has Victoria Bridge, sitting at the border of Penang and Kedah, there is the now abandoned Old Sungai Muda Railway Bridge. Although shorter in length, this historical building is still quite charming. I spotted this bridge one day while I was mindlessly looking at the Penang-Kedah border on the Google Map. While I was there yesterday, not a single soul anywhere near the bridge. Walking on the rusty steel beam without guard rail and with the overgrown tree branches and grass, it was really scary to be on the bridge alone. My mom and I just walked a short way on the bridge, took some photo, and then immediately left. 

With such a beauty, it is surprising that nobody thinks to turn it into a tourist spot yet. It is definitely a spot that could lure people there for some instagram-worthy photos. To be honest, the current crumbling state of the bridge is a danger to anyone there. And trust me, a fence to bar people out of the bridge would just have the opposite effect and lure more daredevils there. May be Sanusi and Chow Kon Yeow could argue less and collaborate in this effort to at least preserve the bridge, may be construct a safer pathway on the bridge, and make it officially a heritage site.