Spiritual Spring Cleaning

Songkran Festival copy — Image Courtesy of Lim Lean Eng

Songkran Festival, or known as the Thai Water Festival, is celebrated annually by the Thai Community from April 13th to 15th as traditional Thai New Year’s Day. It is one of the most important Thai festivals, celebrated all around Thailand including major tourists spots. People splash and pour water on each other as a cleansing ritual to wash away bad luck, then welcome the new year with blessings and good wishes.

In Thai, Songkran means to move or change place. It also denotes the Sun change of place in the zodiac system. Originally, water was gently sprinkled on the elderly, family and friends. As time goes by, the celebration became more magnificent – streets closed for transportation means and filled with enormous crowd, people armed with buckets of water, fistfuls of flour and water guns dousing each other in a cacophony of “Sawatdee pi mai” (Happy New Year) and laughter. People also spend time to visit the temple as well as their family and friends during the festival.

Meanwhile, Songkran is celebrated not only by the Thais, but also the locals and tourists in Penang. Visit one of the following temples if you want to experience this one-of-a-kind water fight on 13th April 2016:-

Where to go

• Wat Chayamangkalaran Thai Buddhist Temple, Lorong Burma, Pulau Tikus

• Dharmikara Burmese Buddhist Temple, Lorong Burma, Pulau Tikus

• Wat Rajaphohong Buddhist Temple, Ara Kuda, Bukit Mertajam

Do not forget to protect your belongings from being soaked before the water play starts. Seal them in plastic bags or leave them in the hotel/car and enjoy the festive moments to the fullest!

Comments

Never Enough of Kimberley Street

Welcome to the Streets of George Town. Every issue, we bring you on a vicarious tour of the heritage trails of Penang highlighting its history, attractions and more! Known as “Swatow-kay” or Swatow Street among the Penangites, Kimberley Street (Lebuh Kimberley in Malay) is definitely one of all foodies’ favourite food destinations in George Town. It runs from Penang Road to Carnarvon Street in the heart of the city, clustered with streetside hawker stalls which started near the intersection with Rope Walk (Jalan Pintal Tali). Most of the stalls in the street are operated by second- or third-generation hawkers, and had been there since World War II. Kimberley Street was named after John Wodehouse, the Earl of Kimberley, who was the British colonial secretary in the 1870s. The road was created in the late 19th century and was populated by Teochew immigrants from the Swatow Province, who made bihun (rice noodles) and mee suah (vermicelli), drying them in the open. Until today, this...

An Exhibition of Opulence - RHB Premier . International Luxury Collections Week 2017

CHTNetwork recently hosted the RHB Premier International Luxury Collections Week 2017 at Gurney Paragon – the first-of-its-kind exhibition in Malaysia that showcases the finest and glamorous jewellery, luxurious automobiles, fine arts, genuine antiques, expensive watches, properties, fashion and auctions for reputable dealers and collectors surrounding the region. The exhibition aims to provide a newly formatted event especially for Penang’s tourism purposes in the hope to attract and impress more local and international spender to Penang. Corum YB Danny Law Heng Kiang, Penang State EXCO for Tourism Development and Culture endorsed the red carpet project and also attended as Guest Of Honour at its grand opening. Amee Philips, a renowned brand in the jewellery industry, presented an exclusive show of their finest collections. Other participating exhibitors include RHB Premier, Gurney Paragon Mall, CORUM Watches, Thai Airways International, Crown Worldwide Group, Hunza Propert...

Dying Trades In George Town

As living heritages themselves, these people are part of the cultural richness of George Town against the backdrop of architectural heritage. Make your heritage trail complete by visiting them before these trades fade away. 1. Thana’s Goldsmith Fourth-generation goldsmith M. Raju is the last of his kind in Penang. With a sharp eye for detail, a pair of steady hands and his trusty tools, Raju carries on the time-consuming process of shaping gold into elaborate jewellery. Don’t you dare miss out on the last of custom-made gold trinkets Penang has to offer! 2. Songkok Maker On King Street, Haja Mohideen works his fingers to the bone at the sewing machine tucked away in a quaint little shop. A trade passed to him by his father, he keeps the custom of hand-made songkoks (a stiff cap worn by Muslim men) alive with the assistance of his son-in-law. 3. Signboard Maker Inherited from his father who was from Guangdong, China, Kok Ah Hwa shoulders the family legacy of...

iNPENANG

Search This Blog