Photos Of The Week - Ampera Area

As mentioned in my previous posts, my driver and me both took the local bus to Palembang downtown and here are some photos that we took:

The following photo was taken on a pedestrian bridge with the Ampera Bridge and Palembang's water fountain round-about at the background. My driver Iwan is still not smiling...

This pedestrian bridge is called Jembatan PUSRI because it was built by Pusri (Pupuk Sriwijaya), one of the largest urea producers in the world. Supposedly there are a lot of pick pockets along this bridge but we did not encounter any incidences. Palembang is also full of satellite dishes (look at the background) because there are less government restrictions on their installations as compared to Malaysia. Once you have a dish installed, you can get any channels around the world. However, it was not something that we wanted to invest in.

This is Mesjid Agung Palembang (Palembang's Mosque) located right next to the Ampera Bridge. The horns on the roof came from a mix of Hindu and Chinese influences.

Across the mosque is this MONPERA monument. MONPERA stands for Monumen Penderitaan Rakyat. It is a monument to commemorate the suffering of the Indonesian people under the rule of president Soekarno in the 60's.

The front gate of the Palembang mosque.

Unique Palembang architecture and decorations.

An "angkut" or mini van is Palembang's other most common mode of public transport other than the BUS KOTA (city bus).

Busy street away from the Ampera Bridge just in front of the Monpera monument.

Water fountain round-about right before crossing Ampera bridge to the other side of Palembang (Plaju area where Pertamina's refinery is located). The city council only turns on the water fountain at night. They also have colored lights shooting at the fountain. The houses at the background have been painted in multiple colors for the Visit Musi Year 2008. I still remember donating paints on behalf of our company for the event. Supposedly all the houses facing the Musi River were all painted with these rainbow colors in 2008.

Top 10 things to do in Penang

By popular demand, here's the list:

1. Eat Char-Koay-Teow (fried flat noodles) - this special delicacy is so yummy because it is cooked with pork fat (lard) & eggs.
2. Eat O-Jien (fried oysters) - this is another egg cooked specialty dish.
3. Eat Roti Babi (pork bread) - this is a deep fried sandwich with minced pork.
4. Eat Curry Mee (noodles in coconut soup and curry) and Hokkien Mee (noodles in prawn based soup).
5. Eat Penang Chi-Cheong-Fun (rolled rice noodles with prawn paste).
   
6. Visit Kek-Lok-Si Temple - you can take the thousand step staircase from the base of the temple right up to the pagoda. Don't worry about the walk up as there are plenty to see. Along the steps are shops that sells ornaments, food and drinks, clothing etc. You will also pass a tortoise pond where you can feed vegetables to hundreds of tortoises.
7. Cross the Penang Bridge - It is a dual-carriageway toll bridge that connects Gelugor on the island of Penang and Seberang Prai on the mainland of Peninsular Malaysia. Opened to traffic on September 14, 1985, the total length of the bridge is 13.5 km. It is amongst the longest bridges in the world, the longest bridge in the country as well as a national landmark. I managed to complete the bridge run in high school within 3 hours and almost fainted after the event!
8. Visit Gurney Drive - this is something like a small Shanghai Bundt. Facing the sea front, you will get plenty of breeze walking along the Gurney Drive side walk. You can find all the aforementioned food at the hawker stall areas.
9. Take the walk in downtown Penang - This is the best way to capture Penang’s mixed heritage. Old houses have columns or multi-coloured Peranakan tiles. The smell of incense drifts in the air amidst gold settings of Burmese, Thai and Chinese temples. The Khoo Kongsi is a traditional form of Chinese art with its delicately carved wooden panels. Other long-time occupants include elderly Chinese shopkeepers, colourful Indian food stalls and trishaws. Guided heritage tours can be found at http://www.journeymalaysia.com/islandpenangheritagewalk.htm
10. Visit relatives and friends - I was born and raised in Penang island. Always so little time to meet so many people!!
    

Here's a night shot of Gurney Drive & one of the Penang Bridge.