We got back from Langkawi and quickly dumped our gear at our unit in Mansion One. In less than an hour we were off to the CBD for more Chinese New Year celebrations but first to grab a bite at the Komtar/Prangan Mall/1St Avenue complex. These 3 malls are on the same intersection but on the 3rd floor there are walkways between the three of them to effectively make them one big shopping hit. Underneath is the main bus transport hub of Komtar. We sat at a table on the edge of the 4th level looking down on the throng below. After a nice feed we shopped a bit then went down to Komtar to get the free CAT (City Area Transport) bus. This is just one of the free bus routes available here in Penang.
Riding the CAT till the end we off loaded at the Weld Jetty, the other bus hub. This was our target for the night as on this, the 9th day of CNY, it is also known as Ti Kong Seh or the Jade Emperor God’s birthday celebrations. This is a Hokkien celebration some 2500 years old and was to be held at the Hokkien Clan Jetty on a grand scale. The Clan Jetties are a series of 6 jetties (there was 7 till fire destroyed one) resided on by the following families; Seh Lim Keo (Lim Jetty), Seh Chew Keo (Chew Jetty), Seh Tan Keo (Tan Jetty), Seh Lee Keo (Lee Jetty), Chap Seh Keo (Mixed Clan Jetty), Seh Yeoh Keo (Yeoh Jetty). We have had a quick look at some of the Clan Jetties here but not the Chew Family jetty where tonight’s ‘birthday party’ was to be held.
We were definitely not disappointed. As we weaved our way through the rabble the cacophony was massive. That portion of the street was barricaded so as we entered there were people everywhere. Outside the entrance to the jetty itself was a long ‘altar’ of sorts that was there for followers to place their gifts to the gods along with a note describing their wishes for the upcoming year. Once in the entrance the sights, smells and noise was almost overpowering. We spent hours there looking at the residences on the jetty, perusing the shops that they have to supplement their income and buying a little something here and there. Also there was a stage for traditional and modern entertainment acts and food stalls. At one stage we were literally surprised to be ushered aside as a series of ‘Gods’ passed us by for the end of the jetty. We followed and got some great photos of these most traditional of chinese characters.
Almost totally exhausted we wandered across the street to find the biggest Hawker Food Hall we had ever seen and was it ever full of hungry people. We estimated it was at least 150 meters long by 60 meters wide under cover and there is no way we could count the number of food stalls in this food hall. Now this is what Penang is famous for, it’s food. I will shortly make a post totally about some of the food we have seen and in many cases eaten.
After a quick beer and a 15 minute rest up we ventured back out onto the street to catch some more fireworks. There was one group who are a ‘flag throwing group’. They do acrobatics while passing the tall bamboo flag to each other. Just up the street one friendly local lass offered to share her beer with me if I shared my ‘long potato’. With the Weld Bus Terminal just 75 metres up the road we hopped on a bus homeward. On the trip home and again from our unit balcony we could see numerous Chinese people having fires in another CNY tradition to do with good wishes to the Gods. One bloke even had a fire on his unit balcony.
These 3 galleries of photos are not as sorted as I usually try to organise but I hope you’ll see the links between my notes and the pics. And don’t miss the video below the gallery either. It is literally a ‘cracker’. Anyway that’s just another night of Penang CNY madness. Next blog sees us at the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta and yet more food.
To see my video click here; https://youtu.be/PaSaF4MGnTk
Its easy to get lost in the Komtar complex. We were looking for a supermarket and kept being given different directions. Never did find it!
Yeah. I don’t remember ever seeing one ‘in’ Komtar but on the next block towards where we used to live (Times Square) is GAMA. This is where we locals shop.