Visa Run Episode II: Immigration Strikes Back
on My Thai (Thailand), 18/Mar/2011 01:13, 34 days ago
I’ve just returned from a few days in Penang where the second attempt at a visa run went a lot smoother than the first!It seems that the Thai embassy there is less popular than the one in Vientiane which is a bonus when it comes to queue times.So now I’m all set for another three months of Thaidom.Cue holiday snaps...                        Views of Penang from the planeOne of the things that most struck me about the island was the broad range of cultural influences that are evident.You can see it in everything from the old colonial buildings to the decoration of houses and shopfronts, the food, the places of worship.Its such a diverse community and all the richer for that, I think.I'm a big fan of the shabby chic look!Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Georgetown has obviously had an injection of capital for restoration work and the majority of this has clearly been directed to the larger and more historically significant buildings.Still, I think wandering down the backstreetstells you just as much about a town's character. Fruit based discrimination at my hotel.Poor durians!Still, I wouldn't want to be in a room after one of the stinky little things.'Diverse' seems to be the word of the day:Sign outside a Chinese temple (above left) and detail of a Hindu temple (above right). View of the Kek Lok Si Temple, apparently the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia.What you can't see in this picture is the enormous 30m high bronze statue of Guanyin,  the Goddess of Mercy.As you can see from the crane, they're still building and adding to the complex.Perhaps the most bizarre thing was, right by the statue at the top of the hill, the equally huge decapitated head of the previous statue which had been damaged by fire some years ago.                     Party time in the            Turtle Liberation Pond.                        (actual name)     Part of the temple complex.The aforementioned GuanyinIt's possible to buy and dedicate a roof tile which will be blessed and used on the temple site.Fort Cornwallis,which even Penang Museum describes politely as a bit useless.The stunning Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Georgetown.Having seen some 'before' and 'after' pictures, the amount of restoration word done here is staggering.Just over ten years ago this was nothing more than a decaying wreck.It was constructed using the principles of feng shui and, when nature and location didn't provide what was required, a little artistic license.