14 February 2010

A dream, really a sweet dream

Once in a zillion year while surrendering myself into a very deep slumber, I woke up and had this feeling of deja vu. It was not a similar feeling of helplessness having missed one of the very important exams because I had overslept the previous night over-indulging myself with heavy discussion mainly on rubbish, but a sense of confusion over time and space. This memory keep flashing and coming back lingering in my mind, if not in a clear 35mm picture but broken jigsaw puzzles when putting together will cause me to momentarily believe that life itself is a paradox to its existence.

Recently I had this dream of climbing a hill. In fact many dreams of similar experience but hill was the main backdrop in the storyline. Thus invokes back my memory of my hill experience in Penang last year - Bkt Bendera to be precise.

In my 42 years of existence in this beautiful planet, I am shamelessly admitting that was the first time I put my foot on that historical hill. Even though Penang has always been a stopover whenever I traveled up North, but never it crossed my mind to put this popular tourist spot into my travel itinerary. That was until a compulsory knowledge enrichment programme I enlisted in 'forcing' me to join with other foreign visitors, Oh-I-Seeing around in that Island as part of the agenda.

My first impression - Bkt Bendera is still a pristine natural ecosystem surrounded with lush greenery soothing to the eyes. The cooler temperature combined with the serene surrounding was really a rejuvenating experience. There are lots of awesome adventures for the visitors to embark into. Any effort to preserve this hill from any greedy bureaucrats molesting its natural modesty is most applauded.

From what I saw, Penangites still treasured their past and putting a lot of effort in preserving their history. This is really a shame to my fellow Ganukite, who think the opposite way and seemingly working very hard erasing the past from this earth (a demolition of a row of shop houses close to Pasar Kedai Payang recently is a strong evident). Now Ganukite can only dream to see their past.

I however, still could not figure out why hill was the main subject in my sleeping domain of late. Had I been thinking too much about climbing a higher pinnacle in life recently? Or my mind has subconsciously trying to remind me of something I kept brushing off whenever it appear? I supposed flashes of beautiful beaches with heavenly white sand in a secluded island with the loved one is most welcome. I am still having the dream though. Can we dictate and choreograph what we want for a dream each night? I think the answer will be found only in my dream - that is if my slumber snoring free!


I spotted this beautiful artificial grasshopper or some sort of insect made from coconut leaves on sale along the road on the hill.

There were many stalls that sells local produces and other exotic item along the way to the top of the hill.


From the last train station on the top of the hill, one can see George Town. Surprisingly there are many private residents on the hills, owned by some local tycoons.


This awesome red funicular Swiss train was a trademark to Penang Hill. Climbing the hill on this snail-powered train will take you into a slow 30 minutes journey on a double track. I was told, this attraction will be closed for one year starting February 2010 for a rail upgrading. Probably the local government is thinking of fitting a rocket engine to this train so that it can conquer the moon.

This small mosque on top of the hill sitting in between a Hindu temple and a church. A symbol of harmony and compromise I guess.

Actually the canopy walk was closed for maintenance. In fact the walk was not open for almost a year to the public. A bit of persuasive haggling with the guide though, he finally surrendered and let us explore half part of the hanging walkway as other part was considered not safe.

This gigantic canon poise an ominous threat to any invading ships to the island. The building with a blue roof in the background was a police station.

41 comments:

Sir Pök Déng said...

Penangites were probably getting bored with developments so they're now looking at their past. Ganukite works the other way around.

Once the heritages are all gone, they'll do what Penangites do. But that's too late already.

Mia's Mom said...

Salam DrSam :-D

If your dream always with a hill in the background, more often than not - either I feel myself lighter and lighter and finally I am above most buildings or I am already soaring looking down to beautiful landscapes. Hmmm... I sometimes wonder why.

I really like the coconut leave grasshopper - cool huh?

You didn't managed to visit the War Museum, right? And that trip is official yeah?

idasm said...

Bila tgk train tu, teringat time naik tram panjat the peak kat HK. Best kan tgk view dr atas bukit.

DrSam said...

some said, by clinging to the past we might end up extinct like a prehistorical dinosaurs - rapid development will eat us alive. But the fossils are even more intriguing than the dinosaurs themselves.

Mia's Mom,
Salam. Most of the time, I could not remember what my dream was. So this hilly dream is so persistent and stick like a mental note in my mind.

Nope, never been to that Museum as it was not in our official itinerary too. We missed few good tourist spots as well, as some members of my entourage has their own agenda thus slowed down our movement too.

DrSam said...

idasm,
pengalaman pertama biasanya meninggalkan kesan mendalam. Kalau pergi kali kedua, mungkin 'thrill' tak sama lagi.

Zendra-Maria said...

Dinda, dream on until you reach the pinnacle - only you alone know which hill it is.

DrSam said...

Kanda, thank you for your kind word of encouragement. stairways of heaven thus so far is reachable only in my dream, but stairways of happiness - I am blessed!

CAHAYA said...

Ahh, lama tak pegi Penang.

I'm Seri said...

Salam Doc,

Nostalgia sungguh.

Saya tak habis lagi jelajah Penang.

Saya dapat ilmu. Thanks kongsi ye Doc.

payarumput21 said...

Salam DrSam..

Thank you.. thank you so very much.. for bringing back the sweet memories of all times!! :)

**Bukit Bendera used to be my spot during my teens..**

DrSam said...

CAHAYA,
Pasti ada kenangan menanti.

IRIS,
Salam. Bukan Penang aje, negeri lain di tanahair tercinta ni pun masih banyak yang saya belum diterokai.

payarumput21,
Salam. It leave good and lasting impression to me too. Will surely visit the place again.

Abd Razak said...

Salam DrSam...

Sekali pun pernah ke Penang beberapa kali tapi saya tak punya peluang utk melihat keindahan pulau itu kerana ketika itu hanya datang utk berkursus. Hopefully one day nak datang lagi..:)

yohteh said...

huh...huh... teringatlah pulok masa dolu-dolu kkhabbak Bukit Besor... terbayang konon-konon sedang berbahagia di kayangan... sedangkan tempat jatuh lagi kukenang... inikan pula tempat menyiram menyimbah kenangan... indah sungguh bersama alam... aiwwah..

DrSam said...

Abd Razak,
Salam. Selalunya jika pergi di atas urusan kerja memang masa tidak mengizinkan untuk kita panjangkan langkah. Dalam kes saya, meronda Penang merupakan tugasan rasmi pula :)

yohteh,
patut lah sampai lening flora di Bkt Besar subur menghijau, ada rakyat perihating menyimbah di kayangan :)

Tolong ghoyat gok atek ke MB ganu tu yohteh, letok gok keretapi sebutir kkhabbak bkt besor ke, bkt Tteri ke (bkt Jembal dok payoh lah), pelaccong suke aktiviti kkhabbak-kkhabbak ni.

patungcendana said...

yup...bukit bendera is nice...would love to go there again...:-)

Nite Garden said...

Nice!

DrSam said...

patungcendana,
have time should travel!

Nite Garden,
Nice place, nice experience.

Small Hiker said...

I always like Penang and have been to Penang Hill once. Tahun ni ke sana lagi lah... niece nak kahwin....

annfrendly said...

Dr sam, cantik2 gambar yg Dr sam ambil..

Bila tengok gambar2 tu..
teringat kembali nostalgia di bukit bendera..

Makan jagung bakar yg di sapu mentega dan diperah limau dalam keadaan yg berkabus2 sejuk.
sungguh nyaman dan tenang..

nahmy said...

salam doc...tak pekne kassim nasi kandar dgn pasembor pdg kota ke?

aShaBuLz said...

wow....in my years of existence, I also only went there once..lol.

ASH said...

Anyaman itu cantik..
tq

DrSam said...

small hiker,
There are many tracks for hiking on that hills. I was tempted but time was too short.

ann frendly,
saya diberitahu oleh seorang nyonya ketika naik keretapi tu, mee soup Fraser Hill paling meletup. Bila nak cuba, kedai pula tutup.

nahmy,
Salam nahmy. Pasembor padang kota sempat juga curi masa keluar, tapi kali ni nasi kandaq cuma kat restoran tepi Gurney drive tu aje.

aShaBuLz,
there will always be the first one.

ashley,
saya pun tertarik juga. Kalau dah kreatif tu, apa saje boleh jadi bahan seni.

amin said...

cite pasal penang, teringat sy kena katoq mkn pasembur 2 org mkn sampai rm 50, dr sam takde gambaq pasemboq ka?

Anonymous said...

Salam Dr.Sam

kacak sungguh Dr.Sam..

sekali pandang gambar belalang tu ingat betul2 belalang... kreatif sungguh...

lepas ni jalan2 bukit mana pulak Dr.Sam..?

DrSam said...

amin,
asyik sangat meng'order' pasemboq, tambah itu ini sampai tak ingat nak ambil gambar. Lagi satu, memang betul kalau kita bawa tetamu luar negara ke warung atau kedai-kedai lagilah melambung harga.

F.L,
Salam Fahmi,
Lama sunggoh tak dengar khabar berita sahabat. Perjalanan seterusnya belum dirancang...memang jarang merancang. Ikut mood. Lepas bukit kita panjat gunung lah pula kot.

LiFe Is BeAuTifUl LyRiC said...

artificial grasshopper !! I know!!...My late grandmother did it to me similar like tht pic. Tht time I was very young .. wish tht i could learn to do it..

DrSam said...

LIfe is Beautiful Lyric,
Those artificial insects were made by a mother together with her small daughter along the road to the top of the hill. I stopped and watched them skillfully and meticulously transformed the leaves into a beautiful art.

laki cikgu kimia said...

live ur life to the max.. with family.

Adliff said...

Salam,

Dr.Sam,

Dulu pernah daki Bukit Bendera dengan berjoging (kasut jungle boot, seluar delta dan t-shirt navvy), budak ROTU lah katakan! :). Naik keretapi pon ada juga.

Rindu dengan penang dah saya lepaskan pada Januari lepas. Namun takat balik USM jumpa abah ajelah dicampur shopping buku kat chowrasta.

Pn Kartini said...

Salam..
Tgk meriam teringat pula Bukit Puteri kita:)....byk lagendanya juga..cuma sayang..hanya sekali shj sampai ke puncaknya..aduhaii...!

puspawangi said...

Saya pernah beberapa kali sampai ke Penang tapi naik Bukit Bendera tak pernah sekali pun, everytime sampai di kaki bukit nampak orang beratur amat panjang, so ayah saya kata lain kali ya, so sampai saya tua ni pun tak pernah berpeluang, sedih huhuhu...

zafi said...

i went to Bukit bendera when i attended Research and methodology seminar in USM... it was a nice place though!Its our asset! :)

Naddiea said...

Doc,i've never been to Bukit Bendera before and maybe forever.entah kenapa saya x suka ke sebelah sana.mungkin sebab mendengar cerita kawan2 yang selalu bercerita kat sana jalan2 raya hanya satu hala n sesak selalu.
apa2 pun dpt baca blog Doc pasal memori indah ni pun dh cukup baik.sekurang2nya saya tau sesuatu mengenai bukit bendera walaupun x pernah sampai.;D...

Ida BorneoLove said...

now, that's what i call harmony!! 1 Malaysia. Some still need to learn to be more civilized .

arsaili said...

salam...nice place....a place where i will set foot on ...one fine day

CatlinaFly said...

salam dr sam, kebetulan pula, sy baru balik dari penang :) outstation n gi borong jeruk hahaha..:) btw, tak sempat gi kebun bunga n tokong ular..sebab seminar abis lewat petang, time jalan pun kami jalan2 malam kat Island n Feringghi.

Bukit bendera dah pernah naik masa gi umah kakak a couple of years ago..

Temuk said...

Hi Dr Sam
A dream is a rezeki. A bad dream is Allah's way of telling us to be careful & take precautions. A good one is a blessing, His way of giving us happiness. Ini cuma cara saya melihat mimpi. Haven't been to Bkt Bendera for about 10 years. Have to visit the place one of these days. Salam bahagia.

Naddy said...

last i went there was with a car at the foot of the hill. that was 1988. but i never had the chance to ride the train.

DrSam said...

laki cikgu kimia,
I concur!

aliff muhammad,
hebat juga kenangan panjat bukit tu. Boleh kongsi untuk kita semua tu.

Pn. Kartini,
Meriam Bkt Puteri...saya pun tak ingat dah macamana rupa dia :)

puspawangi,
memang keadaan dikaki bkt tu masih sama. Parking agak susah juga. Tak ada lagi tempat untuk dikhaskan sebagai tempat letak kereta agaknya.

zafi,
The hill will still be there waiting for you by the time you finish your jihad bro. Just make sure it is in your itinerary.

DrSam said...

Naddiea,
Saya pun itulah pertama kali menjejakkan kaki. Memang jalan ke sana kecil tapi tak lah sesak mana. cuma parking ada masalah sikit.

Sekarang Bukit Bendera dah ditutup untuk dibaik pulih. Tak tahu lah samada dikekalkan lagi keretapi dari Swiss tu atau tidak.

Ida Athanazir,
We learn from each other.

arsaili,
salam. Yes you should do one day.

catlina fly,
salam. Banyak betul borong jeruk...adakah...jeng...jeng..


Temuk,
A dream will be just a dream. By time it will be forgotten.

Bkt Bendera is closed now. Will have to wait early next year probably for it to fully operational again.

mizzyN,
That was quite a long time ago.

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