Kim's Wedding

Kim’s Wedding

We left Darwin on the 27 November on a hot and humid day with an overcast sky on the afternoon Jetstar flight to Singapore. This trip was to be a short one for Christine and me, as we would be returning to Darwin a week later while Anne would stay on until early January. The International Departure Lounge was full with 2 planes to depart before our flight. A United Nations flight to Timor followed soon after by the Air North flight also to Timor.

Due to an air exercise being run during that week when we took of we had 2 F111 jets in front of us and another four right behind us but we soon went our own ways. The flight to Singapore was uneventful though we had to skirt around several storms. On arrival at Terminal 1 it was a long long walk to pick up our luggage and to go through Customs and Immigration then we caught the Skytrain to Terminal 2 where there was another long walk to the Departure area.

We took a MAS flight to Kuala Lumpur and I must admit that the JetStar seats were a lot more comfortable than MAS. At KLIA we went through to the Domestic terminal and Immigration but our luggage went straight to Penang so we did not go through Customs at all. Arrival was just after midnight and we were picked up by Pat and John. As it had been many hours since we left home, some tummies were rumbling so we visited a 24 hour hawker stall which was still busy at this hour of the night.

Thursday was fairly quiet though I got out the family tree and for a few hours the Penang brother had to rack his brains over some links but I managed to get some more information. Brunch was eaten at a nearby Indian restaurant which is only a few minutes walk away and they have a good variety of food, not all Indian. The roti and nan were popular with a few rounds being devoured.

Friday morning we booked our bus trip from Penang to Singapore. We booked the night bus as the daylight one got in a little too late for our flight. From here it was on the ferry and over to Bukit Mertajam to the bride’s house. We had lunch in Bukit Mertajam and at the same food stall we found the Chungs having their meal. When we left there was a bit of excitement as a motor cyclist had taken the turn into the stalls too fast and his bike was now firmly wedged in the deep drain. He must have been thrown clear as there was not room for him and the bike in the drain as it was tapered. We arrived soon at Lucy’s place where they were setting everything up for the tea that evening.

We went to St. Anne’s to book in at the Hostel and to change. Andrew also joined us and he had also in Bukit Mertajam, had an accident with a motor cyclist who tried to cut him off and fit into a tiny space. The damage to the car was minor, only some scratches to the bumper bar. For exercise Andrew and I went for a walk around the hill behind the church, Janice joined us but found the climb a bit tiring. On the church grounds there are several stones with ancient Indian carvings on them, evidence of the earlier trade with India. There are also several sites were the Indian traders lived in the Kedah and nearby areas, all are by the coast except for this site.

Outside St. Anne's church.

Tricia preparing the bride to be for the Friday night dinner.

Back for the dinner and there were relatives everywhere so the family tree was passed around and corrections made. There were many different dishes available and plenty of good food.

Cousins.

Happy dinners

Friday night meal.

Saturday morning was back to the brides house early as this is when the groom picks her up and takes her off to get married. Tricia was the make up artist and after she had prepared the bride,

a lot of noise heralded that the groom had arrived. However, there was some ritual to go through first. Firstly, he and hid group were given breakfast then before he could see the bride his party had to perform several acts which were under the control of the Tormentor Tricia. Only when these had been successfully completed, then could he see the blushing bride.

Testing the groom.

Family group.

Next there was the tea ceremony where the couple served tea to their elders and received a red packet then to their younger relations they gave out red packets.

Normally after three days the bride returns and serves a meal for the parents and in laws but in the modern world the party just go outside and walk around 3 times then return. Then it was finally time to go to Church.
The service started at mid day and true to tradition the bride was late but this is the only time she is allowed this liberty!!. After the wedding ceremony and being pronounced husband and wife there was then the Mass. From here, the next stop was a meal at the groom’s residence so the cars were closely following each other so they would not get lost. We reached the groom’s place at three pm with the stomachs loudly complaining.

Entering the church.

That night there was the wedding reception which was across the road and in front of the church, a short walking distance for us.

When we left we could not get back into St. Annes as the gate was locked and the gatekeeper was no where to be found. A phone call to the reception area informed us that he would be back in 10 minutes but after half an hour there was still no sign of him so Christine climbed the fence and started the walk back. Some time Andrew climbed the fence and then the gate keeper emerged from where he had been watching us for the last 20 minutes. He wasn’t happy with Andrew climbing in but as he didn’t let us in???
Sunday was quieter as after a yum cha breakfast we went back to Lucy’s place, as the sisters wanted a gossip. We headed then back to Penang with Peter’s wife doing all the driving.

Monday we visited the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion or the Blue Mansion as it is also known as due to the fact that originally indigo paint was plentiful and cheap so the house was painted with that. This mansion was built over seven years and while it is built to the Feng She principles it has many European influences with the cast iron columns from Glasgow, which are hollow and divert the rain water from the roof, through the walls so as to cool the house, into the central courtyard. Cheong Fatt Tze was one of the wealthiest people in Penang and he built up a very large fortune but he was also a generous benefactor supporting the Chinese Government and establishing many schools in Penang. However by the third generation the children had lost this fortune and the house was sub let. Eventually it was restored to the high standard that one sees today. Later in the afternoon we visited the Penang Botanical Gardens where there was an Orchid show on as well. There were masses of orchids in all shapes and colours, while the common ones were cheaply priced, there was one for sale at RM$20,000. It was a massive native orchid many years old going by its size and a forklift would be required to move it. There was also a display of the Desert Roses and some were magnificent specimens, old and gnarled. Unfortunately we had to leave here early as an uncle had passed away in Gurun and our host where we were staying wanted to drive there that evening.

Botanical Gardens some of the Desert Rose

Tuesday saw some of us up early as we were meeting a guide from the Penang Heritage Society at 7am who took us around Georgetown. Some of the sites visited were the Khoo Kongsi clan house and temple, the Cheah Kongsi in Armenian Street, the Chew Clan Jetty and other notable buildings. The talk he gave was informative and he knew his history as we travelled around.

That night Christine, who still was not feeling well, and I caught the night bus back to Singapore. While it is a full length bus it only carries 18 passengers so you have a lot of room to stretch out, it was long enough for me even. The ride back was uneventful though there were stops about every 3 hours and we had a long wait at Singapore Customs as one of the passengers was questioned by them for 30 minutes after every one else got though. By 7.30am we were driving through the centre of Singapore to Beach Street which was the terminus. We went straight to the airport so Christine could sleep, then after a couple of meals from the French Deli, she perked up enough to survive the flight home.