London -- Great NYTimes Review of Newly Revamped Jewish Museum

Congratulations to Rickie Burman, director of the newly reopened Jewish Museum in London, and her team! The reviews of the museum, which just reopened after a multi-million dollar expansion and redesign, are glowing. The latest is in the New York Times.  The article, which describes the museum as a "carefully thought-out museum" whose expansion and redesign has established it "as an important addition to a new generation of Jewish institutions in cities including San Francisco and Warsaw,"       also has a slide show.

Brazil, a Land of Contrasts - Part 1

Greetings fellow travelers!

After my last brief trip to Brazil, I decided I had to go back and explore some more. So, last month I did just that - this time around I had a whole month, plus a car full of kids! Here is Part 1 of my latest Brazil adventure.

Brazil (http://www.cat-travel.com/brazil/information) is a truly developing country. There is a constant buzz about it that cannot be denied. You only need to drive along one of its main highways, such as the BR101, to realize that. Trucks, trucks and more trucks, and they’re all over the place! As we tried to get from Recife to Olinda it was still ok, but when driving north to the beautiful coastal town of Pipa it was a mad house. Unbelievable amounts of trucks, carrying anything from sugar cane to cars, entire bridges and other unidentifiable loads transported from A to B in huge bulk. I mean, they are going places, you know? This is a country on the move. No wonder they got the first two letters in BRIC…

I am not sure to what extent this busyness has to do with Lula, the current president that has done so much for Brazil’s working classes, and who has truly made a first attempt to bring the country up from a feudal landowners’ state to an industrialized nation. I have not been here long, or often enough to make that distinction, and that was one of the reasons we decided to make this trip: to get to know Brazil better, even if only a part of it.

As we do every year, Karin and I took the kids during their school vacation for a one-month inspection trip, and this time we decided to go and explore a part of the North of Brazil. So, at the end of January we flew to Recife and picked up the car we had booked for the trip. We had agreed not to stay in Recife, but drive on to Olinda all in one go. Of course we did not count on one of our connecting GOL flights being late, forcing us to take a later flight on our last stretch of the journey, arriving in Recife close to midnight. The car rental pace was still open, but by that time it was pitch dark outside. Still we had a place booked for us in Olinda and it was only a 30 minute drive away, so we decided to wing it. We immediately set off in the wrong direction, ending up on the Litoral Sul towards Salvador, where we weren’t supposed to be going until well over a week later. There are not that many signs on Brazilian roads (well actually there are lots and lots of them, but most do not seem to have anything to do with traffic), but after a while we figured out we were heading in the wrong direction and eventually found a way to turn around without causing an accident. Then, somehow, we got into the right flow of traffic and it seemed everybody was headed to Olinda. From that moment on we got a better feel of where we were as we crisscrossed the canals and rivers that thread through that part of Recife. The town was founded by the Dutch Prince Maurice (The Dutch settled in this part of Brazil for some 22 years between Portuguese occupations) and he must have been homesick for Amsterdam when he had this part of town designed. All of a sudden we were in Olinda, we drove straight through town, made one more u-turn, drove right past our hotel, hit the brakes hard, avoiding a couple of buses racing by, put the car in reverse and finally made it to our destination.

Olinda

Olinda happens to be the old capital of Brazil, and today it is a world heritage site. The town is a maze of cobbled streets, hills crowned with brilliant white churches, pastel-colored houses, Baroque fountains and graceful squares. It is a nice picturesque place with many beautiful old churches and beautifully maintained colonial houses. Walking through the old town I got the feeling of being warped back in time to the days when sugar cane ruled the world economy.

The beaches close to town aren’t the most attractive, but if you have the time go and see the ones to the north, they are much better.

On our first morning we took the car out for a spin around town to get a feel for the place. We hadn’t quite covered 300 meters when a guy almost threw himself in front of the car, standing up straight, with a commanding hand held high in the air. We kind of took him to be a cop, but he was wearing shorts and a green t-shirt, so that was odd. Against my instincts I brought the car to a halt, and the “cop” took out what I thought to be his notebook. It was in fact a map of the city, and the guy turned out to be a guide. So our second lesson was that Brazilians can be quite direct and persuasive, and one should not always automatically respond to that. Saying “nao, obrigado” (no thanks) and walking or driving on will usually do the trick. Unless you are dealing with a real cop of course, in which case it is better to stop and be cooperative. FYI, in Olinda lots of people offer themselves as city guides. Those wearing yellow t-shirts with the words "Guia Mirim" written on the back and laminated ID cards are official guides.

A third thing that comes in handy is some basic understanding of the Portuguese language as many people speak nothing but it. We only encountered extremely friendly people when asking for directions, but most of their well-meant tips and explanations, sadly passed us by, as our Spanish was not of much use either. It was fun to be in that situation again though, where you never really know for sure if you got the gist of a conversation or not. It reminded me of the time in 1997 when we were driving across the Peruvian Andes, speaking only very little Spanish and asking local peasants who only spoke the native Aymara language for directions; that combined with them being used to traveling on foot, and having a profoundly different sense of time, made us agree to ask the same set of directions over and over again until we had met at least three people all pointing in the same direction… We got lost so many times on that trip that the fact, in itself, has stopped worrying me.

Happy trails!

Bart

Famous Assam Laksa of Ayer Itam, Penang

After we got down from Penang Hill, we were starving for food! The best food and yet very close to us was the Famous Penang Assam Laksa at Ayer Itam of Penang.

The 2nd World War Monument at Ayer Itam Penang

So I decided to taste again the stall located beside the 2nd World War Monument (just beside the roundabout of Ayer Itam, Penang) (N5 24.347 E100 16.963). This was one of my All time favorite Penang Assam Laksa! I chose this stall rather than another Famous stall located at the Ayer Itam Wet Market is because of the poor Hygiene!

The Assam Laksa hawker at Ayer Itam, Penang

 Other hawker stalls along the road

The hawker stalls are just parked along the main road to Penang Hill Train Station, you will definitely won't miss this area if you hit the roundabout of Ayer Itam, Penang.

It was as crowded as usual

I ordered the Big size...cause I only be able to taste it once a year! Haha! Even the area was packed with customers, but the Laksa serve in 5 minutes! Impressed!

The Assam Laksa was tasty as usual! But it felt like below my expectation! The taste was the same but Not the soup! Honestly, I'm very particular with taste of the Penang Assam Laksa soup... (Lack of the assam sourness and spicy of the bird's eye chili)
Little disappointed after the meal, as for others...I believe they will say Good!

The bowl of Penang Assam Laksa cost MYR3.50 (CNY price)
Rated : 3.5/5

Location map of the Penang Assam Laksa Stall

View Larger Map

Egypt -- Formal opening of restored synagogue cancelled

L'Chaim, everyone. This makes one question the definition of "provocative."

Egypt cancelled Sunday's formal ceremony opening the a renovated Maimonides synagogue in Cairo -- protest at what antiquities chief Zahi Hawass called "provocative" Jewish and Israeli actions. The even was to have taken place one week after the synagogue was rededicated in a ceremony attended by about 150 people, including the US and Israeli ambassadors.

AFP reports that both Hawass and Culture Minister Faruq Hosni had been due to attend Sunday's cancelled event.

Citing press reports, Hawass said in a statement that the cancellation comes after "provocative" acts during the March 7 ceremony in Cairo's ancient Jewish quarter.

He referred to "dancing and drinking alcohol in the synagogue, as reported by several newspapers," and said such acts "were seen to provoke the feelings of millions of Muslims in Egypt and across the world."

The decision was also taken at "a time when Muslim holy sites in occupied Palestine face assaults from Israeli occupation forces and settlers," Hawass said.

He was referring to clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound and plans to include two contested West Bank holy shrines on a list of Israeli heritage sites.

Read full story

AP reports  that "The cancellation was largely symbolic as the restoration is complete and the synagogue has been reopened."

The March 7 dedication ceremony at the synagogue, named after the 12th century rabbi and intellectual Maimonides, was closed to media and included half a dozen Egyptian Jewish families that long ago fled the country. No Egyptian officials attended the ceremony. A group of about 11 Hassidic Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis also came to Cairo from the United States and Israel and sang at the event. Attendees also said toasts were made.

Read full story

Penang Hill 2010, Penang

After the simple breakfast from the hotel, we continue our journey on the 2nd day on Penang Hill...

Tourists were everywhere when we stepped out the hotel. One of the popular spot where tourist love to take a rest is this...
You won't miss this small fountain if you happen to be there.

 

The small fountain at Penang Hill

The hawkers at the food court not yet open...seems like their business hour are short?!

The Food court of Penang Hill

Our plan was suppose to walk all the way to the Penang Hill Canopy Walk, the distance is about 2km. Suddenly, I noticed this tourist buggy! Yeepee! We no need to walk anymore! Otherwise the total journey will be around 4km!

We picked the other buggy which was able to take 4 persons in one trip, the friendly uncle named Jimmy Koh was our humour tour guide along the way...The charges was MYR30.00 per trip. We didn't really check it out weather is worth it or not, after all...support the local tourism isn't a bad thing!

Jimmy was a experience tour guide and he has been staying on the hill for more than 50 years...and I like the way he drove the buggy...slow and steady...haha!

The alley on Penang Hill

You can walk if you like to...because you can have a rest along the way by the chairs...there were many of them...

This bunglow (below) was built on year 1926, it was vacation house for the British VIP. But today, some lucky guy bought over it and stayed with his family in this beautiful bunglow. According to Jimmy - our tour guide.

The bunglow (I called it a mansion) below is belong to a guy - Mr Lau. I'm not so sure who is it...

Bunglow belong to Mr Lau.

We passed by this rest area where I quite like it because of the location. You can have Nice view of Georgetown and other area of Penang.

Beside this rest area, there were something you might interested...haha!

Beware! It's is an Offense to feed the monkeys! Offenders will be fined! 

(Wondering how much the fine is...)

Staircase to the jungle paradise!

And I spotted this beautiful Antique Post Box along the alley.

This colonial era post box, made in UK from cast iron by A. Handyside & Co Ltd during the reign of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was originally erected near the Beach Street fire station. It was presented by Pos Malaysia to the Penang Hill Residents' Association in 2005.
Similar post boxes are still in use in Malaysia.

You will notice there are many alley to the private bunglow along our journey...

And among all these bunglow, there are many colonial structures like the picture below...

15 minutes later on the buggy ride, we had reached the entrance of the 'broken' Canopy Walk' of Penang Hill. Maybe the repair cost is sky high, that's why the government is KIV the repair job! What a waste! The walk along the suspension bridge will explore the beauty of the nature of the jungle to all visitor! Just pray hard that the Canopy Walk will be re-open to public on my next visit.

The trail head of the Canopy Walk

The Suspension Bridge of Penang Hill

The Odd looking tree around the area

During the stop at the Canopy Walk area, I also noticed there was a road at the downside...the funny part was, even a name for the road! 'Tunnel Road West'.

That road was connected to a bunglow nearby, wow! What a Hidden Treasure! But we cannot go into the bunglow area because of 4WD is needed!

After the Buggy ride, we had a walk again around the Penang Hill area before we check-out from the hotel...

The First Indian Temple of Penang Island

I had another B & W photo which taken 30 years ago at same place...

but that time was on the glass...

The First Generation of the Funicular Train of Penang Hill. 

The first cabin is Reserve for British VIP. Not fair isn't it?

While we check-out at the hotel, one of the staff there sharing the info of this colonial building...The First Hotel of Penang Hill, but it's a abandon building today...oh! What a waste again!!

The First Hotel of Penang Hill during thr British Era

The Penang Hill Funicular Train service will be temporary cease operation from 22nd Feb 2010 onwards until further notice. Due to the major upgrading project on the train, there will be no stop (change train cabin) on the halfway after the upgrade, according to the news. (Presently, you need to change to another train cabin during the journey to reach the summit of the hill.)
I think we were the Lucky group of 2010...


It's Times Up! We had to say Bye-Bye to Penang Hill! We will see you again next year! (Hopefully...)

Got down from the hill and searching for our Favorite Penang Assam Laksa....!

Penang Hill 2010 related post :-
* Experience the Bellevue Hotel at Penang Hill, Penang
* Bellevue Aviary Garden at Penang Hill, Penang
* Dinner at Bellevue Hotel of Penang Hill, Penang.
* The Night View Of Georgetown, Penang

Venice -- Wall to ancient Jewish cemetery damaged in storm

A rare snowfall has resulted in damage to the wall surrounding the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Lido island in Venice. The heavy snow caused several trees to topple onto it, causing two sections to crumble. The tombstones and monuments were apparently unharmed.

You can see pictures on the Italian travel blog "il reporter"  by clicking HERE.

The cemetery dates back to the 14th century and several years ago underwent an extensive restoration to shore it up in the wake of damage caused by water seepage and neglect.

Poland -- synagogue in Bedzin renovated and reopened

 Before and After pictures from the Cukierman Gate web site

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

Mazel Tov! The Cukierman prayer house, the little private synagogue found hidden in an apartment block in the Silesian town of Bedzin in southern Poland, has been renovated and reopened to the public thanks to a grant from the province. The striking wall paintings that show scenes of Jerusalem, musical instruments and other motifs, were preserved and restored during the six-month restoration project. The prayer house will be open every Saturday afternoon.

Thanks to the last year’s subsidy from the Śląskie Province Conservation Officer it was possible to renovate and partly reconstruct the surviving polychromes. Apart from renovating the paintings, the interior of the prayer house was also slightly rearranged, so that it would be adapted for meetings with young people and all participants of cultural events. [...]  The Cukerman prayer house is one of about forty prayer houses that have survived and are open to visitors in Poland, and it is the only relic in the Śląskie Province, reminding of its past and its Jewish community.

For more information see the Cukierman Gate foundation Web Site -- there are lots of photos documenting the restoration process.

I visited the hidden prayer house last summer and wrote about it on this blog, describing how it is always inspiring to meet  people who take it upon themselves to care for and promote sites of Jewish heritage in Poland (and elsewhere).