Puteri Harbor Marina, Johor, Malaysia
Hi All,
Randal and I had a really good passage from George Town to Puteri with calm seas and calm anchorages and really good weather. It isn’t always like that so we really enjoyed it. Our Thailand trip had been intended to be the same way but we had bad anchorages and boat problems so we really deserved an easy time this time. And the Sox won 4 games in a row. I changed my hat so maybe that did it. Not sure how long we’ll be here in Puteri or if we’ll head over to Sebana Cove. We really do like the setting of Sebana but services to cruisers are being cut back with fewer trips to town and only halal food allowed on the van back to the marina. We are thinking of doing some land travel to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and then later in June a trip to China and to Tibet. We just have to sit down and make some plans.
Today Randal and I took the bus to Johor Bahru. It took over 2 hours and cost about 14.40 ringgits for the two of us. $4.50 US. We stopped at just about every neighborhood between here and down town Johor Bahru. In JB we ate lunch, went to the book store, found a bike shop we had visited over a year ago and then caught a taxi to go home. We took a taxi back to the Jusco near the marina. There are 4 Jusco shopping areas in JB but luckily our taxi driver knew where we wanted to go and he also used his meter. That was 17.50 ringgits and then we took a taxi from Jusco to the marina which was 25 ringgits. 42.50 ringgits for a total of about 20 minutes. $13.28 US. Luckily we have all the time in the world even if maybe not the patience. By the end of our bus ride I was wondering if we’d ever get there.
This email is about an adventure I had back in George Town. Elizabeth would have come too, but she and Patrick had already left on their way to Langkawi.
Ru
DoraMac
39 Lebuh Kimberley
There is a print in the Penang State Art Gallery Permanent Collection that I really like. The artist is Victor Chin http://victorchin.com and the work was acquired by the museum in 1995. The title of the print is 39 Lebuh Kimberley which is an actual street address on Kimberley Road in George Town. I went on a quest to find the real building. It took me 3 tries but on our last full day in George Town I was successful.
39 Lebuh Kimberley by Victor Chin
This is a photo of the picture of the print in a book called Penang State Art Gallery Permanent Collection 1965-1996 that I bought at the museum. The actual print seemed much bluer than red but photos weren’t allowed in the museum though no one would have known since the guard was snoozing by the door. He was a pleasant enough fellow; just didn’t seem to be interested in art. I hope neither Mr. Chin nor the museum mind that I posted this photo. I did ask Mr. Chin in an email but never heard so here it is.
39 Lebuh Kimberley today: Saw Joo Aun Antiques
I think the gate and pillars are new and that really changes the look of the building. Also, the artist made it detached on one side rather than attached on both though it looks pretty permanent.
You can see an archway on the right and there is one on the left too which does resemble the print somewhat. But in the print you can definitely see the entire left side of the building up past the top windows.
This is 35 Kimberley. It doesn’t match either, but does have a side view.
I had been by the address twice before but hadn’t seen any lights on inside and the gate was always locked. My final visit, I noticed a light on so I banged on the gate and yelled hello. I was quite determined to learn about the building and this was my last chance so as rude as it sounds, I persisted until the man inside noticed me and came out to see what all the commotion was about
Apparently I had caught my host soon after he had awaken and come down into the business area of the building. It was after 10 am, but perhaps he is a night person. He was happy for me to take photos of the building, but not of him. He wasn’t familiar with the print but seemed to believe that it was his shop which had always been numbered 39 Lebuh Kimberley. I thanked him and started my way back to the marina.
George Town World Heritage Office
George Town is a UNESCO designated World Heritage City. I happened to pass by the World Heritage office so decided to stop in. I am very glad that I did because I met a very helpful gentleman who worked there and took an interest in my question.
Osman bin Said
World Heritage Office
116 & 116 Lebuh Acheh
10200 Pulau Pinang
Mr. bin Said listened to my story and looked at my art book and immediately went into action. The World Heritage Office has books showing all of the streets and buildings of historic George Town. He pulled out the one that included Kimberley and flipped to the page that showed 39 Lebuh Kimberley convinced that it was the same building because the street had never been renumbered and that the artist had simply taken some artistic license. (Mr. bin Said is holding the book in the photo and standing in front of a map of George Town.) I tried to talk him into my feeling that the print was really the building a few doors down at # 35. He wouldn’t agree and he is the expert. We talked about how I was lucky to have the time for such interesting quests. He said that I had all the time in the world. Maybe yes, maybe no; since we were leaving George Town the next day and how was I to learn more? I wish I’d had more time just to talk with Mr. bin Said who was able to integrate a discussion of how my life allowed me to study any issue that intrigued me since I had no job that demanded my time and no one to tell me what to do. Hearing my life described that way, I was a bit startled and even somewhat embarrassed translating his comments into the Epicurean philosophy that my life is the pursuit of pleasure. (What about saving the world?) And I still feel a bit discomforted by the fact that Randal and I don’t have to work when most people still do. (Considering I don’t want to work and I follow the Red Sox rather than world news, Mr. bin Said was totally correct!) However, studying anything that piques my interest sounds great in theory, but in practice it doesn’t really feel that way. With no library available to pursue my interests, so often learning is an exercise in frustration. Wish I hadn’t wasted all those years when I could have been learning and wasn’t interested or paying attention. All of this and our conversation only lasted about 15 minutes at most. I hope Mr. bin Said spends some of his time as a teacher because he certainly can make one think.
So, after all of this leg work I finally thought about emailing Victor Chin, the print artist. (I’ve obviously been away from reference work too long! But also, I thought everyone in George Town would know the print and everyone in George Town would know 39 Lebuh Kimberley so someone would have the answer to my question with lots of info about the shop itself. ) I found his website and he is quite an interesting man. His interests have changed but one write up perhaps explains the shophouse print.
“Victor Chin is a multi-media artist. His early watercolours of
Malaysian shophouses drew attention to the need for a more humane
urban conservation policy for those pre-war buildings in our towns and cities.”
http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/050605_victor2.html
I did email him to verify that he was indeed the creator of the museum print. He responded immediately that he was but emphasized that his goals had changed. He asked me about my interest in the print and I emailed him back with my answer and question about the actual address. He never did respond to that question. But maybe I shouldn’t have asked. It didn’t really matter did it if the point was to show people the charm of the old shophouses and to preserve them. While in high school I wrote a letter to Norman Mailer asking him about one of his books and what he had intended because I’d read reviews saying opposite things and I was writing a term paper. My question and the reviews concerned his book Deer Park. Very kindly he took the time to write back to me and I remember his answer since it was so short. “Dear Miss Lipnik, When one writes a book one hopes the book speaks for itself. But thank you for writing.” I can’t remember if it was hand written but he did sign it. Pathetically I have no idea whatever happened to it. So Victor Chin maybe didn’t owe me an answer either and I liked his print much more than I liked the book Deer Park.