Interesting Signs

Its always fun to collect funny signs and noticeboards and I haven't really had much chance to since we moved to Brisbane. Here are a few that I've come across on this trip to Malaysia :

The local coffee shops often provide me with lots of amusing names for foods. Coffee shops in Malaysia are where smaller food vendors rent space from the main owner of the shop. The owner of the shop is usually the one who provides drinks. Depending on the size of the space, there could be as little as 2 different food stalls or as many as 20. Think of it as a mini food court. Here are two signs from the same stall.

Claypot Seafood Curry Mee. At least they were consistent with replacing all 'Ls' with 'Rs'. If you're wondering what 'mee' is, its a noodles. Maybe its derived from the Cantonese word for noodles, 'meen'.

You can't see it all that clearly because there was a table right under this sign and I didn't want to reach too far over it to take the photo. It sells Pork Curry (Wild). Its either some extremely spicy curry or they are trying to say that its Wild Boar Curry.

These next two are from a train we were in Kuala Lumpur. We accidentally walked into the Ladies Only carriage and didn't realise it until we saw this sign. Its very thorough in communicating who belongs and who doesn't. 

And here we have more, a lot more,  DON'Ts for the passengers. It took me a long time to work out the fourth one from the left just by looking at the picture. I ended up having to read it. Not sure if you can even if you make the photo big but its actually 'No Chewing Gum'. And of course, we have the 'No Indecent Behavior' one fifth from the left. 

I never thought that loan sharks would have business cards but it looks like they do. They probably have a Facebook page and Twitter account too! It has daily repayment rates on the back but there is no mention of interest rates. I suppose I'd have to ask Boy about that. 

Thats all I have for now but I'm always looking out for more. Stay tuned!

Family Photos in Penang

I don't know about the rest of the family but I found the family photo session very interesting. The last time Richard's family was together was seven years ago and there were no grandchildren yet. Richard's father was most insistent that we go to a photo studio to get professional photos taken. I suggested that we all get dressed up and use the timer on one of the cameras instead but that wasn't going to be good enough for my father-in-law.

Instead, we went to Siow Seong Photo Studio, right in the middle of the city. This place has been around for nearly 70 years. The owner of the studio was a well known photographer in his time, Siow Seong. Although he has passed away, his wife still runs the place to keep his legacy alive. I noticed news clippings proudly displayed under the glass table top of interviews with Siow Seong Jr however, he does not work from his father's Penang studio and has made a name for himself in Kuala Lumpur instead.

I found the studio interesting because it was so old, and it looked old. I imagined how it would have been a big deal in the old days to go and have portraits or family photos taken. What we look at now as a small and old fashioned space must have once been modern and classy. The actual studio is upstairs and had a very narrow and steep staircase leading there. Unfortunately, the air conditioning unit had broken down and there was a big hole in the roof upstairs too. Its sad that the place has been neglected but also understandable that everything has a life cycle. The photographer we had was an old man too and took several photos before realising that the flash wasn't working.

Here are several photos that I took of the place :

I haven't seen the photos yet and it may or may not turn out well but we definitely have a good background story about where we took it. I know my father in law will be pleased with the outcome either way...he just wants the latest photo of his family.