Chinese 7th Month

The Chinese seventh month is a very significant duration on the Lunar calendar where Chinese believe the gates of Hades are open for a month for the dearly departed to return to their homes to receive necessities and food of all else. It is also this month that many believe straying after dark is strongly discouraged. Naturally, touge had ground to a stop for me and so here's what I've been up to in this auspicious month.

Visited a buddy in the hospital...

Had some cherry alcohol from Europe that my bro brought back from his travels...
Checked out a friend's new tire shop at Paya Terubong...
Found out that Gurmit Singh is actually the head of neurosurgery in Penang General Hospital :P
Swapped out my dying RE 070s (awesome tires!) for a new set of sponsored Federal 595 Evos...
Found a nice coffee spot on Steward Lane and made friends with the manager. Kopi Cine serves damn good coffee, either that, or the fact that the floor manager gave me extra espresso shots!
Met up with a old friends on Upper Penang Road by accident... Serendipity!
Checked out a Beach Babes & Hunks show at Gurney with Chong and TH.
My gf on the left & Yi Lai (second wife) on the right visiting from KL at Tai Thong. A nice and rustic place in town where food is actually better than all the commercialized crap elsewhere.
I got to visit the Christian cemetery along Farquhar street for the first time in all my years living in Penang.
Went and checked out the Peranakan Museum on Church Street with my bro and Yi Lai.
So it wasn't all that bad a month for me... What were you fellas up to during the Chinese 7th Month?

Xenta Absenta

I'd like to kick off my first post after a long absence with a hearty "SELAMAT HARI RAYA" to all my Muslim readers and I'm sure it was a much appreciated break for all non-Muslim kakis as well!
The Chinese 7th month is a busy month for us with all the prayers everywhere and temples to visit. It's blitzes past kinda like after having absinthe... It's just as blurry and hallucinetic.
Secondly, I'd like to thank my "brother from another mother", Ben, for the excellent bottle of Absinthe from Ukraine!
Let me take you back to the start of the 7th month... We started off with prayers in the office, as usual, for the first day, fifteenth day and the last day of the Chinese 7th month. As we were waiting for a couple of fellas to arrive, we thought it'd be fun to fool around with the new RM50.00 bill.

This one's a little off...

And Perfect-o!

But I still think Wei was the funniest match up.

The offerings, and our eventual dinner, had arrived and setup was crucial.

The prayers going on and Silver's sound system was used as a makeshift "ko tai" playing Hokkien songs all evening.
Our Manager chopping up some roast pork for us, which I eventually took over the job... Since all the best bits go to the one chopping. Hehe..

Our resident "sai gong" doing his thing!

Then back home to have prayers at home to honor and thank our ancestors, kinda like thanksgiving, in a morbid way.Our family heirlooms of beautifully handcrafted batik porcelain.

Baba Nyonya dishes all laid out in rows.

Fast forward a couple of days.. My girl worked up some courage and modelled for a hair show, organized by Penang Hairdressers Society (or something like that :P). The Northern Touge group was there for support and it was a PRETTY fun event for us save for a couple of guys that kinda look like "not guys". *Hehehe*
"Pai seh" for the lousy pic, I was seated wa-a-a-a-a-y back, and you can see the crowd that was present! Dang!!!
After that loud and deafening event, I decided to spend a serene weekend away from it all. I went home to my parents' place for a couple of relaxed and zen days. But a BBQ was inevitable as everyone was around this weekend. So we gathered at granny's and had a fiesta.
KL Unc's excellent Angel Hair Alia Oglio.
Big Aunt's zingy Tater'N'Egg salad

Mom's superb lamb chop... You ain't never tasted anything like this!

Our spread of standard food items for the pit... Zero level of customization here, and naturally, last to go and only after all the "specialties" were done with.

The entire family was out enjoying ourselves downright silly... And yes, Silver was utilised once again for the sounds.

We also had garden salads and a variety of finger foods for the children.

After a fulfilling meal, I went around roaming one on of my relaxing drives and came across a beautiful example of a Volvo. This has got to be one of the best one I've seen so far.

This is actually the first Volvo I've come across that I couldn't get my eyes off it!!!

I fealt unappeased somehow, then it struck me, I hadn't ridden Silver yet. I picked up my reins and "hey ho Silver, away", for a cruise along the beaches. I met a 911 Turbo along the drive and after turning into one of the newer developed areas, I caught sight of a beautiful 430 Scuderia! At which point my air conditioning "konked" out on me. But a few timely pics were called for.

Rear end raucuous, check out those pipes placement!

So I sped off to RPM, I can't live without air-conditioning (not in Penang anyway), to find that everyone was there as well. I spent a lazy afternoon at RPM only to diagnose that it was just a loose wire. Phew!
Soon was fixing some leaks and Daniel helped Soon clean up his engine bay. Daniel couldn't stand the sight of a dirt encrusted bay.

Ewe Jin was just hanging and doing some DIY on his new toy....
Which he damaged by disconnecting the air gun without holding on to it.. Hahaha... Er.. Oops, I mean... Aww.... *sad*

Finally, we had a peaceful, and thankfully, uneventful sunday relaxed and just plain chillin' at Kiong Lee's

It has been an exquisitely long post this time around and I'd just like to close by sharing with you, my dear readers, what I found at Prangin Mall a couple of months back.
A donut stand called Bloggers! How cool is that?

And the gates of Hell shall depart beings unto our land!

The time is nigh and we've breached into the 7th Lunar month. What is the significance, you query? I shall now divulge and delve into the Chinese beliefs, tales of terror, and ultimately, the synonymous activities that take place on this auspicious, yet considered ominous, occasion.

Offerings laid out for the wandering spirits.

In Chinese culture, the Hungry Ghost Festival is a widely celebrated festival, and holiday to some, which falls on the 14th night during the 7th moon (month in Gregorian) in the Lunar Calendar. The Hungry Ghost Festival is the most important festival or celebration of the year besides the Chinese New Year. The Chinese believed that during the seventh month, the Gates of Hell are opened and ghost/spirits are free to wander in search for food. These ethereal beings can either be friend, foe, or family members long deceased. Those which are lost or have no home to go to are called "hoe heah ti" (good brother) in respect and of course ancestors know their way around.

Most Chinese homes will be holding a food fiesta to be offered to their respective ancestors which return to visit their descendants' home. After the feast, prayers, the burning of hell notes ("kim" (gold) and/or "gin" (silver)) and many other life's luxuries (handphone, TV, cars and homes) made of bamboo and paper (by the Chinese' industrious nature, the resemblance now is impeccable).

The burning of multiple paper-made items for the ethereal beings.

Festivities are also held for the wandering spirits in community halls, and marketplaces by the local businessmen and traders. Huge effigy of Phor Thor Kong or King of Hell is erected and sits majestically at the main table. From dawn till dusk, food offering are placed for the his lordship. For the hungry ghost, they get their share after the King of Hell is fed. Meanwhile, he ensures the hungry ghosts do not misbehave in the time they are on earth. Food offerings and prayers, including the burning of incense, and hell notes as token for the "good brothers" to enjoy and receive before they go on their way.

An effigy of his Lordship.

Multiple offerings laid out.

Mountains of offerings.
It is told that the King of Hell's offerings table is very auspicious and only food is to be placed on it. Children are told that He ate a baby who was accidentally placed by the mother on the table. When the mother returned to fetch the baby, he had turned black or blue.

Besides food offerings, one could enjoy the Chinese Opera and food stalls for us humans. On the last day of the month, modern day live concerts with pretty young girls wearing trendy attire, known as the "guo tai", are the highlights for us humans. Karaoke too can be heard and funny Mandarin or Hokkien pantomime is played to the delights of the older generations. Chinese operas for the King of Hell and live concert to appease the two worlds, the wandering ghosts and earthy beings.

The trendy ladies... As mentioned.

Traditional Chinese opera.
So for all those late nighters... Let's keep it indoors, for just this month, and to all the hard-core touge kaki... My sincerest apologies for my absence. I generally steer away from the touge on this occasion :)