jalan Pintal tali

jalan Pintal tali
Originally uploaded by elmotheclown

To follow will be a little snippet of life on the streets of Penang. I am walking back to my guesthouse. I filmed this on my Black Berrry. You can say it was concealed filming! As I said earlier, I don't like the idea of sending over my video from Youtube on the Blogger button, as you don't get any space to comment like you do in Flickr. So I am going to embed the video in the next post. My wi fi connection is too slow to upload the 3 meg video, so watch this place. In the meantime, I will add a nice picture of Chinese Penang building.

Flickr and Geotaging Photos

I managed to geo my photos and one video to a dot on a map where I am staying. I didn't do it the first attempt. I was about 10 kilometers out that attempt. But being a pefectionist, I honed in my geo tag skills on go the  location within a 100 meter radious of where I took these images. Then  I tagged it on Deliscious, so I feel that I am achieving what I have undertaken. What was before a daunting task, is now becoming second nature. Here is a link to my images on Flickr Map.

A panaramic view of Penang

A panaramic view of Penang
Originally uploaded by elmotheclown

Penag, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Penag, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Originally uploaded by elmotheclown

Lovely Penang

Lovely Penang

Lovely Penang
Originally uploaded by elmotheclown

This is a Buddhist shrine I walk past every day on my evening walk. It is nice place to get away from the husttle and bussle of life and to slow down and be thoughtful.

Blog this video

Your blog entry has been posted!

Visit your blog to review the post. (If you want to change it, you'll need to do that via your blogging software.)

Or, return to this video's page.( I did actually edit this post, I corrected "hrine" to "shrine" via my blogging software. I am impressed with Flickr's  instructions. But I don't think Youtube has a "Blog This" button like Flickr. So for ease and publishing Video Content and photos on a blog, I give Flickr the thumbs up.)

Flickr Vs Youtube for Video Uploading

I am playing around with my tools. I want to post two identical videos, one on Flickr, the other on Youtube.  I want to see how different it is to upload a video on Flickr, and then to post it on Blogger here. I have used an embed with the first video on this blog from Youtube. But I want to see if you can send Videos over to Blogger, like I did with the photos I posted earlier.

First Geo Tag picture posted from Picasa

Here are my photo speculations if anyone is interested in the technical side of taking a snap shot.

Photo information
Loading…
May 3, 2010
716×536 pixels – 92KB
Filename: IMG00115-20100502-1924.jpg
Camera: Research In Motion
Model: BlackBerry 8520
ISO: n/a
Exposure: n/a
Aperture: n/a
Focal Length: n/a
Flash Used: No
Latitude: 5.414961° N
Longitude: 100.340281° E

Here is a link to my Picasa account showing the geo tag which Google explains:


    Geotag your photos with Google Maps -- Quickly add geotags using the newly integrated Google Maps. Click the Places  button and drag your photos to the location where you took them. Of course, you can still use Google Earth to tag or view photos if you prefer.

Due to privacy issues, because I am using Picasa on my Gmail account, I have limited views of my pictures in My Public Gallery  to those who are friends of mine, who need to sign in to see my pictures. The idea of Public Gallery is worrying, in the sense, how much control do I have over these images, and who is viewing them.

I am still thinking of just opening up a new account to keep my Digital Shadow to a satisfactory level. These are thoughts I had after listening to the lecture on Digital Shadows today. Food for thought, even in exotic Penang, I still want to know just how "public" is gallery of photos in Picasa.

My Map --Google

 Teng Bee Liquer & Sundries (Photo--Elmotheclown)


To create this map, I went into Google Maps though my Gmail account, and made an entry on the place I am staying it. I also want to add a picture, but not sure how I can do that. Or if I need to upload it on Picasso, or do I need to download Google Maps. Anyway, there is an icon on the map now leading us to Stephen's place.

Here is my entry on Google My Maps which pin points Day & Night Guest House:

Day &  Night Back Packer
This is a great litlte guest house on Chulia Street, and next door is the Teng Bee Grocery Store, also owned by the same owner, Stephen which is great for cheap odds and ends.
Rooms from 20 - 40 Ringit.
For more details, check this blog out http://elmotheclown.blogspot.com
319, Chulia Street 10200 Penang
Tel: 04-2625645


View Day & Night Back Packer in a larger map

"Night and Day" Bargains

Water

Water, a scarce resource. For the last two weeks, I have being paying MR $2  for a two litter bottle of water a day. A quick calculation, that is 12 dollars a week, enough for three bowls of noodles, or one plate of rice and Marsala chicken, or a night slumming it up in a dorm.

I found an automatic water machine a block away from where I am staying. Yes, I had to wait some time before another  hardened traveler in his cotton dye outfit and sprinkled grey hair filed up his four bottles. Why hadn't I caught onto this a lot earlier was my initial response, but I cooled my heals with the comforting thought that for 20 cents  I can have 2 liters of water.

 My Landlord

Stephen owns a grocery store and the Night and Day Back Packers.

For many days I have been staring at this A4 photo copy  on my room's wall.  It says the Teeng Bee is a place that offers all kinds of amusement under one roof. Funny, I hadn't seen anything of it's kind and was curious where it was located.

"Whether you're after groceries, snacks or a place to sit back and knock back a  few quiet ales in atmosphere surrounds: TENG BEE HAS GOT IT!!" That is what the advertising promised.


It took me me a few weeks to  figure it out that  it was indeed Stephen's grocery store. Out the back he has a dark air conned room which he calls a bar. And I have been told come 2 am at closing time, Stephen has been known to drag out a few rowdy Indians!

 Cigarettes

It didn't take me long to hear on the Back Packer grave vine that Stephen not only sells Benson &  Hedges, Marlboro Red and Lights, but he also sells dirt cheap brands like Bingo and Luffman, which are one third the price of  reputable brand name cigarettes. The savings are astronomical --Aus $1 a pack. Fancy a a Luffman with a nice milk tea --  I do.




 Stephen's charming establishment is in  the  UNESCO world Heritage site.


In regards to Wi-Fi, I use the signals bouncing off my wall, from Banana's free account, to the more reliable and stronger signal from Penang Free Wi Fi which you need to register an account with.

Milk Tea & Poori Masala

Milk Tea & Poori Masala
Originally uploaded by elmotheclown

Total, 3.5 ringgit, or about two Australian dollars, a bargain, and quite nutricious and filling.

Lebuh Pasar

Lebuh Pasar
Originally uploaded by elmotheclown

This is the name of the street where I eat cheaply. Is that Shiva, Ganesh or Vishnu?

CCTV at Krishna Resteraunt

CCTV at Krishna Resteraunt
Originally uploaded by elmotheclown

I am the lone diner in red, at about 9 o'clock.

Attribution Creative Commons

Still many things to do. I quickly changed my Copy Right, signing over all my pictures and one video to Creative Commons, so come on Virgin, bring it on. Just don't forget to credit my pictures.

Here is are a few pictures of my meal at Krishna Restaurant in Lebuh Pasar Street -- which in Indian means "Market Street". For more description on this multicultural city, here is a link to Street names of George Town, Penang.

On a technical note, I tried to upload my images here with my URL connected to my Flickr account, but it didn't work for some reason . So I will send them directly from my Flickr account to Blogger which I set up earlier on -- Learning by doing! And for now will just upload a raw image taken from my Blackerry.
I spoke to my land lord who runs the Day and Night Back Packers. Talking about multiculturalism that is going on, he said this: "If Malaysians were racist we would kill each other." He is Malaysian- Chinese, and I loved the way expressed this melting pot of Indians, Malay, and Chinese, who live together harmoniously!

But it must be said you don't see too many Malay-Indians eating at Chinese restaurants, or Malay-Chinese eating at Indian restaurants, but that is just a matter of tastes I suppose.

Sights and Sounds of Little India

After I had my meal in Little India, I went for a walk. Doesn't that sentence sound boring? But I also took a video on my smart phone, and the following footage will show you how exciting that walk was!






I also took some photos of my meal and the street which I posted on Flickr, which I hope you enjoy!

Ok, I am having problems with geo-tagging, so that is something I must work on. Bon Voyage!

Tools applied for First Multimedia content

I have uploaded five pictures on Flickr. I edited them with Picnic and kicked in some contrast and sharpness. In the past, I would have edited my photos on an external program like Photoshop, so I am very impressed with the Picnic tool built into Flick, which gives me the option to enhance the picture.
I also discovered that you can upload videos on Flickr. I didn't know that -- have I really been living in the dark ages? I plan to geotag my photos so that it comes on a map. Give me time, this is a steep learning tool, but I am sure to utilize this Web 2.0 tool. As to my video, I am uploading it on Google. My wi-fi connection is very slow and the 6 meg video clip is taking ages to upload, so I might try and upload it in Flickr and see if it yields faster uploads on a slow connection.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

First multimedia entry -- content upload

Ok. On the Cheap in Penang, that sounds like a good title for my blog. Think I might use it.

I went to the India district. I took a few pictures. I had a couple of milk teas and Southern Indian vegetarian that is served on banana leaf. This was had for about 6 ringgit, or two Australian dollars. Yes I am pretty full.

I am going to upload a few video files I took on my Blackberry Curve, and I will also upload a few photos.

So hang tight. I will use Flickr, and Youtube as my secondary nodes, which will lead back to the main node here at Blogger.

Penang

I am here at last. I arrived to Kular Lumpur two weeks ago. I flew with Air Asia. Then I caught the night bus to Penang. From the bus terminal I caught a 30 ringgit taxi fair to Chulia street, the back packer district of Penang. For the past two weeks I have only ventured a few streets away. One day I took a walk down to the Quay, and got very lost on the way back. I break up this little tourist precinct into two areas, the Indian quarters to the right of me, and the Chinese quarters, a few streets back.

I will use Flickr, Youtube, and other Web 2.0 tools to build up a picture of where I am , and what this place has to offer the back packer who is doing Malaysia on the cheap.

This is my first travelogue. I hope to build up an extensive picture of Penang, drawn upon my own impressions, and also culled from online resources like Wikipedia and other tourist related websites like Lonely Planet.

So far this is a blank slate. I will need to inform my readers of great cheap places to eat, green patches to exercise at, little grocery stores to get your goodies, and also where you can buy other stuff like electronics ect from the Malls.

I will be using my Blacckberry, snapping pictures and videos, and even audio files to capture the flavour of this busstling little island, that is watering hole for visa runners who want to extent their Thai visas.

My first impression of this place was a back water town with one Thai consulate and a few Indian resteraunts. The reality is very different. As I will explain in future posts.