PENANG HILL

Penang hill is also called Bukit Bendera mean Flagstaff Hill in Malay. Historically, this hill was discovered by Francis Light during his horse track in around 1788. He plotted the hill and started to build bungalows for private use of the British Colonials during 19th Century. The British colonials were liking the hill due to the cooler temperature comparing to the lowland. The former sheriff of Penang, William Halliburton, was staying in a bungalow, Bellevue, now called The Penang Hill Hotel.

Today, Penang Hill is one of the famous attractions in Penang with stunning views of the city on a clear day. When I reached the top, I could feel the cooler temperature with misty air. I enjoyed the green trees and birds on the hill. Then, I visited an Indian Temple ( Thirumurugan Temple) , and ginger garden. Penang Hill Hotel is further up the hill and great place to have high tea with great views.

The centre of the island is dominated by jungle-clad hills, and at 821 metres above sea level, the atmosphere is pleasantly temperate. Penang Hill – which actually refers to a collection of peaks – also offers excellent panoramas of Georgetown and the surrounding hills, as well as views of Penang Bridge and the mainland. Take some time to walk to all the viewpoints, and you will realise that Penang’s concrete conurbation really only occupies a fraction of what is otherwise a very beautiful, green island.

View from Penang Hill

There are two options to get to the top. Hardy walkers can follow the jungle trail, which starts in the Botanical Gardens (Waterfall Road). It climbs steadily – and at times, steeply – to the summit of the hill and the walk can get pretty steamy, especially in the middle of the day, so it is probably best to start early to avoid the worst of the heat.
Alternatively, you can travel in the relative luxury of an air-conditioned funicular railway carriage, which sets out from the base station at Air Itam (Jalan Stesen Bukit Bendera; T: (04) 828 8861). Originally built in 1924, the tracks and rolling stock were completely replaced in 2011. The modern, hi-tech train lacks some of the character of the traditional red-and-white carriages, but the ride to the top, which cuts an astonishingly steep path through the surrounding jungle, is good fun all the same.

There are two options to get to the top. Hardy walkers can follow the jungle trail, which starts in the Botanical Gardens (Waterfall Road). It climbs steadily – and at times, steeply – to the summit of the hill and the walk can get pretty steamy, especially in the middle of the day, so it is probably best to start early to avoid the worst of the heat.
Alternatively, you can travel in the relative luxury of an air-conditioned funicular railway carriage, which sets out from the base station at Air Itam (Jalan Stesen Bukit Bendera; T: (04) 828 8861). Originally built in 1924, the tracks and rolling stock were completely replaced in 2011. The modern, hi-tech train lacks some of the character of the traditional red-and-white carriages, but the ride to the top, which cuts an astonishingly steep path through the surrounding jungle, is good fun all the same.
There are two options to get to the top. Hardy walkers can follow the jungle trail, which starts in the Botanical Gardens (Waterfall Road). It climbs steadily – and at times, steeply – to the summit of the hill and the walk can get pretty steamy, especially in the middle of the day, so it is probably best to start early to avoid the worst of the heat.
Alternatively, you can travel in the relative luxury of an air-conditioned funicular railway carriage, which sets out from the base station at Air Itam (Jalan Stesen Bukit Bendera; T: (04) 828 8861). Originally built in 1924, the tracks and rolling stock were completely replaced in 2011. The modern, hi-tech train lacks some of the character of the traditional red-and-white carriages, but the ride to the top, which cuts an astonishingly steep path through the surrounding jungle, is good fun all the same.

Railway Carriage

David Brown’s restaurant (Strawberry Hill; T: (04) 828 8337) offers a tranquil escape from the crowds. Set in an old colonial bungalow, with beautiful gardens and unparalleled views over Georgetown, this recreates colonial living at its best.

The restaurant also serves a good selection of sandwiches and soups, as well as traditional English fare, including roasts with Yorkshire pudding and Beef Wellington.

Thirumurugan Temple

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom review

Smart phone cameras have improved dramatically in just a short few years. Gone are the days of blurry VGA-quality pics -- some phones now pack megapixel counts higher.

Phone cameras are still limited by size though. It's not possible to fit pro cameras' massive sensors and huge lenses into something that slides neatly into your jeans. Samsung thinks it has the perfect compromise -- a 4.3-inch phone boasting a 16-megapixel sensor and a 10x optical zoom. The Galaxy S4 Zoom is the only smart phone, in fact, that has an optical zoom.

If you've always wanted a phone with a good zoom, the S4 Zoom is currently out on its own.The S4 Zoom's fat body is extremely awkward to use as an everyday phone.

The LED light

Design

Here's an interesting philosophical conundrum: which is the front and which is the back? The front of a camera is where the lens is, but the front of a phone is the screen. It's definitely half and half, but as the S4 Zoom is named after a phone, and you can make calls with it, I'm going to refer to it as a phone, so the screen is the front.



From the back then, the S4 Zoom looks like any standard compact digital camera. There's really nothing there that indicates that a phone lurks within. A chunky hand grip is off to one side and the enormous lens barrel sits on the other.

The S4 Zoom as a camera

The S4 Zoom is the only phone -- and 'phone' is stretching the definition -- that packs in an optical, as well as a digital zoom. The focal length starts at 24mm, which is quite a wide angle -- allowing you to capture more of a scene in one picture. It zooms to 10x, which should be more than enough magnification to get a lovely shot .

Other camera-specific hardware includes a physical shutter button on the right and a screw mount on the bottom for plonking the Zoom on any normal tripod. The S4 Zoom's sheer bulk does mean it's more comfortable to hold for taking photos than the standard S4 is -- that chunky battery compartment is easy to wrap your fingers round. There's also a little hole for popping in a lanyard if you're nervous about dropping it.
Behind the epic zoom barrel is a 16-megapixel, backside-illuminated CMOS sensor. It's physically bigger than the sensors you'll find inside normal smart phones -- the S4 included -- although not as big as the one inside an average digital SLR. A larger sensor typically means that more light can hit it, which should greatly improve image quality.

Image quality

With a bigger sensor stuffed inside, you'd be right to expect greatly improved quality over standard phone cameras. While the images were definitely good by most phone standards, I didn't find them to be particularly more sharp or more evenly exposed than the Galaxy S4.

The S4 Zoom as a phone

The S4 Zoom is running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, almost the most recent version of Google's mobile operating system. The interface is basically the same that you'll find on any of the other phones in the S4 range. There are multiple homescreens to fill up with apps and widgets, while other apps are kept in a separate app list.

It's quite bright, and has satisfyingly deep black levels and rich colours. It might not have the pixel density to square up to its bigger brothers, but it will at least make your photos look lovely and colourful.

There's 8GB of internal storage as standard, of which 5GB is available for use. That's not going to last long once you start snapping away at full resolution, so you'll need to make use of the microSD card slot. You can set all photos and videos to save to the card and, thanks to a software update from Samsung, you're able to install some apps to the card too.

Battery life

With a chunky 2,330mAh battery stuffed inside, the S4 Zoom should be able to keep going for a decent amount of time away from a plug. Indeed, I found it to be pretty long-lasting when using it primarily as a phone. If you're fairly cautious, you shouldn't struggle to it out a day of use.

Conclusion

With its massive sensor, impressive megapixel count and 10x optical zoom, the Galaxy S4 Zoom may seem like the shutterbug's phone of choice. It's certainly the only phone to opt for right now if you value zooming in on things above anything else, although its image quality in general isn't significantly better than other high-end smart phones.

GURNEY PARAGON

Penang!, Not enough of shopping malls ? Have to drive all the way to Kuala Lumpur for all your favourite brands? Penangites have more options now.
The RM500 million Gurney Paragon Mall in Penang was soft launch on 23rd July 2013 and it will house at least 270 to 280 retail outlets.
Retail brands names from the Valiram Group such as Michael Kors, Swiss Watch Gallery, Victoria’s Secret, Tumi, Godiva, Charles & Keith, and Pedro will be taking up some space at the mall. Padini and Debenhams, too, have taken up some lots in the mall. 
 




 

 

 Other retailers which were added to the list of Gurney Paragon Mall tenants are such as Ben’s, Lunarich Pizza & Pasta, Angus House Japanese Charcoal Steak, JK Plastic Surgery Consultation Centre, My Dream Wedding, and Dragon-I Signature.

Gurney Paragon is built around the restored St. Joseph's Novitiate, a heritage building converted into a unique cultural experience. The chapel's stunning colonial architecture is an inspiration for the mall design itself, making Gurney Paragon a beautiful blend of charmingly antique and sleekly modern.

Gurney Paragon is also designed with nature in mind, incorporating green spaces and environmental elements to create a garden atmosphere unique amongst shopping malls.

It combines the widest variety of shopping and entertainment options with its environmentally-friendly design philosophy to create a genuinely unique lifestyle centre - one that preserves the historic heart and soul of Penang.

Gurney Paragon Mall is a new beachfront lifestyle mall along Gurney Drive, Penang. It is comprising a lifestyle mall, an outdoor dining strip, office tower and two luxury apartment blocks.
Phase 1 of Gurney Paragon Mall was completed in December 2011, with a number of trendy al fresco restaurants and bars opening their doors. The mall’s outdoor dining stretch is set within a converted restored heritage building – the St. Joseph’s Novitiate – with the main complex’s style taking its inspiration from the chapel’s colonial architecture.

St. Jo’s at Gurney Paragon Mall

 

 

 



A beautiful blend of charmingly antique and sleek contemporary design, Gurney Paragon Mall has an outdoor dining strip known as St. Jo’s. Here is where the shopping centre’s themed restaurants and contemporary bars are situated. It is a restored heritage building with each dining venue set within the beautiful colonial structure and tables spilling out onto the sidewalk. Perfect for families.

East & West Tower at Gurney Paragon Mall

 

 


Meanwhile, the East & West Tower, Gurney Paragon’s apartment blocks, are Penang’s highest residential towers. The first three floors of each tower house retail outlets for residents’ convenience. Meanwhile, each apartment’s living room, dining area and bedrooms enjoy panoramic views and a spacious balcony.




 

 
 









 








 



Penangities looks Gurney Paragon as it is designed for Penang people. Its the very high class and hippiest place on Penang at this moment.Penangities also feels the different as Gurney Paragon is slightly more advance then Gurney Plaza and Queensbay Mall. 

Sitting on the Coffee Bean verandah on the first floor of Gurney Paragon at night, we could get the view as far as the floating mosque. Coffee Bean is located at the round balcony on the first floor, nearer to the St. Joseph's Novitiate.

The escalator at the side of Cofee Bean is smartly designed because it allows patrons to patronise these eateries even after shopping hours.

The surveilance all are in HD recording with day and night . Car park have 360 camera spinning all time.

Gurney Paragon is a fusion of Old World Charm with Modern Day Chic! This makes us fall in love with her at the very first sight! Those very antique mosaics are weetly captured.

The concept of the mall is quite unique as it focuses more on open air concept. It is great concept.

Promoting it to the public through media connection ie. making a TV commercial showing that this is an eco-friendly mall and have a famous artist as a model or promoter.

Others are making ads in daily newspaper, doing a website to be promoted in various social networking sites, by initiating a promo sale regularly and of course by distributing leaflets in transportation facilities such terminals and airports.

"A busy mall that attracts a variety of consumers also attracts retailers to increase sales."

From all its strong points, Gurney Paragon has its charm and value to fulfill its potential.