Alumni Tour to Penang, Malaysia

During June 13 – 16, 16 members with their family joined the alumni tour to Penang, Malaysia, a fascinating destination retaining its traditions and old world charm. Staying in the trendy Hard Rock Hotel Penang, they enjoyed the stunning sea view and the Batu Ferringhi Beach. In the 4-day enriched itinerary, all of the participants explored the heritage around George Town on bikes to the Pitt street, Fort Cornwallis, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion and many other UNESCO sites, while popping by fascinating street arts. For the durian lovers, they indulged in a thorny feast on the King of fruits in a local authentic durian farm.

Penang is also famous for rich culinary culture. The local tour expert arranged by the Hong Thai Travel took all on a culinary trail to the local wet market, sampling famous Penang hawker foods, Nyonya food private dining and more. One of the highlights was the fine French dinner set in a 100-year-old colonial building, the Macalister Mansion, where the group enjoyed a culinary evening with fresh and high quality foods and ingredients in the dining room. All were charmed by the tastefully-furnished white dining room with touches of pink and blue.

SHTMAA Organic Farm Tour

On 25 July, 27 SHTMAA members and their family joined a half day exclusive tour to The Green Atrium in Yuen Long, which is one of Hong Kong’s newest educational sites promoting sustainable living style. The Green Atrium, housed in a sustainable building, provides an innovative urban farming and education experience through interactive learning and playing.

In a guided tour, the members visited the organic farm where vegetables, herbs, fruits and specialty microgreens were planted in the farm and learnt about the essentials of organic farming and its eco-system. After that, they learnt hands-on organic practice by planting seeds in soil trays step by step, and visited the unique roof top designed garden which is the home to butterflies, fishes and flowers. Later, members visited a green restaurant next to the farm to appreciate the thematic design that makes use of recycled woods.

All of the participants had a delicious lunch in a private and open kitchen dining room for an unexpected feast of freshly-picked seasonal produce with special thanks to Duncan Ko for sponsoring all the guests the 100% certified high quality organic juices. Duncan is the owner of Health Aims http://healthaims.net/ (源生坊), and he is also one of our alumni!