Penang - Kek Lok Si Temple

Kek Lok Si Temple is the largest and most well-known Buddhist temple in Penang. This is a must-see / must-go place, so a trip to Penang wouldn't be complete if you haven't been to the temple.

We took the public bus from Penang Hill station to Kek Lok Si Temple. As the bus would only take us to a stop near the area, we braved the task of walking to and up the hill to Kek Lok Si Temple under the hot Penang weather.

We neeeded to stop a couple of times on the way up the hill to rest for a while and also for water break. A bit of consolation for us is that the way up to the temple is shaded as a lot of souvenir shops line up the staircase on the hill.

We never knew that once we set foot on the temple grounds, it would (still) be a continuous climb up to the prayer halls,  pagoda and statues.

Still on the way up, Hendrik was fascinated by these giant statues.

Halfway through the top, there were a lot of devotees praying and chanting, lighting candles and hanging wishes for one's self and love ones.

We took the lift going to the gigantic (30m) statue of Kuan Yin.

One of Hendrik's pictures of us...

Hendrik was happy taking a snap of the animal year he was born - Rat.

Previous post: Penang - Penang Hill

~~~ end ~~~

Penang - Thai and Burmese Buddhist Temples

The first item on the itinerary for 30 December 2011 was to visit the Thai and Burmese Buddhist Temples.

First stop, Wat Chayamangkalaram - a Thai Buddhist temple that is famous for a large reclining Buddha statue that is dressed in a gold saffron. Underneath the statue is a large crematorium.

souvenir photo from the large resting Buddha

another reclining Buddha but a smaller one

There were a lot of Buddhas inside the temple in different positions.

Golden Buddha where the gold is chipping off:

There was also a fat Buddha:

The weather was scorching hot at that time as you can see the look from our faces as we got out of the temple.

Two giant guards keep watch of the temple.

As the Burmese Buddhist temple was just across the street along Lorong Burma, we never slipped the chance to visit it also. But before we entered the temple, we stopped over for some memorabilia.

The Dharmikarma Temple is said to be the only Burmese temple in the whole of Malaysia.

Like in the previous temple, there were also a lot of Buddha statues in different hand positions.

This photo was taken because of the intricate hand carving in the background.

Previous post: Penang - Hotel Royal Penang

Next post: Penang - Butterfly Farm

~~~ end ~~~