Sights in Pulau Penang
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Kek Lok Si Temple
The largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia was founded in 1890 by an immigrant Chinese Buddhist. To reach the entrance, walk through arcades of souvenir stalls, past a tightly packed turtle pond and murky fish ponds, until you reach Ban Po Thar, a seven-tier, 30m (98ft) tower. The design is said to be Burmese at the top, Chinese at the bottom and Thai in between.
In another three-storey shrine, there's a large Thai Buddha image that was donated by King Bhumibol of Thailand. Presiding high above all the temple structures is a striking bronze figure of Kuan Yin, goddess of mercy. The temple's name translates, quite delightfully, as 'Temple of Supreme Bliss'.
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Eastern & Oriental Hotel
The Eastern & Oriental Hotel dominates the seafront end of Jln Penang. Originally built in 1884 as the Eastern Hotel, it became so popular that the following year it was expanded and renamed the Eastern & Oriental Hotel. The stylish E&O was the archetypal 19th-century colonial grand hotel, established by two of the famous Armenian Sarkies brothers, Tigram and Martin, the most famous hoteliers in the East, who later founded Raffles Hotel in Singapore.
In the 1920s the Sarkies promoted the E&O as 'The Premier Hotel East of Suez' (a catchy phrase the brothers later used to advertise all their hotels) which supposedly had the 'longest seafront of any hotel' in the world, at 8…
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Sungai Pinang
Winding and farting through the heart of Georgetown before spewing into Selat Selatan (South Channel), Sungai Pinang is considered the filthiest river in Malaysia. Over the years it's become a drain for a 50km urban spread of factories, markets and tightly quartered residents who have freely dumped whatever they've wanted into the flowing sludge. Today it not-so-proudly bears a Class V classification, which means it is unable to sustain life and contact with the water is dangerous for humans.
In December 2005 a clean-up project began with goals of turning what many consider to be a sewer into a clean Class II river for swimming and boating. Optimists imagined fish flutte…
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Rumah Berhala Tow Boo Kong
If you're a Chinese-temple freak, it's worth checking out Rumah Berhala Tow Boo Kong which began its existence as a shed on a rented piece of land in 1971. The temple blossomed little by little and was completed in its final form in the year 2000. It's exceedingly ornate for a modern edifice, with a dramatic roof swarming with curving pagodas and golden dragons. It's home to a Taoist group who worship the Nine Emperor Gods, the nine sons of the Queen of Heaven, who are the patron deities of, among other things, prosperity and health.
Their festival, called none other than the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, is held on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month each year when the …
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Wat Buppharam
Is there a question in your life that needs answering? Head to Wat Buppharam , a 1942 Buddhist temple bursting with cartoonlike sculptures of Thai, Taoist and Hindu religious figures. The ornate Thai entrance archway is the largest in the state. The wat is home to the 'Lifting Buddha,' a 100-year-old, gold-leaf encrusted Buddha statue about the size of a well-fed house cat.
As a seeker, kneel in front of the statue, pay respects to the figure with a clear mind and then ask, in your mind, the yes or no question you wish to have answered; ask also that you wish for the figure to become light for an affirmative answer. Try to lift the statue. To verify the answer, ask your q…
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Snake Temple
Perhaps the most misleadingly named destination in Penang is about 3km before the airport. Not that there’s not snakes in the Snake Temple. But c’mon – you read ‘Snake Temple’ and expect beating drums, pythons coiled around lithesome sacrificial virgins, mad monks wielding trained vipers…nah. It’s just a temple with some doped up (or seemingly doped up) snakes. It’s dedicated to Chor Soo Kong, a Buddhist priest and healer, and was built in 1850 by one of his grateful patients. The several resident venomous Wagler’s pit vipers and green tree snakes are said to be slightly stoned by the incense smoke drifting around the temple during the day, but at night they slither dow…
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Chinese Clan Houses
There are five great Hokkein clans that formed the backbone of early Penang: Cheah , Khoo, Yeoh, Lim, Tan. Between the mid-1800s and the mid-1900s Penang welcomed a huge influx of Chinese immigrants primarily from the Fujian province of China. In order to help introduce uncles, aunties, cousins, 10th cousins, old neighborhood buddies and so on to their new home, the Chinese formed clan associations and built clan houses to create a sense of community, provide lodging, help find employment, and more, for newcomers. In the associated temples the clan would worship patron deities.
As time went on, many clan associations became extremely prosperous and their buildings grew to…
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Tua Pek Kong
The name is ostensibly Tua Pek Kong, but this recently renovated structure, resplendent in red and gold and with polished black columns, has quite a few more aliases: Hock Teik Cheng Sin, Poh Hock Seah, Hokkien Kongsi and Tong Kheng Seah, among others. What’s with all the names? Well, besides serving as a temple and assembly hall, this building has also been the registered headquarters of several secret societies (Aside: secret societies register their headquarters? Really? With who?). Each society occupied a different portion of the temple, which became a focal point during the 1867 riots/war between societies. The fighting got so intense a secret passage was built betwe…
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Sri Mariamman Temple
For local Tamils, the Sri Mariamman Temple fulfils the purpose of a Hokkien clanhouse: it’s a reminder of the motherland and the community bonds forged within the diaspora. In this case, those bonds don’t come from a benevolent society, but a typically South Indian temple, dominated by its entrance tower or gopuram. Erupting with sculpture, the tower serves several purposes: it represents Mt Meru, the cosmic mountain that supports the heavens, and delineates the line between this world and the realm of the gods, which begins in the temple compound. Local Tamils pay homage to Tamil Nadu by worshipping Mariamman, a mother goddess popular with diaspora Indians who repres…
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Temple of the Reclining Buddha
The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is a typically Thai temple with its sharp-eaved roofs and ceiling accents; inside it houses a 33m-long reclining Buddha draped in a gold-leafed saffron robe. The icon represents the Buddha’s attainment of nirvana and peaceful passage from this existence, although the claim that it’s the third-longest reclining Buddha in the world is dubious. The symbols on the Buddha’s feet represent the marks of a true Buddha (a title that means ‘enlightened one’ as opposed to a name). Also note the entrance and exit; the former is set off by a Naga, a Southeast Asian water dragon, while the latter is marked by a Chinese dragon, the East Asian equivalen…
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Toy Museum
If your kids have seen Toy Story 2, they might feel bad for the more than 100,000 toys locked up in the Toy Museum with nobody to really love them; no one has tried to break Woody free yet. Don't miss the Chamber of Horrors (not suitable for very young or sensitive kids), Chamber of Monsters, Cave of Dinosaurs, Hall of Cartoons, Chamber of Comic Book Heroes and Hall of Beauties (for lovers of Barbie).
Some displays have voiceovers and sound effects but other than that there's not much action. Still it's a fun kitsch place to visit; chances are that everyone will see some old friends in the collection. The most expensive toy is a 1.8m tall Gundam Robot from Japan - but we'…
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Pinang Peranakan Mansion
The wealthy Baba-Nonyas of the Straits colonial period had some of the most eclectic tastes of their time; their wealth and their home’s position on so many trade routes afforded access to English tilework, Scottish iron embellishments, continental European art and furniture and, of course, the heights of Chinese opulence in interior design. All of the above crash together rather beautifully in the restored Pinang Peranakan Mansion, former home of Chung Keng Quee, 19th-century merchant, secret-society leader and all-round community pillar. His ornate home is full of antiques and furniture of the period he lived in. There’s also an exhibition on Nonya customs, and guided…
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The 'Street of Harmony'
The 'Street of Harmony' houses a church, three Confucian-Buddhist-Taoist temples, two mosques and a Hindu temple. You can savour the relaxed multicultural and multilingual environment. At the southern end is the 'Secret Society' enclave, where sociopolitical organisations carved out their territories in the 19th century.
They formed cross-cultural alliances to gain control over territory, manpower, opium and other concessions, rather than fighting along ethnic lines. Today, it is a marvellous neighbourhood of mosques and Chinese clan temples, with clandestine gateways and hidden passageways leading to courtyards. We can literally retrace the covert trails and escape route…
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Penang Museum
From the town’s foundation site, it’s only a short stroll to the Penang Museum, one of Malaysia’s best presented museums. The permanent exhibition is a comprehensive walk-through of Penang’s history, festivals and cultures. No settler group is left out and all are admirably described in sympathetic detail, a testament to this state’s admirable record of tolerance. Look out for the beautifully carved opium beds, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and the incredible silk-brocade outfits once worn by the Baba-Nonya (Straits Chinese) population. Temporary exhibitions are eclectic, ranging from galleries of colonial prints to displays on traditional Malay seamanship.
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Kuan Yin Teng
On Lebuh Pitt is the temple of Kuan Yin Teng – the goddess of mercy, good fortune, peace and fertility. Built in the early 19th century by the first Hokkien and Cantonese settlers in Penang, the temple is not large or especially impressive, but it’s very central and popular with the Chinese community. It seems to be forever swathed in smoke from the outside furnaces, where worshippers burn paper money, and from the incense sticks waved around inside. It’s a very busy place, and Chinese theatre takes place on the goddess’ birthday, celebrated on the 19th day of the second, sixth and ninth lunar months.
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Protestant Cemetery
Here on Jln Sultan Ahmad Shah, the mouldering tombs of colonial officials huddle together under a canopy of magnolia trees. Here you'll find the graves of Captain Francis Light and many others, including governors, merchants, sailors and Chinese Christians who had fled the Boxer Rebellion only to die of fever in Penang.
Also here is the tomb of Thomas Leonowens, the young officer who married Anna - the schoolmistress to the King of Siam made famous by Deborah Kerr in the King and I. The 1999 remake, Anna and the King, was filmed in Malaysia, including some scenes in Penang.
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P Ramlee House
Who would have guessed that this humble, and now thoroughly restored kampung house was the birthplace of Malaysia's biggest megastar, P Ramlee. Ramlee was particularly known for his singing voice and acted in and directed 66 films in his lifetime. No other Malaysian celebrity has ever reached the same iconic status. He died of a heart attack at the age of 44 in 1973.
Artefacts and photos are displayed in the main room, while the other areas of the house are furnished as they would have been when Ramlee grew up and are scattered with his personal items.
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Botanical Gardens
The 30-hectare Botanical Gardens are also known as the Waterfall Gardens, after the stream that cascades down from Penang Hill. They’ve also been dubbed the Monkey Gardens for the many long-tailed macaques that scamper around (they’ve taken over the well-executed website as well). Don’t be tempted to feed them; monkeys do bite, and there’s a RM500 fine if you’re caught. Within the grounds are an orchid house, palm house, bromeliad house, cactus garden and numerous tropical trees, all labelled in English. A path leads to the top of Penang Hill.
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Lebuh Armenia
Although this street is named for Penang's Armenian population (such as the famous Sarkies who established the Eastern & Oriental Hotel), there's no evidence that any Armenians actually ever lived here. In the early 1800s the street was known as Malay Lane from a kampung settlement here, and later the Chinese named it pak thang-ah kay (copper worker's street) because this is where brass- and copperwares were sold.
It later became a centre for Chinese secret societies and was one of the main fighting stages of the 1867 Penang riots.
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Penang War Museum
Heading west of Batu Maung on the road to Teluk Kumbar, you’ll soon come upon the Penang War Museum, perched on top of the steep Bukit Batu Maung. The former British fort, built in the 1930s, was used as a prison and torture camp by the Japanese during WWII. Today, the crumbling buildings have been restored as a memorial to those dark days. Barracks, ammunition stores, cookhouses, gun emplacements and other structures can be explored in this eerie, atmospheric place, and there are information boards in English all over the site.
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Kek Lok Si Temple
The ‘Temple of Supreme Bliss’ is also the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia and one of the most recognisable buildings in the country, in its way as much a part of the national iconography as the Petronas Towers and the orang-utan. Built by an immigrant Chinese Buddhist in 1890, Kek Lok Si is a cornerstone of the Malay-Chinese community, who provided the funding for its two-decade long construction (and ongoing additions). The temple both stands atop and is carved into the slope of Air Itam, near Penang Hill.
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Penang Islamic Museum
The Penang Islamic Museum is housed in a restored villa that was once the residence of Syed Alatas, a powerful Acehnese merchant of Arab descent, and later a recycling depot (really) of the Indian Chettiar community. Today it holds a wordy exhibition on the history of Islam in Malaysia and Penang, along with some 19th-century furniture. The main event is an upstairs life-sized diorama of a dock scene that depicts a maritime-oriented haj (pilgrimage to Mecca).
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Penang Buddhist Association temple
Completed in 1931, this unusual Buddhist temple is about 1km west of town. Instead of the typical colourful design of most Chinese temples, this one shows Art Deco influences and looks like a frosted cake, all white and pastel. Interior Buddha figures are carved from Italian marble, and glass chandeliers hang above. Penang's Buddhist community gathers here on Wesak Day (April/May) to celebrate the triple holy-day of the Buddha's birthday, attainment of enlightenment and death.
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Hainan Temple
Probably the coolest feature of this temple is its impressive stone courtyard and the carved pillar work throughout said space, which is bedecked with more red paper lanterns than usual. This duochrome backdrop of slate and crimson looks like it should be the scene of the final fight in a kung fu movie or a Mortal Kombat video game. In fact, the Hainan Temple, completed in 1895, is dedicated to Mar Chor, China’s patron saint of seafarers.
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Acheen Street Mosque
If you’re entranced by the call to prayer wafting over the short walk from Khoo Kongsi, the Malay Acheen Street Mosque is unusual for its Egyptian-style minaret (most Malay mosques have Moorish minarets). Built in 1808 by a wealthy Arab trader, the mosque was the focal point for the Malay and Arab traders in this quarter – the oldest Malay kampung (village) in Georgetown. Only Muslims can enter the mosque.
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