Taking the Big Break

Entrance to Kek Lok Si

Our final week of five in Penang, and we finally made it to Kek Lok Si Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia and certainly, one of the highlights of Penang island.  Translated as the “Temple of Supreme Bliss”, it is located over several levels up along the hillside of Penang.

We disembarked the bus at the bottom of a long stairway up to the temple.  Packed in alongside the stairway was shop after shop of t-shirts, souvenirs, and trinkets.  The climb up didn’t take too long and we arrived at a rundown pond filled with turtles.  Its name is Liberation Pond.  An auspicious animal, turtles are often present at temples, but this pond was so filled with them.  To get sun, a couple were even on top of each other, and I was reminded of a Mack from Dr. Seuss’s Yertle the Turtle book.  Turtle food could be purchased to feed the turtles but watching other children do it, the turtles didn’t seem too interested.   Perhaps because it was Chinese New Year, the turtles seemed well fed and uninterested.

A little disappointed in the run down little pond, I rounded the next corner.  Apparently, THIS is where the temple’s beauty begins.  It was breathtaking.  Every direction you looked, the temple was colorful and majestic.  We walked through the lower temple and looked through the multi-colored New Year ribbons.

Ribbons with the wish of your choice (they had a lot) could be purchased and hung in prayer for the upcoming year.   We picked out a few for the boys but they weren’t thrilled with our picks.

Our pick: “Listen to Mom and Dad”

Our pick: “Reading Smart”

Lorenzo’s Pick: “Excellent Academic Results”

Elio’s pick: “Wishes Come True”

Hanging the wish up so it comes true.

Goddess of Mercy

Then, we rode a funicular up to the highest level where the 100 foot bronze statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, reigns high above.  Around the bottom of the statue were more than 50 offering bowls.  Nearby, bowls of 10 sen coins (about 3 US cents) are sold and faithful followers make their way around the base of the statue depositing one coin in each bowl.  Of course, the boys showed their devotion by tossing coins in all the way around.

Tossing in offering coins

Lorenzo: Year of the Ram

In many places here on Penang this time of year, the twelve statues representing the Chinese birthday years are on display for the New Year.   We walked through the gardens at the top to take photos and visit the koi pond, stopping to take photos of the beautiful view of the city of Georgetown.

Elio, the Wild Boar

View from the top, looking over Georgetown

We made our way back down in the funicular and walked to the very best part…. the seven tired Kek Lok Si Pagoda.  It is also known as the temple of 10,000 Buddhas.  Wow.  Its position in the middle of the beautifully maintained garden surrounded by the bright red lanterns celebrating the New Year was amazing!   A fascinating tidbit on the pagoda itself: The base is Chinese style, with an octagonal base. The middle tier is of Thai design and the gold crown top is Burmese in style.

10,000 Buddhas

View of the temple with Georgetown in the background

Finally, we started to make our way back down.   It was a slow descent as I had to keep stopping to take photos.  My favorite photo is this one, of the four of us in front of the temple.

We couldn’t find anyone to ask to take our group photo.  Here is who took it for us.   (Tacky, huh?  Shhh… Don’t tell anyone.)

The Photographer

It was a memorable day.  (I skipped the story of the LONG bus ride to get to the temple.  Needless to say, we splurged the $13USD and took a taxi back to the apartment.)   If you ever make it to Penang, don’t miss Kek Lok Si Temple.