Penang is an island of 285 sq km
in area, off north-western coast of peninsular
Malaysia.
Penang
Island is known
as the Pearl of the Orient.
The British established their first trading post of the Far East here in 1786.
Georgetown is the
headquarters. The island is known for its beaches, ideal for all types of water
sports. The 13.5 km Penang bridge which links the
island with the mainland.
Thai
Wat
Chayamangkalaram
Temple
It's said that
religion is for just for people who is weak or want power. For the Malaysian it
is to enrich their life. After Penang Hill, I stopped by the Wat Chaiya
Mangkalaram. Here I visited the Buddhist temple,
Thai
Wat Chayamangkalaram
Temple, which is
based on Thai architecture. Inside the temple there is a 32- 33 meter long
gold-plated reclining Buddha guarding the temple.
This temple is known as "the temple
of the reclining Buddha ". Inside I could admire the huge Buddha who was lying
down. Behind the statue are niches where urns, containing the ashes of devotees,
are placed. Bright Naga Serpents form the balustrades along the walkway. Inside
the temple you see, beside the Buddha, bald headed monks walking on tiles, with
lotus flower on it.
Photo. The Buddist temple, Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram in
Penang.
It was not allowed to take photos inside the
temple, so I couldn't take a
photo of the Buddha inside. The temple has their own photographer inside and won't let
you take your own photos. One of them took a photo of me
with several snakes on my head. I send it home to my mother, and she became totally
shocked!
Photo. Me with a lot of snakes accompanying me.
Just across the
street from Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram is another temple. This one is of Burmese
architecture. They have statues of Buddha representing the various countries in
Asia.
Their facial structure as well as their build is supposed to resemble the
different races.
Snake
Temple
We took the
local bus from downtown Penang and got off at the
Snake
Temple a little
bit further south. The Snake
Temple is along
the highway to Penang
International Airport at
Bayan Lepas. When we entered the temple we saw snakes everywhere. They where lying on
altars, vases, tables. Outside is even a tree for the little snakes!
Each time one of
the snakes moved, we shouted out "Oh my
God" and "Wow". The show most goes on! It was like someone scored
a goal in football (soccer) match. It was not really much action, but anyway it
was fun. Actually the snakes didn't move much. I guess they were sleepy in the
heat or doped by the heavy incense in the room.
We were amazed
that the snakes were moving so freely around the temple. In an adjacent room are
photographers, who make pictures of you with snakes around your head, neck or
arms. These snakes have no poison fangs.
Photo. Snake
Temple, Sungai
Kluang, Penang.
George Town , in
Penang
, is very charming and interesting site . The mix of life and history
of Anglican
Churches and
Chinese
Temples, of salt
air and Indian curry makes a stay in the city extremely pleasant. Goddess of
Mercy
Temple (Kuan Yin
Teng) is one of the oldest Chinese temples in Penang
. It was built in 1800 by early
Chinese settlers. Intricately crafted dragons and stone sculptured lions adorn the temple. Pilgrims come
in small hordes all year round.The temple
is located on Jalan Mesjid
Kapitan Keling.
Since 1988 the
Penang
Bridge connects
the island with the mainland (Butterworth).
Penang
Bridge is a toll
bridge (RM 8) and 13,5 km long. It was built by the Koreans. In the middle of
the bridge we stopped to make a picture, but that's not allowed except in case
of emergency. There are plans for building a second connection. This should be a
combination of a bridge and a tunnel, and situated at Tanjong Tokong.
Air Itam is
about 6 km from George
Town. Above Air Itam you see the
pagoda of the Kek Lok Si (Temple of
Paradise). It is
the largest Buddhist temple in South-East
Asia, it is built on an extensive area and
it is dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy. Behind the Kek Lok Si rises a bronze
statue of this Goddess. Based on recent information they are building a nice
temple for her up there with beautiful carved stones, which are delivered in
boxes from China.
At the Kek lok
Si there are several buildings, but these are dominated by the pagoda of the ten
thousand Buddha's. If you like, you can climb the pagoda.
After spiritual
days in the temples, we enjoyed ourselves on the sunny and clean beaches. In the
evening we could taste various exotic hot meals as Indian food, Malay seafood
and Chinese food.
Photo. We enjoyed ourselves at the beautiful beaches in
Penang.
For spiritual experiences,
some people go the temples to prey, and other go to the beaches for resting and
dreaming. Whether you are religious or not, one of Penang`s most interesting
attractions is definitely religion. Welcome to the spiritual world! Be ready for
healing your soul.
Stein Morten Lund, 26 April
2004
Additional
information
Penang has a variety of religious
structures, from churches and mosques dating back the early 1800's to Hindu
temples, Buddhist watts, and Chinese worship houses paying mixed homage to
Taoism, Confucism, and Buddhism.Penang is well covered with religion;
whether you are an interesting in the island's religious past, preying, or just
want to have fun at the beach, Penang is the place for spiritual
experiences.
Facts about
Malaysia:
Formal country
name: Federation of Malaysia.
Area: 329,750 sq
km.
Population: 23
million.
People: 50%
Malay, 33% Chinese, 9% Indian, plus indigenous tribes such as Orang Asli and
Iban.
Language: Malay,
English, Tamil.
Religion: 52%
Muslim, 17% Buddhist, 12% Taoist, 8% Christian, 8% Hindu, 2% tribal.
Government:
constitutional monarchy.
For more
information:
Malaysia
Tourism Promotion Board, or Tourism Malaysia: tourism.gov.my
Malaysia
Tourism Centre (MTC)
109, Jalan
Ampang,
50450
Kuala
Lumpur
Tel : 03- 2163
3664/2164 3929
Fax : 03- 2162
1149
www.mtc.gov.my
Source:
World Heritage
Centre
UNESCO,
Paris
(July
2003)
Malaysia has
two places listed on the World's Heritage list:
Kinabalu
Park (N
ii, iv/ 2000):
Kinabalu
Park, in the
State of Sabah on the northern
end of the island of
Borneo, is
dominated by Mount
Kinabalu (4,095
m), the highest mountain between the Himalayas and
New
Guinea. It has a very
wide range of habitats, from rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest to
tropical mountain forest, sub-alpine forest and scrub on the higher elevations.
It has been designated as a Centre of Plant Diversity for
Southeast Asia and is exceptionally rich in species with examples of flora from the
Himalayas, China,
Australia,
Malaysia, as
well as pan-tropical flora.
Gunung
Mulu
National
Park (N i, ii, iii,
iv/ 2000):
Important both for its high biodiversity and for its karst features,
Gunung
Mulu National
Park, on the
island of
Borneo in the
State of Sarawak, is the most
studied tropical karst area in the world. The 52,864-ha park contains 17
vegetation zones, exhibiting some 3,500 species of vascular plants. Its palm
species are exceptionally rich, with 109 species in 20 genera noted. The park is
dominated by Gunung Mulu, a 2,377 m-high sandstone pinnacle. At least 295 km of
explored caves provide a spectacular sight and are home to millions of cave
swiftlets and bats. The Sarawak Chamber, 600 m by 415 m and 80 m high, is the
largest known cave chamber in the world.
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