Penang #2: Kek Lok Si Temple

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I had decided to venture to Kek Lok Si Temple, so armed with the bus number provided by reception, I headed to the bus stop. I had to wait a good 10-15 minutes for the bus to turn up. I paid my couple of ringgit fare and got myself comfortable. The bus took quite a while to get there, as it made its way through Georgetown. I loved seeing all the different people going about their business. I love the multiculturalism in Malaysia. The bus wound its way out of the city and into a more suburban area. I am surprised at how green and hilly this area was, when I think of Penang I think of the city and beaches, it's nice to be proven wrong. The bus went through a small town and I think that is were I should have gotten off. I ended up riding the bus to the end of the line, along with another foreign couple. What pissed me off was that I had asked if he was going to Kek Lok Si Temple and I had heard them ask the same thing. You would think he would have shouted out the stop for the temple, but no, utter job's worth. The bus had stopped at the bottom of Penang Hill, I saw the couple paying to get back on to get to the temple. I am too stingy for that, so decided to walk back along since it wasn't too far.

It started to lightly rain as I was walking, bugger. Luckily, it soon stopped. I passed by the Bukit Bendera Central Monument. It was in a cute little square. I continued back along the main road and came to the village of Ayer Itam. I walked through the village past one hawker centre, it was rammed and continued on. I passed another hawker centre and was sorely tempted to get some food. I decided to find the entrance to the temple first and then I would get something to eat. As I was walking along the road, I picked up a follower. Normally my resting bitch face stops people, but this guy wasn't having any of it. First he pointed me in the direction of the temple, I said thanks, and continued walking along the street as I was looking for a restaurant that would take my fancy. He kept following me and talking to me in I don't know which language. I was getting peeved by this point, I value my privacy. Then he got a big wad of notes out of his pocket and was saying something about them. I had no idea, what he was on about. I wandered into a shop to try and get rid of him, that didn't work. In the end, I politely told him to go away, I really didn't want to be that polite, but thought it best. I walked through a warren of shops, the entrance to the temple was in there somewhere, but I couldn't see it. On my way back out, one of the shop owners pointed me in the right direction. I knew for when going back.

I headed over to the hawker centre and had a look at a few of the stalls. I decided to go for duck rice since I hadn't had duck in ages. When I saw that they had boiled eggs too, well I had to have one. I think I may turn into an egg one day. I can't remember how much the food was, but it was pretty cheap and very tasty. I love all the street food that Asia has to offer. Feeling full, I headed back towards the temple. I'm glad the woman had pointed out the way up to the temple to me, I would have totally missed it. There are so many little shops, I just thought it was part of a shop. The steps leading up to the temple are a little steep, but lined with shops selling all kinds of tourist tat, so there are plenty of opportunities to take a break and look at/buy stuff. I eventually came out at the turtle pond, which is a small enclosed pond filed with turtles. A bit further up, I finally came to the temple proper.

Wow! This place was ornate. There was a little kind of garden with some Buddha statues that I took a little look around. Then it was more steps. These ones were lined with beggars though, which I didn't like. I feel like why doesn't the temple help them (maybe they do?) instead of letting them loiter asking people for money. The steps headed up to the temple. I loved the sign outside absolving the temple of any blame if you fell over and injured yourself. Kek Lok Si was built between 1890 and 1930. It is a really important Buddhist temple as a pilgrimage place for Buddhists in the region and is said to be Malaysia's largest temple. I spent a good while wandering around the first part of the temple. It was beautifully decorated and so well kept. I watched the gardeners watering and cutting the plants. I also enjoyed the views out over Penang. It kind of reminded me of the Taoist temple we visited in Cebu. This part of the temple is free to visit, but you have to pay to go to other parts.

I wandered up through the huge gift shop to the cable car. I can't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't a lot. I waited in the line for the cable car to come. There were only a few other people waiting and it didn't take long for the cable car to come. I was impressed that the ticket seller went in and gave it a quick clean. The journey up the hill didn't take too long. Just in case you missed the first one, there is another gift shop at the top. I headed outside and first went to take in the view. Then I headed over to the giant statue of Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy. The Statue is a fairly recent addition to the temple as it was built in 2002. It stands just over 30 metres high. I would have liked to have gotten closer to the statue, but it wasn't really accessible. I am so used to being able to go right up to the Buddhist statues in Korea. There were lots of decorations about celebrating the lunar new year. I took a walk over to the pond, stopping on the way to buy some good luck ribbons, which I attached to some kind of metal tree. There wasn't really anything else to do up there, so I headed back down on the cable car.

I headed over to the other side of the temple, where I had to pay another entry fee. There were lots of workers here, too. I first went into a big hall, I was hoping that it would be cooler, as I sweating, but alas it was boiling in there, too. I then headed over to the temple's pagoda. This pagoda comprises of three different style. The base is Chinese octagonal style, the middle section is Thai, and the top is Burmese. It represents the religious and ethnic diversity of Malaysia. I went into the pagoda and had a look around. There were stairs leading up, so I headed up. Each floor has some statues of Buddha, which were beautiful. Another thing I loved were the tiles with Buddhist images on them, truly gorgeous. I was surprised that at each level, there were stairs leading you to the next one. I was expecting the top floors to be out of bounds for some reason. I also enjoyed the views from here, too.

As I was heading down the street I saw the bus heading back into town across the road. Luckily, there were a few people getting on, so I legged it across the road and made it on. The journey back into Georgetown took half an hour, maybe a bit longer. Loads of people got off the bus at the bus station, which was quite far from where I was staying, using the GPS on my phone I managed to get off pretty close to my hostel. The bus doesn't follow the exact same route when coming in and out of town. I headed up to the common room to chill with a coffee.

Feeling hungry again, I headed back out. I really wanted to try some Laksa, which is a famous dish throughout Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. It is a Peranakan dish and one of the must-try foods in Penang. I wandered down to Armenian Street, stopping at one of the shops to buy some bits and bobs. I saw a cafe/restaurant opposite, that had a sign saying they served Laksa, so I headed in there. It was called My Own Cafe. There were only a few tables inside, but it wasn't very busy and I was seated at one. I ordered a large bowl of Laksa (there were two or three different sizes) and an iced coffee. I really liked the inside of the cafe, it was really old school with lots of dark wood furniture. There was also some cool artwork on the walls. I didn't have to wait to long for my Asam Laksa to arrive, Asam Laksa is made with fish broth and tamarind to give it a sour taste. When my food arrived I dug in. I have to say I wasn't impressed with it at all. I would have preferred a broth with some coconut milk in, even though that isn't the style of this one. It didn't match up with my imagined schema of how Laksa should look and taste. It also tasted quite tomatoey, which mixed with the noodles, kind of reminded me of Spaghetti Bolognaise, a food I am not a fan of. Well looking on the bright side, since it was crap, I could have a second dinner. So, later that evening I headed for a curry, Palak Paneer and Garlic Naan never disappoints.

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