Malaysia – Penang; Visit to Kek Lok Si Temple (8)

Hi!! My last posting on my visit to Kek Lok Si Temple.

At the area near the main pagoda, another area of the temple where you can make your wish again on the wishing tree by putting the wishing ribbon as seen below.

lighted oil lamps on the altar by the worshipers as offering.

Another shot around the temple grounds

This is the 7 storey main pagoda of the temple which house the 10,000 Buddhas.

Buddhas on the walls all the way up to the top…..

Shots from outside the pagoda…..

Another monastery…

A view right from the top of the pagoda….

Hope you enjoy the ‘walk’ with me on this trip to the Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang.

So what’s next? Wanna to know? Then follow me and you will find out. =)

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Malaysia – Penang; Visit to Kek Lok Si Temple (7)

Still at the top of the Penang’s Kek Lok Si Temple,. Walking about was really nice and serene. There was another small temple at the top where another wishing tree where you could make your wish but putting a colourful wishful ribbon on it.

Nearby also a small man-made pond where you could see lots of Japanese carp swimming inside it. It was really a beautiful sight and you could also see part of the Penang Island from here.

Worshipers giving offering and prayers.

Electric tram tickets which I bought to get my trip to the base of  the temple.

Finish? Nope….. there’s still lots to see. Heading to the other side, I was walking toward the seven storey main pagoda of the temple or the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas.

Again… beautiful architecture of the stone carving on the walls and pillars.  Guess words can’t describe them as well as photos…..

Follow me on the my last part of my posting on Penang’s Visit to Kek Lok Si Temple.

Malaysia – Penang; Visit to Kek Lok Si Temple (3)

Glad that you are still with me. From the Air Hitam wet market, to get up to the Kek Lok Si Temple, there is a path way of steps which you will pass through small little stalls where you can buy local stuffs and also souvenirs. Since I was there really early (about 9am+), most of the stalls are still close.(mmmm .. I guess it was also a public holiday too. =P )

Walkway up…..  with stalls still close (too early). Later in the day, there will be lots of visitors and also the worshipers who will come here.

Walking through the path, I saw a side entrance to a school which I did not even realized it until then. Guess it is one of the lower primary that cater for the children staying in that area.

A hand made sign board to lead you to the Kek Lok Si Temple. So, do not worry. You will not get lose here. =)

Another hand made sign out of partial carton box. Guess it says it all. Wonder which agency will enforce it? LOL!!

As you approach near the entrance of the temple, you will see a man made pond where it is filled with lot of black tortoises where you can buy some vegetable from the stalls nearby to feed them. Black tortoise or black turtle is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations and in China, they were thought to be spiritual creatures symbolizing longevity. Yup, some of them I believe would have lived close to 100 years old in the pond.

This is the entrance from the pathway (there is another way up to the Kek Lok Si temple which is by car but why waste the beautiful view when you can walk up)  to the temple where you will be greeted by a small pagoda.

Another shop from the base of the temple looking up at the pagoda.

Interesting? If yes, then follow me on my next post on Kek Lok Si Temple. =)

Malaysia – Penang; Visit to Kek Lok Si Temple (1)

Hi there!! Welcome back to my blog.

Today’s posting will be a place in Penang, Malaysia; Kek Lok Si Temple. I went there with my kids a few months back and now, I have finally got my share it with my readers about this place and it’s beauty.

A bit of history about this place before I continue. It  is one of the best known Buddhist temples on the Penang island (and also in South East Asia) and situated in Air Itam. Translated from Penang Hokkien, it means “Temple of Supreme Bliss” or “Temple of Sukhavati”. It was inspired by the chief monk of the Goddess of Mercy Temple at Pitt Street, Penang and construction began in 1890.

A seven storey main pagoda of the temple or the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas, was completed in 1930. This pagoda combines a Chinese octagonal base with a middle tier of Thai design, and a Burmese crown. It reflecting the temple’s embrace of both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.

The other attraction is the bronze statue of the Kuan Yin which stands 30.2m, was completed in 2002 and open to the public.  This replaced the previous white plaster Kuan Yin statue which was damaged due to a fire a few years earlier. The temple is a focal point of festivals of the Chinese community in Penang especially during the the Chinese New Year celebrations.  For 30 days following Chinese New Year, the temple remains open until late at night whilst thousands of lights turn the scenery into a sea of light and this is very impressive view!! =)

Ok.. enough of reading. Let’s continue our journey. =)

View from the bottom of the hill taken from the open car park.

Statues seen in the open car park. I believe these statues will be brought up to the temple when they are completed.

Walking along to road at bottom of the hill of Air Hitam. You can see the pagoda and also the Kuan Yin which stands out.

There is a market near the temple where every weekends it will be filled with lots of people and cars.

Stall selling all sorts of lanterns…

Lots of motorbikes seen outside the wet market.

Food stall outside the market. It is a good place to try some of the local food of Penang here.  =)

Clear signboard leading to the temple; Kek Lok Si Temple.

Well.. stay tune with me. More on the wet market and the surrounding area before we head up the steps to the temple. If you like.. then keep following me… and ‘walk along side’ with me on this trip. =)

Vietnam – The Trail of Hanoi (3)

Welcome back to Hanoi. We were heading back to the city for our lunch.

Another typical life style of the people in Hanoi having a meal on the side of the road on stools. A very common sight.

A Vietnamese lady playing the Vietnamese bamboo musical instrument in the restaurant that we had lunch.

After lunch, we headed to the West Lake (Hồ Tây) which is a freshwater lake in the center of Hanoi, Vietnam. This is the largest lake in the capital and a popular place for recreation with many surrounding gardens, hotels and villas.

Before stopping at the lake, we visited one of Vietnam’s ancient Four Sacred Temples built during the reign of King Ly Thai To from 1010 to 1028. The temple features detailed wood carvings of sacred animals, trees and flowers in its structure. It was said that visitors who visited were encouraged to pray for health, luck and happiness during their visit to Quan Thanh Temple.

You could hire boats to go around the lake or have lunch on a floating restaurant.

The entrance to the small island where the oldest pagoda is found.

Trấn Quốc Pagoda in Hanoi is the oldest pagoda in the city, originally constructed in the sixth century during the reign of Emperor Ly Nam De. It was believed that the age of this pagoda is around 1,400 years old.

One of the building in the temple ground.

After that, we headed to see the famous water puppet show in Hanoi near the Hoan Kiem Lake. Very interesting performance to watch.

The people behind the scene who are controlled and played the puppets in the water.

Suzhou …. a rush but enjoyable trip (1).

As always a holiday or trip abroad… anyone and everyone would love to spend as much time to see, learn and experience the culture in one place or country.

Well I had a chance a few months back, but for this trip,  it was rather a very short and rush one… which was to Suzhou, China. It was a rush trip and wasn’t really a holiday but more of attending a relative wedding there. It was a first time experiencing a wedding outside my own country as each of us know, each country or culture their own way and definitely, one would like to see and compare the difference. Anyway.. I will not be talking about that but I will just share what I seen and capture when I was there briefly.

  Pan Pacific Suzhou

Internal part of the hotel

This is the external part. Looks like an old time of  China.

As Suzhuo is famous for its many garden, behind the hotel itself, there is a beautiful garden with the Pagoda.

The Pagoda

Some of the scenic views in Suzhou.

The lorries waiting for their turn to unload their goods to the wholesale market.

The people and the activities which you can catch them doing candidly

What are these people doing?

Well… this is what they are doing… they are removing the shell of this water vegetable which can be eaten raw or cook in cold dessert or even cooked with other vegetables.

This picture below is cute… can you spot something that is out of the ordinary?

 

Have you ever seen a table that can sit 18 people? Well it is possible! I have heard than you can even sit up to 30 people per table!! That’s even bigger. The picture below is a place where they only had 1 table …yes 1 table in the whole restaurant and they just only serve that 1 table for the whole night. So you can imagine what will the cost of the meal, rite?

Anyway.. hope you like a brief outlook. If I had a chance… I will definitely go to Suzhou again and explore stay more longer … for sure!