Best Place To Explore In George Town
Georgetown is a pedestrian-friendly city, with a well-planned series of roads and paths connecting one end of Penang’s capital to the other. Here, lots of random goodness has been mixed together to result in a city that is just so vibrant – think, colourful street art caricatures right beside centuries-old temples, and you are right on the money. There is a wealth of creativity, plus a dedication to preserving this island state’s colonial heritage and evidence of this can be found just about everywhere, from the indigo-blue Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion to the ornate Kek Lok Si Temple. What we love best about Georgetown is that although almost everything is within walking distance, you do not have to walk if you don’t want to – simply hire a brightly-coloured trishaw and be delivered to the entrance of each temple and art-filled street!
Clan Jetties in Penang
Clan Jetties form part of the Penang Heritage Trail. There used to be seven jetties until one was demolished by fire and now six remain. Billed as one of the last bastions of old Chinese settlements on the island, this waterfront society is home to houses on stilts of various Chinese clans. Located straight down from Lebuh Chulia (beside the Kapitan Kling Mosque) at Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay), these water villages are over a century old. Each jetty is named after a Chinese clan – the Chew Jetty is the most tourist-friendly with the most stilt-houses, the longest walkway, a temple that is worth stopping by and plenty of places for those Kodak moments.
Seven different clans still reside at the Clan Jetties: the Lim, Chew, Tan and Yeoh jetties are the oldest and the Koay, Lee and Mixed Surname jetties were built afterward.
Location:Weld Quay, Georgetown
Kapitan Keling Mosque in Penang
Kapitan Keling Mosque is a Penang landmark. Built in 1801 by Penang’s first Indian Muslim settlers (East India Company troops), the Indo-Moorish structure is set at the junction of Lebuh Buckingham and Lebuh Pitt. It is the largest mosque in Georgetown and looks sublime at sunset. It was named after the ‘kapitan’ of the Keling (a leader of the South Indian community similar to the leader of the Chinese community), Cauder Mydin Merican. The whitewashed mosque is topped with large golden-yellow Mughal-style domes, crescents and stars and features a single, typical Indian-Islamic minaret from which the sound of the azan (call to prayer) can be heard.
A long walkway leads up to the main prayer hall of Kapitan Keling Mosque, with graceful arches sweeping along its outer passageway. Inside the mosque there are lofty, celestial-white Gothic, Moorish and Roman arches creating an illusion of even more depth to the already-spacious prayer hall; check out the sparkling chandelier that hangs above. The walls are covered with calligraphy panels and stained glass windows featuring arabesques of geometrical designs and floral motifs. The floor is solid, polished white marble with long rows of prayer rugs strewn all over.
Opening Hour: 09.30-17.30
Location: Kapitan Keling Mosque, George Town
Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang
Kek Lok Si is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. The complex is divided into three zones while the temple grounds comprise the hill entrance, souvenir, food and drinks stalls and the turtle liberation pond. The mid section of the temple houses temples, gardens, the pagoda and the four heavenly kings pavilion; meanwhile the hilltop plays host to an enormous statue of the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin as well as more gardens and temples.
Kek Lok Si is both carved into the rock face as well as perched atop the slopes of Air Itam. The main attraction here is the impressive pagoda of Rama VI and at the centre of the complex, the seven-storey, 30-metre high tower is acknowledged as the ‘face’ of Kek Lok Si. Topped with a Burmese crown, Ban Po Thar – the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda – displays a collection of alabaster and bronze Buddhas and has a Chinese octagonal base while its middle tiers are of Thai design. Meanwhile sited in the Hall of the Devas, are statues of the Four Heavenly Kings – each of the Kings allegedly controls one of the four points of the compasses – Kwang Mu (Guardian of the West), Tou Wen (Guardian of the North), Ch'i Kuo (Guardian of the East) and lastly Tseg Chang (Guardian of the South). Additionally, there’s a three-storey shrine with a large Buddha icon that was donated by King Bhumibol of Thailand – you can find several temples here as well as shops and a vegetarian restaurant. At the highest level there is a 36.5 metre-high bronze statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy; in the future 16 ornately decorated bronze columns supporting a roof over the statue, as well 1000 two-metre high statues of the goddess are planned to be built.
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Tel: +604 828 3317 Price Range:Entrance: Pagoda - RM2; Incline lift - RM2
Location: Air Itam, Georgetown
