MAR-03: Penang, Malaysia

We came into George Town – Penang from the north, originally disorienting us as we had assumed that coming up the coast from the south we would enter from that direction.  A bridge connecting the island to the mainland proved to be a barrier from reaching the port from that direction.

TOUR DESCRIPTION

Visit the Kek Lok Si Temple, the largest Chinese Buddhist temple in Malaysia, and better known as the Temple of the Ten Thousand Buddhas. Don’t miss the Tortoise Pond of Longevity, where devotees release these long-lived creatures to earn blessings in life, and the Seven Tier Pagoda that incorporates Chinese, Thai and Burmese architecture. Next, head to Penang Hill, a cool resort accessible by funicular tram, which takes you to reach the peak. The resort offers a refreshing garden and colonial mansions that are reminiscent of an old English village.

THE ACTUAL TOUR

ROTTERDAM could not immediately dock, so we were taken ashore in one of the ship’s boats.  Once ashore and on the bus, contrary to the sequence set forth in the description we headed for Penang Hill.  The ‘hill” is 2,700 feet tall.  It is ascended at a steep angle via a high speed funicular tram. 

The humidity created a significant haze that reduced to quality of the view.

There is a Hindu temple, a Muslim mosque, a hotel and some restaurants at the top of the hill.  The temperature was considerably cooler up there which is why the British governor lived there during the colonial period.  As for the “refreshing garden and colonial mansions”, the two gates leading to them were both firmly locked, perhaps it because it was Sunday.

The Bellevue Hotel had an aviary.  One of the peacocks was very proud of its plumage.  The Rhinoceros Hornbill eyed me suspiciously.

After descending Penang Hill we bussed to Kek Lok Si Temple.  We made it to the top by stairs and funicular tram.  Along the way we saw the Pond of Longevity, a filthy, smelly pool of water occupied by hundreds of turtles, some quite large. At the top we viewed the 30.2M (~100 foot) Kuan Yin bronze statue which, although not mentioned in the tour description was most impressive and the highest structure in the temple.

At the end of the tour the bus returned to the ship.  Rather than go aboard, we set out on foot to visit Fort Canning.  Some approaching claps of thunder caused us to reverse our steps.  The rain started just as we reached the shelter of the pier.  The rain persisted, so we went back aboard ROTTERDAM where we discovered that Fort Canning is closed on Sundays.