When you are staring at the 30 odd recommended temples and attractions on the Visit Penang Map, and suddenly realize you don't have much time on the island. Then what? backpackies guide that's what!
We also included a brief on Penang's history, just to give you a little jumpstart before engaging in its Heritage Trail. |
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This apple green mansion greets you with intricate Chinese floral and feng shui designs on its handcrafted wooden doors and windows. Thin gold leaves used to cover these pieces of art, still shines in the sunlight withstanding the testament of time. Once home to Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee, the Kapitan was infamous as the head honcho of the secret society called the Hai San Kongsi (Hai San - Sea Mountain) and was also involved in the Larut Wars (1860-1874) in Perak. With 16 maids serving 8 people, a tour through this mansion, cements the meaning of the saying "Living like a king".
The mansions grounds is fully restored to its former grandeur, and showcases more than a thousand Peranakan artifacts, including complete sets of baju kebayas, wedding head gear, jewellery, hand embroided bead shoes, pottery and baskets. The tour around the house, brings you through the life of the Kapitan. Living like a king, each room was restored and decorated with an individual theme, for example the one that caught my eye was the women’s recreation room, where there was a mahjong table in the middle, that the women used to entertain them selves while the men discussed business. You would notice that not a single room has a monotonous display of artifacts. Each room seemed to portray elements of western and Asian culture due to the Kapitans extensive travel. Also the mansions air wells, brought in natural light and rain that cooled the mansion as we toured the place. Bring along your cameras for a snapping good time. For more information,visit their website www.pinangperanakanmansion.com.my
Tel: 604- 2642929
(Visiting Hours) Monday- Saturday 9 am - 5pm. Closed on Sundays and all Public Holidays
Admission: Adults RM 10, Child (<10 years old): Free
Visible from along Queen Street are guardian warriors armed with magical weapons guarding the majestic Gopuram (tower) of the oldest indian temple in penang. Sri Mariamman Temple was built to worship Goddess Mari also known as Mariamman by the early Indian Community of Penang,as she was looked as their protector during their struggles in the foreign land. Mariamman is a manifestation of the goddess - Parvati, an incarnation embodying Mother Earth with all her terrifying force. She is associated with disease and fever and protects her devotees from unholy or demonic events. Mari is usually portrayed as a beautiful young woman with a red-hued face, wearing a red dress. Sometimes she is portrayed with many arms, representing her many powers, but in most representations she has only two or four. Her hands may display some mudra and her usual attributes are the trident or spear and the bowl, which are derived from stories told about her.
Housed within its ornately decorated interior is the priceless statue of Lord Subramaniam showered with gold, silver, diamonds, emeralds and semi precious gems. The statue figures prominently in the annual Thaipusam festival when it is borne on a silver chariot though the city streets to the temple.
Admission is free
Opens 8am - 12pm, 4pm - 9pm
Blessings is conducted by the priests, and donations are voluntary
Sunset Bistro Penang @ Feringghi Beach
Flashy bling bling's, horizon pools and smashing rock bands aside, this place ain't Rasa Sayang nor is it Hard Rock Hotel. This beach side bistro offers some real great tunes, a yummy range of food, and a fantastic beach side atmosphere to top it all up.
Sunset Bistro is a turn off on the right after Park Royal Hotel. Initially a quiet spot when it started off, this place has proven to be "the place" to come to, and can get quite full up especially if there is a birthday celebration or a family get-together. But if you are in Penang and looking for a nice decent place to chill, have dinner and chat, then this is your place.
The beach in front of the bistro is very popular for water sports, horse riding and swimming.The water sport prices arent fixed, so feel free to bargain. The bistro's restaurant offers quite a decent selection of local and western food (the nasi goreng - fried rice is really good). And is open for lunch and dinner. Beers cost around RM 8 per bottle, and of course there are also cocktails and other juices available too. If you are bringing your own bottle of wine or liquer the corkage charge is around RM 50. To give it the real beachy feel, the tables and chairs are set on the the beach, with the bar and DJ shack made out of wood. The tunes start off light and easy in the afternoons and revs up to moderate R&B during the night. Yet it still is a great place to chit chat. It's a pity that, there arent any more nice spots like these on Penang island that maximizes the full potential of its beaches. Don't worry. we will keep you updated if there is anywhere worth shouting about. We are glad we found this place though. We hope you love it as much as we do. Cheers.
Home to Dr. Sun Yat Sen, leader of the 1911 Chinese revolution (which overturned the Ching Dinasty and established China as the first republic in Asia). One year before the China Republican Revolution of 1911, Dr Sun Yat Sen moved his headquarters to Penang.Here at 120 Armenian Street was where he organized the Penang Conference and planned the Second Guangzhou Uprising. He lived in Penang for a brief period in 1910. This house was not his residence but his headquarters for his political party. His old house in Dato Keramat Rd was demolished, as it was thought to be haunted. This house was also the birth place of the Chinese News Paper Kwong Wah Jit Poh, one of the oldest surviving Chinese newspapers outside of China.
Admission is free, but you can opt for the guided tour for only RM 3. Miss Goh, one of the caretakers there, gave me a very informative insight into the lives of the Chinese both in China and also abroad before the revolution and how Dr. Sun Yat Sen's ideology revolutionized all this.
This shoplot spots a humble "prewar" look, with steel pull gratings on the doors,high wooden ceilings and the classical air well in the center of the house. Take notice of the natural cooling system the house uses- as water comes down from the airwell in to the drains, water seeps through the brick wall (which was made from sea shells and sand) allowing the moisture to transpire out from the walls, giving it the cooling effect.
Admission: Free Guided Tour - RM 3
Open Mondays to Saturday, 10am - 2pm
For group tours call - 604-262 0123 or 016-462 0556
Click for more information
Direct translation for Khoo Kongsi is Khoo Clan House. Intricate wall paintings and ceiling wood carvings layered with gold flakes, flanked by larger than life sculptures of gods fills the temple of Penang’s richest clan, the Khoo clan. The Khoo clan is the richest and oldest clans on the island. The “Khoo” clans history spans for more than 70 years. Most of the materials, sculptors and its craftsmanship was imported from China and was completed in the late 1906. The Khoo kongsi is in fact a village by itself if you look at the map. There are houses where people from the clan used to live and do business. An entrance fee is required to enter the temples premises, and is used for its upkeep. On certain occasions, the whole heritage area covering all the other clan Kongsi’s will be alive with activities, displaying different activities and performances bringing tourists back in to the past.
LEONG SAN TONG KHOO KONGSI
18, Cannon Square, 10200 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6 04 2614609 Fax: +6 04 22622591 Email: info@khookongsi.com.my Website: www.khookongsi.com.my
Opening hours: 9 am to 5 pm daily
Ticket priced at RM5
Penang Butterfly Farm
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you” Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864.
"Penang Butterfly Farm is the first tropical butterfly farm ever set up in the tropical world, with an average flying population of 4000 Malaysian butterflies of 120 different species, including the rare Indian Leafl (Kallima paralekta) and the endangered Yellow Bird wing (Troides helena). Probably the most famous of Malaysian butterflies is the Rajah Brooke's Bird wing of the Papilionidae family."
This 0.8 hectare farm offers great healthy fun for kids and also adults.Believe it or not, plenty of couples and families come up here just to spend some quality time. Set aside 2-3 hours just to get lost in the lush greenery of the main complex, where you have butterflies flying freely all around you. This farm promotes breeding, export and research of butterflies in this region. Once you have been to this farm, you wont have to visit any more butterfly farms in Asia, because this is certainly the best of them all.
Its educational and interactive stations are seperated into the different stages of a butterflies life. There is a piece of souvenir card that you get, where you can collect coloured stamps for each station to bring back. Inserted inside the main complex also are insect pits, where you can play "spot the stick insect", look at scorpions or watch as the huge monitor lizards bask in the sun.My personal favourite is guessing weather the aligator snapping turtles in the aquariums are already dead (because its common in Asia, to find dead fish or animals in farms and aquariums that is still there for people to view it). Its amazing to watch them lying motionless for so long waiting for their unsuspecting prey. Besides that, you can also see giant carps and mandarin ducks within the compound. There are two more rooms on the way out, one is the insect room which houses live lizards, spiders and beatles, the other displays a huge collection of rare beautiful preserved butterflies and other insects.
Monday - Friday 9.00am - 5.30pm ( Last Entry at 5.00PM )
Weekend & Public Holidays 9.00am - 6.00pm ( Last Entry at 5.30pm )
Reptile Show
Morning show time 10.00am - 10.30am
Afternoon show time 3.00pm - 3.30pm
Admission
Adult RM20.00
Children (4 - 12 years old) RM10.00
( 50% discount for MYKAD holder )
Video / Digital Video Camera: RM5.00 per pc.
Getting there
Penang Butterfly Farm is located about 25 km from downtown Georgetown, and about 3 km from Teluk Bahang.
From George Town, take the northern beach road through Batu Ferringhi until you reach the Teluk Bahang roundabout. Make a 9 o'clock turn to the left. The farm is on your left.
You will know if you miss the farm, if you reach the Teluk Bahang Forest Park (Taman Rimba Teluk Bahang) on the left or a reservoir on the right.
If you are taking public transport, Rapid Penang Bus 101 goes to Teluk Bahang Village. From there you need to change to Bus U501 that heads towards Balik Pulau. Do take note that the U501 bus isnt very often.
Local wet market in the morning and dry market by day. Chowrasta located along Penang Road directly opposite the main police station, is one of the few places during the day that you can find some bargain shopping.
Small stalls make up this bazaar selling from traditional malay clothes namely songkok (male headgear) and baju kebayas (blouse), traditional beauty products, small handicraft and local agricultural produce like nutmeg and preserved foodstuff. The back of the complex is a wet market in the morning. The top floors sells shoes, a bit of clothes and also houses some second hand book shops. Its worth going there in the mornings during the morning market, as it is a wet and dry market combined.If you are looking to bring back some nutmeg, rojak sauce (dip for rojak),dry cuttle fish or some preserved foodstuff you can try the stalls up front on the ground floor.
Recommendation: Interesting to just walk through. Visiting the morning market, gives Chowrasta more credit.
Opens from 7am - 5pm
Getting there
Rapid Penang Bus Number(s) : 103 / 104 / 201 / 202 / 203 / 204 / 101 / 10 / 11
Penang Islamic Museum @ Syed Alatas Mansion
This museum gives a good explanation on the life and culture of Islamic Malays in Penang. Originally called the Syed Alatas Mansion, this building was really in shambles back in 1990's, till it underwent some serious renovation work back in 1996. This museum is dedicated to show the contribution of Malays in Penang especially in the development and propagation of Islam.
This Mansion which is situated along Armenian Street was built by Syed Mohammad Al-Attas, an Achenese by descent. Incidentally his neighbor happens to be Dr Sun Yat Sen (Father of Modern China) who lives just a few doors down from his mansion.The mansion which was built in 1860 spots a mid-19th century Straits Eclectic style, with a few Islamic elements thrown in to its design (notice the front facade).
Syed Alatas played an important role in providing assistance in terms of sending firearms to the Achehnese during the battle against the Dutch. This mansion was then used as an operation base or a secret meeting place by the Acehnese leaders.
Syed Al-Attas was also the leader of the Red Flag secret society back then, which was centred in the Muslim settlement around Acheen Street and Armenian Street. Their opponents were the white flag society which
had its base at the Rope Walk Mosque (Masjid Pintal Tali) and was composed of Malay, Kling and Jawi Pekan rope spinners and cart drivers.These secret societies would battle out for territorial dominance.
The Red Flag society fought with the White Flag secret society in the Penang Riots of 1867
The ground floor of the museum has various sections: Introduction to the History of Penang, Islam and Culture, Outstanding Muslim Personalities, Architecture and Interior Decoration, and Religious Teachings.
The upper floor shows the growth and development of Islam in Penang through trade.
Among the interesting exhibits at the museum are dioramas depicting the early days, an ancient grinding stone (batu giling), a replica of the Terengganu Stone, Arab calligraphy, paintings, old photographs of Muslim personalities and the bed of Syed Mohammed Alatas.
This museum isnt that big, and maybe take about an hour of your time.
Opens Daily- 9am -5.30pm
Closed on Tuesdays
Admission: Adult(RM 3), Child (RM 1)
Getting here
If you are taking the CAT free shuttle service, stop at Carnavon Street. You will need to walk back track, about 300 meters before you reach the museum.
By bus, take the Rapid Penang Bus 10, 301, 302, 307, 401 and U502, disembarking at Lebuh Carnavon. Walk along Lebuh Carnavon to the junction with Lebuh Acheh. A short distance down, to the left, is Lebuh Armenian. The Penang Islamic Museum is at the corner of the junction.
This is where we draw the line and stress that the view of Georgetown and of the entire Kek Lok Si temple grounds from the 10000 pagodas is not overrated as some claim it to be, and neither is the cable car ride up for a snap shot next to the towering 30.2m bronze Kuan Yin statue! It’s all worth it. You can’t overload the Pagoda though, as the steps up is very narrow and the best viewing point may only fit like 3-4 people. Hey its the "Temple of Supreme Bliss" we are talking about here. The best time to visit the temple is during Chinese New Year. This is when the entire temple complex is lit up with thousands of lanterns, making it look like a magnificent olden day palace amidst the darken sky.
Let’s do a quick flash back on its history and facts before we tour the place.
- Largest Buddhist Temple in South East Asia
- Temple is of Mahayana Buddhist Tradition
- Temple began construction in 1890
- Temple has 70,000 volumes of Imperial Edition Buddhist Sutras as a gift from Emperor Guangxu of China.
- The Liberation Pond is home to about ~ 683 tortoises. (We finger counted them for fun)-Feel free to count and let us know if we are wrong.
So you might be asking, of all the many temples in Penang, why did we choose Kek Lok Si to feature. Well honestly it was a very tough choice to make.
As you might have already known, most of the temples on Penang Island share almost the same amount of history and architecture. Some are regarded as clan houses (Yap KongSi, Khoo Kongsi, Cheah Kongsi), which houses only their clans deities and ancestors. Almost all the Chinese temples have pretty impressive structures and most of the building materials for these temples are all hand crafted and shipped all the way from China.Taking into a lot of factors, from art, history, landscaping, significance, and also to see if it was worth your valuable time (history and how large the temple is), we finally choose Kek Lok Si. We didn’t think that you would appreciate a visit to the temple without having to travel for it (as most of the Chinese Temples in Penang are all in the city center).
What is there to see?
The main features of the temple is the spiral Ten Thousand Buddha’s Pagoda featuring a Burmese Top, Thai Middle Structure and Chinese bottom, a towering 120 feet bronze statue of Goddess Kuan Yin and the overcrowded Liberation Pond filled with hundreds of tortoises. To get to the temple, you can either drive up or better still, we suggest you take a scenic walk up the shaded steps blanketed with small souvenir stalls selling from plastic dog shit, samurai swords to the local produce of nutmeg and various religious amulets and statues.
Kek Lok Si is arguably the largest and most beautiful Buddhist temple complex in Malaysia, often referred to as the 'Temple of Supreme Bliss' or the 'Pure Land Temple', covers the expanse of a sloping, east - facing hillside at Air Itam, just to the west of the city of Georgetown. As you walk into the temple's compound, you will notice large boulders that bear inscriptions of Chinese verses, beautiful sculptures.
The serene air and peaceful ambience of the compound grounds reflects the tranquility borne of meditation and prayers within the temple's interior. The construction of the temple started in 1890 and took almost 20 years to complete. Atop the temple, you can view the entire city below. The main shrine hall is simply amazing, with the Golden Buddha Statue and other placed beside it. The wall decorations and carvings are covered in gold leaves and mother of pearl.
You are allowed to take pictures, but proper dressing is required if you want to enter. Shoes are not allowed in the main shrine hall. Outside the Pagoda, is a gong, which locals believe to be a wishing gong. You are supposed to make a wish and hit the gong with the wooden log (some believe if you whack the gong harder, wishes will come true, but all it does is, it annoys the heck out of the other visitors). Donations are optional. There is a cable car running to the top, where the bronze statue of Kuan Yin sits. (RM 5 return).
Rapid Penang Bus No. 203 goes to Air Itam Village at the foot of Kek Lok Si.
This majestic blue mansion restored to its former glory has been voted “Most Excellent Project UNESCO, Asia Pacific Heritage Awards 2000”. Its architecture is a fusion of Hakka – Teochew style, built with imported Chinese building materials. The house was built and named after a Hakka migrant in 1890. He was born a penniless person but eventually became the most powerful overseas Chinese merchant of his time in Nanyang. Moving to Penang, he continued to build his empire of shipping, opium and mining in Southeast Asia. The house is a magnificent architectural marvel with distinct European styling and stained-glass windows. Today, the house is open for visitors to learn more about Cheong’s history through antiques and paraphernalia displayed in the building.
The mansions 38 rooms, serves as a home-stay program, where each room is specially designed by famous local artists according to specific themes. For additional information, please refer to the website. www.cheongfatttzemansion.com
Tel/fax: 6042625289
email: cftm@tm.net.my
Opening Hours : 11am - 3pm
Entrance: RM 10 adults.
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