Kek Lok Si (Buddhist) Temple, Penang

It is the largest Buddhist temple in South-East Asia, it is built on an extensive area and it is dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy. Behind the Kek Lok Si rises a bronze statue of this Goddess.

Well, a truly beautiful place if you like temples and the buddhist culture. Go on a weekday if you don't like crowds and they do charge a small fee further inside the temple to visit one of the main rooms.

Kek Lok Si is the largest Chinese temple in Malaysia. It's actually my favorite Chinese temple, which is ironic since it's not in China! It's huge and has a beautiful pagoda and a large Kuan Yin statue (the Goddess of compassion), and is situated on a hill overlooking the city.

A Chinese temple built on a hill. This is one of the largest Buddhist temple in South East Asia dedicated to Guan yin. Everytime I go there, I will pray for good health, happiness and peace with some joss sticks and burn some joss paper too.

There is a big pond of turtles which will be released to the sea every year. I have forgotten the date and what the ceremony is called. These turtles are bought and brought by many Buddhists throughout the year. These turtles are released for good deed. I have not thought of the exact translation at the moment, but in Chinese, it is "fang shen". Literally translated as "release life".

Around the temple, there are many carvings and sculptures for photo taking. Climb up to the top of the pagoda to catch a bird's eye view of the area.

Usually in a temple, it is sinful to take pictures of the statue of the god. I am a buddist, so I will not take any pictures inside the area where the statue is cos I believe that is disrespect, and worse with flash. Flash disturb the peace in the temple.

Kek Lok Si is the most beautiful and the largest Buddhist Temple complex in South East Asia.

Kek Lok Si is enthroned majestically on a hill in Ayer Itam, a small city in the island inside.

Its seven-storey pagoda standing at 30m tall is a mixture of Chinese, Thai and Burmese architecture and craftsmanship. The octagonal base is typically Chinese, the middle tiers Thai and the spiral dome, Burmese.

This temple is stunning. It's shear size is amazing. Be prepared to spend a couple of hours here if you intend to have more than a cursory glance.
The temple is located to the west of Georgetown on a hill. It takes around 20 mins to get there by car. The temple is open from early morning until evening. Refreshments are available from stalls near the temple and the gift shop area inside.
See my travelog for more pictures of this place.

This is a huge Buddhist temple, crowned, by a huge seven storey Pagoda. There are different types of architecture and style here Chinese, Thai and Burmese. On the way up to the temple you go through lines of stalls selling almost everything and at a fraction of the cost. Part way up you can stop and buy food to feed the turtles in the pond. Apparently, if you stop to feed the turtles, you will be granted longevity of 106 years. There must have been several 100 turtles in the pool of all different sizes. Again the views from the temple are spectacular.

It is the most famous and biggest Buddhist temple in Malaysia and one of the first built in SE Asia. Work on the temple started in 1890 along the hill slope of Air Itam and took more than two decades to complete.

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This is one of the biggest and most famous temples in Penang. It was build in Qing Dynasty and still expending for a new building.