Weekend in Penang part 2

We carried on exploring Georgetown; next stop the clan jetties. Each jetty is named after a Chinese clan; this is the Chew Jetty which has opened up to visitors who are curious to see these watery villages and their stilt houses. The residents also benefit from selling souvenirs and drinks to the thirsty visitors

 

 

 

 

Not too far away is the Hainan Clan Association Temple dedicated to the sea goddess; Mazu

The entrance panels are heavily carved depicting popular legends and stories of Mazu 

 

Later we visited the Blue Mansion and had a fascinating guided tour of this beautifully restored 1880's manor. It was built by Cheong Fatt Tze, a Hakka merchant who made his fortune in Asia, he also had 8 wives and owned many residences throughout his trading empire. The mansion has 38 rooms, was built with careful attention to Feng Shui principles and has an eclectic mix of European and Chinese features 

The mansion was purchased from Cheong Fatt Tze's descendants in 1989 and carefully restored. It is open to the public and also operates as a boutique hotel. It featured in the Catherine Deneuve film, "Indochine" which I'm hoping to find a copy of now 

Walking around Penang we saw many attractive houses and shops-lots of them seemed rather neglected but nonetheless charming with huge restoration potential

 

and then there we went hunting for the murals that Penang is now becoming well known for, but they deserve a special post of their own

Weekend in Penang part 1

November-

 N had booked time off for a sailing course but unfortunately it was cancelled so we instead took the opportunity to visit Penang for a long weekend. We stayed at the very elegant Eastern and Oriental Hotel. It sits right on the sea front and has stunning views of the sea and mainland Malaysia beyond.

The whole place oozes peace and calm

It's hard to see where the infinity pool ends and the view begins 

                        A stunning view, cool breeze and a glass of chilled wine- close to perfection

 just needed a delicious cake!

Dusk across the bay, Penang Hill behind

Our bathroom was huge and beautifully arranged

The next morning we thought we should tear ourselves away from the hotel and do some sightseeing.

First stop was the Thai Buddhist Temple, Wat Chayamangkalaram.

The temple  is very ornately decorated outside and in, with guardians and dragon serpents.

                                       Inside is a 33meter long gold plated reclining Buddha

...and numerous jars containing the ashes of deceased devotees

..and a series of gold painted 3D images tell the story of Buddha 

On the other side of the road is a Burmese Buddhist temple-the Dhammikarama. It was one of the earliest and the only Burmese temple in Malaysia.  

inside here is a giant marbled standing Buddha. 

Receiving a blessing from a monk 

Outside is Panca-Rupa, this world guardian and protector. It possesses the quality of the five best combinations; such as the trunk and tusks of the elephant, four hoofed legs and two agile ears of the horse, the lion faced head (chimera) with the deer's horn, the body and tail of the fish and the two powerful wings of the Roe (Garuda). Therefore ideally suited for it's role of guarding the world in the form of the globe.

The Arahant Upagutta Shrine below; this is stated to posses the power to overcome all obstacles and problems and to fulfill wishes and also exorcise evil.

We travelled on out of Georgetown to the bottom of the Penang Hill funicular railway, I wandered up a nearby street. 

The Penang Hill railway started in 1923 and carries passengers up Penang Hill (833m) and goes through a 79m long tunnel on the steepest tunnel track in the world. 

 

Nearing the top it became very misty and delightfully cool 

We took a buggy tour of the area at the top, there are 52 hill bungalows, mainly privately owned and most more than 100 years old. 

The views came and went as the clouds rolled by 

"Love padlocks" have caught on here too it would seem 

At the top there is a Mosque and this Hindu temple 

and slightly away from the crowds monkeys  

and lots of jungle flora including this pitcher plant 

After a lovely visit we headed back down again to hot and stciky Georgetown