Day 159 – Penang, Malaysia

July 15th, 2019

Today we got ready and set out to explore more of the city.  I left the room without my sunglasses which was a mistake.  We explored some more of the clan jetties and then walked to a few mansions that are supposed to be points of interest. 

I got really hungry, but it was still early so nothing was open.  We were in a city of food and like Murphy’s Law, when you are really hungry and need something right now, you can’t find anything.  The places that were open and operating had food like ‘curried fish head’ on the menu and I just wasn’t in the mood.  So, we kept walking.  I wasn’t impressed with the outsides of the mansions at all and didn’t want to take the tours.  My feelings might have been different if I wasn’t so hot and hangry.

We finally found a little Vietnamese restaurant that had just opened for lunch and went there.  Brendan had his first Banh Mi sandwich and said it was his favorite thing he has eaten on our trip.  Since it was way too hot for Pho I ordered the sandwich too.  I thought it was good but didn’t really like the meat so picked most of it out and gave to Brendan which he was happy about.  Refreshed and ready to take on the day again we got a Grab (Asia’s Uber) and went to Penang Hill.

Penang Hill is a popular tourist spot that has a funicular you can take to the top for great views of the city, and you can even see to mainland Malaysia.  The funicular railway is apparently the longest track in Asia and the steepest tunnel track in the world.  It was very steep but unfortunately pictures don’t capture the incline.  The views were very good, and we walked around at the top where there was a Hindu temple and a Mosque. 

I was ready for a break, and to get my sunglasses so we decided to get a Grab back to the hotel.  There was the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia (Kek Lok Si) nearby, but I decided to skip it, knowing we are about to be in the land of temples very soon and I wasn’t really dressed appropriately.  It was funny because although I entered the address of our hotel for the Grab driver, he just drove us to Kek Lok Si.  We got there and told him, this is not where we are going and that he was supposed to take us to our hotel.  He just said, “you get out now, I have other customers I am picking up here”.  Okay… I guess we are going to see the temple.  Things happen for a reason though as I am glad we didn’t miss it.  My shorts and backless shirt seemed to be okay at this temple since they had a more come as you are vibe as long as you have ringgits (Malaysian currency).

This temple was built over a 100 years ago and is still an important pilgrimage center for other Buddhists from Hong Kong, Philippines, and other countries in SE Asia.  It was very big and interesting with lots of things to look at (10,000 statues of Buddha to be exact). 

There were a couple things that really surprised me though.  First of all, for being a holy place of worship it seemed very commercialized.  After every section you go through, they had big gift shops filled with all the junk you would see in your local city’s China Town. 

I understand having a gift shop and trying to bring in some money because this place is huge. I imagine it takes a lot of upkeep, but I would have thought it would have been filled with merchandise a little more relevant.  Maybe some nice pictures, or paintings of coy ponds.  Some postcards or books on Buddhism.  They could have some refreshments and cold drinks as it is very hot walking through the large temple grounds.  I was a little taken back by the endless rows of rubber duckies, cartoon figures, back scratchers, and Chinese finger traps.  I couldn’t help but think Buddha himself might be a little disappointed with the amount of non-biodegradable, plastic trash that will end up in landfills and our oceans forever. 

In one shop I saw a calendar for sale that said in big words ‘HAPPINESS’ on the front cover, with a picture of a big house and fancy sports car. 

I looked it up, even though I was pretty sure the foundational teachings of Buddhism do not have big houses, fancy cars, and other material things being the root of happiness.  What am I missing here?  Hopefully it was one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” moments and perhaps the inside of the calendar was filled with other teachings that were a little more on point than the cover, but it didn’t really seem like it…

Anyway, I think the ticket lady must have been brand-new on her path to enlightenment as she made me jump by screaming behind me “TICKET!!! WHERE YOUR TICKET!!??”.  I had read a sign about purchasing a ticket for the funicular that takes you up to the giant 120 ft. tall statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, and then there was another sign after that which said, “Tickets are no longer needed”.  There was also no obvious place to buy a ticket.  She continued to scream “YOU BUY TICKET NOW!!” as she led me to a blocked off ticket counter that had no one behind it.  Okay, okay, I didn’t know.  Show some mercy would ya?  I’m not trying to get out of paying the 5 ringgits, I was just following the signs and the crowd of people going the same direction.  I don’t think she ever stopped yelling, and left me feeling a little on edge as I was afraid this was about to happen:

However, there were some others walking around that seemed a bit further along on their path to enlightenment as they seemed to be more Zen.  There was one monk behind an information counter that was so Zen, I’m pretty sure he was nodding off.  I had a question about how to do a tour but didn’t want to disrupt his peaceful slumber.  I’m sure if we would have taken an organized tour with a guide, we ourselves would have been a little more enlightened on the historical significance of Kek Lok Si and the teachings of Buddhist philosophy.  But since we didn’t, I am left with a taste of rubber duckies and angry ticket ladies.  I’m sure that will change as we explore more of these countries and temples and have different experiences.