Penang

Our next trip came in October. It was the first of three weekend vacations in a row for Jenn and I. We decided to go to Penang (a late birthday present for Jenn), an island on the west coast of Malaysia. It is known as a cultural island - famous for its Kek Lok Si temple (which is supposed to be the largest and most beautiful Buddhist temple complex in Southeast Asia), as well as for its amazing cuisine. Here are a few highlights of our trip there:

Penang has a beautiful butterfly park, which is home to over 5 000 butterflies and over 100 species.

The first temple we went to in Penang was the snake temple. It was built in 1805 by the Chinese monk Chor Soo Kong, who was supposed to be a healer who would often give shelter to the snakes of the jungle. When the temple was finished, snakes came on their own to live inside.

This is the inside of the snake temple. Notice the pit vipers. Apparently these snakes are very safe, as their constant exposure to all the burning insense makes them lethargic.

This is Kek Lok Si temple. Although construction began in 1893, there has been constant building since then, with additions still being built today. The seven story pagoda seen here is part of the temple of 10,000 Buddhas and is dedicated to the Boddhisattva Tsi Tsuang Wang, who declined to enter nirvana after enlightenment in order that he might assist others along the path.

This is the inside of the main temple. There are three "praying areas" like this inside this particular temple. The wall is lined with Buddha statues and the red pillars are also made out of small Buddha's as well.

This is one of the small Buddha statues that line the walls of the temple seen above.

An example of the intricate 3D carvings found all over the temple.

This view of the temple complex is from the seventh floor of the pagoda.

A short cablecar ride up from the temple takes you to a 30.2 m bronze statue of Avalokitesvara - the Goddess of Mercy. It was added to the temple complex in 2002.

This lion is one of several sculptures that guards the statue.

I thought this picture just looked weird, but it also serves to give you an idea of the insane size of some of the statues here.