R. Doug Wicker — Author

The largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, and one of the largest throughout Southeast Asia (remember Borobudur Temple, the largest single Buddhist structure in the world? or Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious monument?). It is indeed impressive, not only in color and size, but because of its unique and seamless blending of Chinese, Thai, and Burmese temple architecture. Trekking this this temple from the parking lot is moderately intense with a steepish ascent, but it’s not an impossible reach for elderly folks such as Ursula and myself (we made a few rest stops along the way). Indeed, the lack of handholds made the journey down more perilous, at least for me. But along the way, not far into the trek from the parking lot, you’ll already find some fun things to see. This is Liberation Pond, filled with hundreds of turtles. These creatures symbolize wisdom, patience, and longevity.

I should briefly mention that Kek Lok Si and Penang Hill aren’t technically within George Town, but rather in the western George Town suburb of Ayer Itam. That means it’s only a very short bus jaunt from Penang Hill’s funicular to Kek Lok Si, a little over five minutes to the parking lot. From the parking lot it’s time to start the steep ascent to the temple.

After a slow fifteen minutes, with several breaks along the way, we approached Kek Lok Si:

Religious symbolism is everywhere. Here is a Dharmachakra (Wheel of Dharma) atop a pole:

And Kek Lok Si wouldn’t be a Buddhist temple without at least a few Buddhas in residence:

Now don’t be offended by this next image. Yes, it depicts a swastika, but this Buddhist symbol predates by centuries the connotation it garnered in 1920s Germany. In Buddhism this symbol, usually left facing, represents the footprints of the Buddha. If you look closely at the Dharmachakra image above, you’ll see the same symbol in red at the center of the wheel. Now let’s take a closeup of one of the Buddhas in the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas:

But don’t think architectural wonders are the only thing you’ll find at Kek Lok Si. Take time to stop and smell the… hanging lobster claw?!?!?!

Many of the younger members of our group climbed even higher, but we found plenty to see and photograph at the courtyard garden level.

And if you have a good zoom, you’ll have a great time at the Courtyard Garden:

Time to head back down the hill. On Wednesday I’ll share with you a few images on that trek, followed by back near our ship. Until then I’ll leave you with the view of the main entrance to Kek Lok Si:

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