This morning the streets were quiet. A little unnerving for an A city in South East Asia. There was not the usual madness of cars, scooters and people dragging carts and trolleys. More importantly to us there were no buses as I saw. The sun was out in all its glory and the temperature was touching 25 degrees at 8am. Suddenly from between the roof tops in the narrow streets below came the crashing of cymbals and banging of drums. Troops of lion dancers were making there way to the temples and local businesses. It seems you can pay to have these minstrel acrobats perform their “lion” show outside your business to ensure prosperity for the coming year. We watched one troop from our rooftop perform their ritual at the little hotel opposite. It is a mix of dance and acrobatics. The more you pay the longer and more energetic the performance. The young guys and girls dance leap and climb tables dressed in their amazing costumes. We will try and get some photos later.
Today we had planned on catching a bus to the Kek Lok Si temple complex outside of Georgetown on Penang Hill. It is the biggest Buddhist complex in the entire South East Asia region. A must see by all accounts. After breakfast we set out for the central bus terminus at Komtar. We were not sure if any buses would be running today but fingers crossed we made our way across town.
The buses were running as it turned out but on a reduced service. 2 ringit saw us on our way. As the services were reduced the bus was standing room only for the 30 minute ride to the temple.
The temple is massive. Over 100 temples all dedicated to Buddha in his many forms. Beautiful and serene but busy with devotees and tourists. The complex is still being added to and it was great to see and stroll around. It was hot. Very very hot but neither of us complained as we know in a few days we will be making our way back to good old Blighty and Crispy HQ.
After several hours we caught the bus back to Georgetown and strolled around the local area with a couple of cheeky beers thrown in. The backstreets of Georgetown are full of street art. A bit like a Malaysian Banksy has been let to run wild with his paint and brushes. They are very good and a big draw with the locals and tourists alike. We spent a while looking for these.
Tomorrow is our last day in Georgetown and I’m not sure what we are going to do yet. Something will present itself to stop Crispy getting bored. She’s easy to please, bless her.
We got a message from home yesterday and it seems that I have been awarded honours from Provincial Grand Lodge. I am now PPrSGD WBro Peter Idle. Wooooo get me. Feck knows how that happened but I am pleased to recieve it.
Bare and Crispy signing off, New Years Day, Georgetown, Malaysia 🇲🇾
Today we had planned on catching a bus to the Kek Lok Si temple complex outside of Georgetown on Penang Hill. It is the biggest Buddhist complex in the entire South East Asia region. A must see by all accounts. After breakfast we set out for the central bus terminus at Komtar. We were not sure if any buses would be running today but fingers crossed we made our way across town.
The buses were running as it turned out but on a reduced service. 2 ringit saw us on our way. As the services were reduced the bus was standing room only for the 30 minute ride to the temple.
The temple is massive. Over 100 temples all dedicated to Buddha in his many forms. Beautiful and serene but busy with devotees and tourists. The complex is still being added to and it was great to see and stroll around. It was hot. Very very hot but neither of us complained as we know in a few days we will be making our way back to good old Blighty and Crispy HQ.
After several hours we caught the bus back to Georgetown and strolled around the local area with a couple of cheeky beers thrown in. The backstreets of Georgetown are full of street art. A bit like a Malaysian Banksy has been let to run wild with his paint and brushes. They are very good and a big draw with the locals and tourists alike. We spent a while looking for these.
Tomorrow is our last day in Georgetown and I’m not sure what we are going to do yet. Something will present itself to stop Crispy getting bored. She’s easy to please, bless her.
We got a message from home yesterday and it seems that I have been awarded honours from Provincial Grand Lodge. I am now PPrSGD WBro Peter Idle. Wooooo get me. Feck knows how that happened but I am pleased to recieve it.
Bare and Crispy signing off, New Years Day, Georgetown, Malaysia 🇲🇾
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