MALAYSIA – GEORGE TOWN – An Old Lady with a Backpack

DECEMBER 26-30, 2025

George Town is another UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its unique cultural fusion of Malay, Chinese, Indian and British. It is the capital of the state of Penang. It was founded by Francis Light on July 17, 1786, when he first set foot at what is now Fort Cornwallis in the current downtown area.

We took a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth, then a ferry to Penang Island. We went to FORT CORNWALLIS, but it was closed for renovations. All we saw were some cannons poking over the walls.

We walked along the sea shore

and past ESPLANADE PARK, where we saw some old men laughing under a tree. In days gone by, during the Chinese New Year, on a full moon night, this park was host to a romantic ritual. A group of typically cloistered young women would come out to throw oranges into the sea wishing for a good husband. Meanwhile, the young men finally caught a glimpse of the ladies, and would make enquiries that might lead to marriage. Some traditions are so cute!

At night the park trees were lit up.

The EPITAPH honoured fallen soldiers from some battles we had never heard of, such as the Malayan Emergency, Indonesian Confrontation, and Re-Insurgency Period. We promised to research them later.

Our luck was bad for places being closed this day. We covered a lot of ground and merely took a lot of pictures of the outside of buildings.

We poked our noses into the super expensive EASTERN & ORIENTAL HOTEL. Rooms start at $700/night.

We almost thought the OLD PROTESTANT CEMETERY was closed, too; until we found an open gate. Captain Francis Light is buried here. It took us a while to find it, even with a map. It is stuffed in between a bunch of other tombs.

One tombstone had a story on it. This poor fellow was “murdered at Panghore, by a gang of Chinese robbers.”

We walked down CAMPBELL STREET MALL, Chinatown’s Fifth Avenue. We didn’t buy anything.

We did see this decked out Volkswagen.

The YAP TEMPLE was open.

We were amazed by the intricate designs on the pillars.

We thought the Yap Temple was amazing; but the KHOO KONGSI MANSION had us blown away.

The Khoo Kongsi is a clan association that were already wealthy traders in Penang before the British arrived in 1752. Their wealth and influence continued to grow. They were organized and powerful, but also generous. In their clan village they had self-government, an education system, financial institutions, and social organisations that took care of the welfare of its people.

Modern strategies and ideas of the 21st century have weakened the role of many clans. Khoo Kongsi lost the important social activities and functions that it once held. This clan temple was built in 1906 when the Khoo clan was at the height of wealth and eminence in Penang society.

For clarification, “clan” means a Chinese social organization, business, or other various Chinese institutions. The members shared a common descent, dialect or from the same district. They can trace their family tree back 1000 years!

The mansion had so many intricate carvings it was impossible to find an area without something. It was too much to take it all in.

Even exterior the walls and windows were covered.

The next day we took a GRAB (like our UBER but way cheaper) to the FUNICULAR to PENANG HILL.

Captain Francis Light first came up this hill by horse in order to plant strawberries. It was known as Strawberry Hill for a long time. The hill became a cool retreat for the British colonists from the heat of the lowlands as well as the threat of malaria. Many bungalows were built on Hill for government servants and army officials. A convalescent home was even built in 1803.

It is still a cool retreat for locals, but has turned into tourist trap. Although there was a Temple and Mosque, there were more souvenir vendors, food stalls, restaurants and silly side shows.

We went into an exhibit where we experienced a massive earthquake. I must admit, it was pretty good. The room shook while we watched videos of earthquakes on a screen. We were safe in the exhibit, but it sure made us think about what it must be like for those who are actually having the roof cave in.

We grew tired of the touristy vibe and headed back down into town. While we were waiting for the funicular, we saw a large Malaysian squirrel in a tree.

We had spotted a huge temple on a hill not too far from the Funicular when we were still in the taxi. It was only 2 km away, and there was a good portion of the day left to kill, so we headed in that direction.

Just outside of KEK LOK SI TEMPLE was a pond stuffed with turtles. Turtles symbolize longevity, strength, wisdom, and good fortune in Asian cultures. Buddhist liberated the turtles in this sacred place as a meritorious act of compassion, which brings good karma. Visitors used to, also, release turtles into the pond, but this caused an overpopulation and the temple now discourages the practice. However, people still feed them and it has become a tourist attraction.

There were some very pretty stone bridges across from the turtles.

If we thought the previous temple / mansion was amazing, this one was spectacular! It is the larges Buddhist temple in Malaysia and a pilgrimage site for Buddhists from all over SE Asia. The entire complex of temples was built over a period from 1890-1930, an inspiration of an abbot.

The main feature is the “Ban Po Thar” or “Pagoda of the Ten Thousand Buddhas“. It is 30-metre (98 ft) high and was completed in 1930. This pagoda has a Chinese octagonal base, a Thai middle tier, and a Burmese crown, reflecting the harmonious blend of Buddhism.

It’s called the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas because there are about 10,000 alabaster and bronze Buddha statues inside.

There are about 200 steps to reach the top.

Another main feature is a 30.2-metre (99 ft) tall bronze statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. She is housed in a 60.9 metre (200 ft) three-tiered roof pavilion with 16 columns made of bronze. The columns are all intricately carved.

Behind and around Guanyin were 100 smaller statues of the goddess, each of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) height.

There were numerous other temples within the complex. Each having their own distinct charm and beauty.

All of the temples had a prayer ribbon tree. For a small fee, you could buy a colourful ribbon with a specific prayer written on it, or you could write your own, then place it on the tree. We bought ribbons for Family to be Safe, Bodily Health, Coming and Going Safely, World Peace, and Favourable Results. There were candles to be purchased too, but we liked the ribbons.

It is still a working monastery with 11 monks residing there. The site was huge and it took us several hours to see the entire thing. There was a funicular to take people to the top, but we chose to walk the long, steep hills.

We came upon a Chinese wedding. The bride and groom were decked out in traditional attire. They were beautiful.

That evening we went out for a walk, and fortuitously made a wrong turn. We came upon a closed street that had wedding parties every few feet. They graciously let me take pictures of their beautiful, colourful, and matching outfits. One wedding party insisted we pose with them. It was all so much fun!

We often end up posing with people, at their request. I don’t know if they are just super friendly, which they are, or if we are so unusual looking to them, it is like posing with a strange animal. Either way, we always have some laughs, we gave them some Canada pins, and sometimes exchange contact information.

The next day was our last day in George Town. We decided to simply wander the streets near our hotel. We came upon an open house at a fire station. Interestingly, they deploy motorcycles with fire fighting ability before the main fire truck. The motorcycle can get there faster and contain the fire, while the truck is enroute.