Kek Lok Si Temple Penang 15 Dec 2010

 

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After our visit to the Thai and Burmese Temples, we headed to the Penang's most popular attraction, the Kek Lok Si Temple. And it is said to be the biggest and most beautiful Buddhist temple complex in Malaysia. It is also one of the first being built in the South East Asia region. Driving and passing through all the small stalls along the hillside way up to the temple, really feels like just want to stop the van and come down and shop…There are a lot of food stalls too…Yummy…yummy…

Arguably the largest and most beautiful Buddhist temple complex in Malaysia, the Kek Lok Si temple, which is also referred to as the 'Temple of Supreme Bliss' or the 'Pure Land Temple', covers the expanse of a sloping, east-facing hillside at Air Itam, just to the west of the city of Georgetown.

As we walked into the temple's compound, we quickly noticed that there is a big and huge a 30.2m bronze statue of the Kuan Yin which replaced the previous white plaster Kuan Yin statue which was damaged due to a fire a few years earlier. The bronze statue is located on the hillside above the pagoda while the head of the previous statue which survived the fire is preserved and placed on the right hand corner of the new statue.

There is an additional ornate shelter for the Kuan Yin statue was constructed. 16 carved dragon pillars were built, carrying the top of three concentric octagonal roof. The Kuan Yin stand still on the hillside and overseeing the beautiful Penang Island.

There are large boulders that bear inscriptions of Chinese verses, beautiful sculptures which represents the 12 Chinese Horoscope. The serene air and peaceful ambience of the compound grounds reflects the tranquillity borne of meditation and prayers within the temple's interior. The children were most happy to see the big compounds and the koi inside the pond.

One of the most impressive feature of the temple is the 'Ban Po That Pagoda', or the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas. As the name goes, this pagoda is made of octagonal tiers adorned with quite a number of statues of the Buddha. This pagoda was built in honour of Bodhisattva Tsi Tsuang Wang, an enlightened soul who, despite having attained the state, declined to enter Nirvana and chose, instead, to help bring others to salvation.

There is an inclined lift which carry the visitors up and down the hill. The kids had their first experience of sitting the lift, it was quite a fun one, as they can see through the clear tempered glass window. There is a souvenirs shop and a few praying halls, but we just do not have much time and rush for our next and last destination – the Snake Temple…Szzzz…

Source from http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/

Dharmikarama Burmese Temple Penang 15 Dec 2010

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After Wat Chayamangkalaram, we just walked across the street, is another place of serenity that invites meditation and much appreciation of the Buddhist religion, the Dharmikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple. It is a famous Burmese temple in Georgetown City in Penang too.

It is under renovation when we were there, upon entering the temple, there are pieces of crafts stones on the floor, all over the place laying in front of pillars. The children just ran freely in the temple.

The temple holds dear the image of Buddha in every corner. From the many statues of Buddha in different poses of meditation, donated by temple devotees, to the beautiful murals depicting scenes from the journey of Prince Siddhartha before he finally became Buddha and reached the state of Nirvana.

One of the most notable features found in the temple is the pair of Panca Rupa, or 'Guardian Protectors of the World', standing over a replica of the world globe. These mystical beasts are said to be the masters of water, land and air, with appendages of various animals – the head of a lion with a trunk like an elephant, body of fish, wings of the mystical Garuda, ears and hooves of a horse and horns of a deer.

There is a charming fish pond and Boddhi tree within the pagoda grounds.

The first Buddhist temple in Penang, the Dhamikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple was consecrated in 1805. One of two major Buddhist temples located within the Theravada Buddhist (mainly of Thai and Burmese origin) enclave surrounding Burma Lane, the Dhamikarama temple was built on land donated by a Buddhist devotee known as Nyonya Betong.

The temple is also the place to be, since many festivities such as Wesak Day and the Water Festival (known as Thankyan) are celebrated with worshippers young and old splashing water at each other and at passers-by in much the same fashion as the 'Songkhra' festival celebrated in Thailand.

There are small souvenirs stalls just in front of the entrance of the temple, selling various of souvenirs from range of key chains, small Buddha statues, T-Shirts, umbrellas, etc.

Brother Andrew and sister-in-law Minah even went for some ritual ceremony which believe by the followers can earn some good luck by doing so.

Source from http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/

Wat Chayamangkalaram Penang 15 Dec 2010

We reached Penang really early in the morning, it is around 5am in the morning when we managed found our hotel – Hard Rock Hotel Penang. We not allow to check in first, and yet still have a lot of time before we can…12 noon. Thus, Andrew decided to appoint a tour guide for us to have a short trip and use our time fully.

But, first of all, we went for our breakfast at the 24 hours open Mamak shop near our hotel. We had our nasi lemak, teh tarik, kopi-O, teh-O, roti canai, roti planta, etc. Then, we went back to our hotel lobby and waited for our tour guide.

Our tour guide named Dave. He came with a van, to accommodate 3 families, ha-ha…Due to it is considered as 4 hours tour in the city, so we decided to go the attractions which is further from our hotel, whereby the nearer we can visit there on our own. So, the first place to go is Wat Chaiyamangkalaram, a Thai Buddhist temple.

There were not much people there while we reaching there, it is still early in the morning. The temple volunteers were busy sweeping the courtyard. There is two dragons just in front of the temple, both is at left and right positions. There are two sort of semi gods at the entrance of the Main Wat, like protecting the temple.

Wat Chaiyamangkalaram (also Chayamangkalaram or Chaiya Mangkalaram) is one of the most resplendent Buddhist temples in the state. The outwardly Thai architecture applying vibrant colours and designs, this temple which is located towards the northern end of Georgetown, is sprawled over a five-acre land.

Its interiors are adorned with a great number of Buddha statues. The most impressive feature of the Wat is the statue of the reclining Buddha, draped with a gold-leafed robe, measuring some 33 metres, which is said to be one of the largest in the world. According to Buddhist beliefs, the posture assumed by the reclining Buddha in the Wat Chaiya, with his head resting in the palm of the right hand, while the head is turned upwards, signifies enlightenment or Nirvana. Underneath the reclining Buddha are niches where ashes of the deceased are kept.

Much of the structures and statues found here are either painted or gilded with gold. There is a nine-storey pagoda standing 50.3m high, said to be the tallest of its kind in Malaysia. Other attractions include enormous dragon serpents, sprawling from the balustrades of the temple's entrance towards the meditation hall. According to legend, these serpents are the link between heaven and earth. Contrary to western beliefs, Oriental mythology holds that serpents and dragons are propitious beings, and are not to be feared.

In the temple grounds, one will also come upon gruesome-looking looking, green-faced beings referred to as Dewas, standing guard before the temple entrance.

The Wat Chaiya was built in 1845 on five acres of land donated by Queen Victoria to the Thai community. The 'open policy' under the administration of Francis Light, invited many settlers from all over the region including from Burma and Thailand. Until today, the areas surrounding Wat Chaiyamangkalaram are populated by Penang's Thai minority. The first monk who served at this temple was a Theravada Buddhist monk from Thailand, Phorthan Kuat, also known as the "Powerful Monk", who was said to have been quite fond of laksa, a local speciality dish of Penang. No wonder there are some laksa in front of the monk statue.

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At the side of the Main Wat, there is a library and a function hall. We did took a group photo in front of the temple before we adjourned to the Burmese Temple just across the street.

Source from http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/

Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam 12 Dec 2010

This is the 3rd time we came to the Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam at Shah Alam.

It is still our favourite place to go during weekends if we wanted to go somewhere near with nature.

Here are some few shots for the outing today.

Disney JoJo’s Circus Exercise Time! 8 Dec 2010

Both Issac and Annabelle are big fans of JoJo!

JoJo is a curious 6-year-old clown who lives with her family and friends in Circus Town.

"JoJo's Circus" teaches kids about movement using games, songs, colourful circus characters and funny storylines.

Viewers are encouraged to walk, run, dance, jump, climb and move with JoJo and all the characters in Circus Town.

Issac and Annabelle love it so much! Every time when the TV showing “JoJo’s Circus”, they would start running and sit in front of the TV.

Normally, JoJo would invite the children or the viewers to exercise with her, of coarse with some cute movements!

Both would be shake their bodies and laughing at the same time! They are having so much fun!

   

Taman Wetland Putrajaya 7 Dec 2010

After our Muzium Alam Semulajadi outing, we came to Taman Wetland Putrajaya.

We were a bit surprise as Putrajaya have a wetland park like this. It is a good starting point to explore Putrajaya Wetlands is to visit Taman Wetland.

As the gateway to the wetlands area, Taman Wetland house a Nature Interpretation Centre and a 25 meter high look-out tower which offers a bird's eye view of Putrajaya.

Within the park, there are two marked trails with interpretative boards, a flamingo pond, picnic areas and other public amenities.

Taman Wetland is also a wildlife sanctuary, attracting a wide variety of animals to the combined terrestrial-aquatic wetland environment.

Several species of local marshland birds and water birds and migratory birds form Northern Hemisphere have been spotted here.

Putrajaya Wetlands, believed to be the largest constructed freshwater wetlands in the tropics, is the first one of its kind in Malaysia.

Where geology, hydrology and biology have created natural wetlands, the Putrajaya Wetland carved out from rubber and oil palm plantations are the original landscape here at Putrajaya.

We were enjoying our leisure walk here. We climb up to the look-out tower, and really enjoyed the view of the Putrajaya Wetlands.

We had some drinks and snacks while enjoying the breeze and the windy weather. Daddy took some shots on the flowers here.

We really happy for our Putrajaya outing.

Muzium Alam Semulajadi 7 Dec 2010

Today is Awal Muharam national holiday. Even though all of us is still under the AH1N1 medication, Daddy decided to brig us to Putrajaya for a walk. The first thing that came to Mummy’s mind was the museum that last time, Mummy used to pass by so many times but did not know that there is a museum besides the job site. We headed to Putrajaya.

The Natural History Museum in Precint 15, Putrajaya was established as one of the governments initiatives in collecting, documenting as well as to exhibit the Malaysia's naturals heritage such as the plants, animals, rocks, minerals and fossil, some of which are the country's invaluable treasures.

The Natural History Museum acts as a resource for informal science education and is dedicated to expand the public's knowledge and be beneficial to the people of Malaysia, as well as our respected tourist from all over the world. The museum is home to a variety of specimens comprising of extinct and endangered species of the flora and fauna, as well as those which are still in existence, in order to serve one of its objectives that is to preserve the naturals heritage of Malaysia.

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It is so happened that currently there is a Malaysian Mammals Exhibition going on which started on 1 Feb 2010 until 31 Dec 2010. The entry fees is RM2.00 per adult. The exhibition showcased  some selections from the various types of mammals.

Among  the attraction is the skeleton of a Bryde whale which carcass  was found stranded in Kampung Tanjung Aru beach, Federal Territory of Labuan on 2 February 2005. In addition to that, tiger, Sun Bear, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Asian Elephant, Mainland Serow and the "living fossil" of a tapir are some of the  protected animals at the verge of extinction,  can also be found in this exhibition. We can find bats, squirrels and otter too in the exhibitions.

At the centre of the hall, there is a children reading corner and multimedia corner whereby the kids can do some reading. Both kids were so happy and like the place, running up and down, here and there. They were enjoying all the times there.

Both Issac and Annabelle keep asking Daddy to snap photos on them with the exhibits and some tigers, cheetah soft toys too.

Source from http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/ & http://www.jmm.gov.my/