A Malaysian Photo And Travel Blog

I boarded a train (Langkawi Express, economy class, RM17 ticket) to Butterworth, Penang that last for 9 hours long. A cheap ride to Penang...but again I made a BIG MISTAKE by taking a night train. The train journey was one hell of an experience. Sitting for 9 hours long can be a tormenting experience to your buttocks! I can't even catch a short nap due to continuous streams of noises circulating all over the economy coach. I don't mind sounds created from the trains vibrating engine. The worst noise polluters were young teenage riders from small towns that board the train in the wee hours. These chaps were a bunch of hooligans with no sense of respect to other passengers. They were joking, talking out aloud and trying so hard to get people's attention on their insensible actions. I just wanna stand up and shout "You bunch of fuckers! Shut the hell up! Can't you see people are trying to sleep? - FUCKERS!"

The train finally arrived at Butterworth station by 6.20 am. I proceed to the jetty to buy a one way ticket worth RM1. I simply enjoyed the jetty ride to Georgetown, Penang. The ferry is a huge vehicle with lots of comfortable seats for passengers and also lower compartment to carry motor vehicles. It was a breezy day. The morning view of Penang's sea through the ferry was simply breathtaking. The 20 minutes ++ ferry ride was too short for me. I was talking to an elderly Indian Penangite to learn more about Penang. He told me "The food and drinks in Penang is absolutely and always cheaper than those available in Kuala Lumpur. Well, let see...

On Day 1 of my journey, I visited numerous temples and kongsi in Penang. Wat Chaiyamangalaram is the first temple I visited. To be honest, I am an atheist or to be precise a pure humanist. I can only believe science is the ultimate answer. It will always supersede religion. Spending a good two hours in the Penang largest Thai Temple, I noticed Penangites Chinese are a bunch of people that really believe in the existence of GOD. Wherever I go in Penang Island, I can see people praying and they are dead serious in their routines.

This Chaiya temple really amazes me. The God idols in the exterior of the temples are decorated with shiny and blink blink ornaments - a vibrant display colours and artistic design. The carvings and motifs are work of artisan that put enormous effort to create real-like God statues. It was a damn hot day. I am still having a 70% sunburn all over my body. But as usual, I love the presence of bright and sunny sky - it enable me to capture lots of amazing and nice pictures. I was turning and 'twisting' my camera to get the best possible angle for my pictures.

The internal of Chaiya temple is a serene and peaceful place. The floor tiles are imprinted with repeated motifs of lily plants - a very oriental feeling. I saw a HUGE reclining Buddha at the middle of the temple. Later, I discovered the statue was only built in 1958, in conjunction with the 2500th anniversary of the birth of Buddha, at a cost of RM100,000.

There are two - three 'golden monk' in the temple. I named them the 'golden monk' because they were pasted with over hundreds of gold paper. I am not really sure whether these golden monks are the usual porcelain statues or real mummified human monks.