Tag Archives: Malaysia

48 hrs in Penang, Malaysia – Itinerary 

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We landed in Penang at around 3 pm on a Friday and departed from there at 8 pm on Sunday. I am sharing our itinerary with you, along with some alternative that you can choose. 

Day 1: 

16:45 hrs: Check-in to Hotel (Stay near Georgetown and not in Batu Ferringhi area if you want to cover more places in a short time) We stayed at Evergreen Laurel Hotel. 

17:00 hrs: Leave for a Hindu temple tour: 

  • Thanneer Malai / Waterfall Hill Sri Bala Thandayuthapani Temple (Situated on a hill which can be reached by climbing 500 steps) 
  • Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple 
  • Nattukottai Chettiar Temple – dedicated to Lord Muruga 

20:00 hrs: Back to Hotel or explore the Georgetown area 

Day 2: 

10:00 hrs – 14:00 hrs: Explore Penang Hill 

Penang Hill (known also by the name Bukit Bendera in Malay or Kodi Malai in Tamil) recently received UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status. 

  • Take the Funicular Train to Penang Hill from its base
  • Sri AruLoLi Thirumurugan Temple   
  • Masjid Bukit Bendera 
  • 32-pounder Canon
  • Viewpoints 
  • The Habitat 
  • Langur Way Canopy Walk 
  • Curtis Crest Tree Top Walk

14:30 hrs: Lunch at Woodlands Restaurant, Little India

15:00 hrs – 17:00 hrs: Explore UNESCO World Heritage Zone of Georgetown by walk

(Will take an hour more if you go inside each place) 

  • Little India 
  • Goddess of Mercy Temple
  • St. George’s Anglican Church 
  • Kapitan Keling Mosque 
  • Yap Khongsi Taoist Temple
  • Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple 
  • Cathedral of the Assumption
  • Armenian Street – Best place for souvenir shopping  
  • Street Art of Georgetown
  • Chew Jetty 
  • Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower 
  • Fort Cornwallis 

17:30 hrs: Back to hotel to take a break from the sweltering sun 

19:00 hrs – 20:30 hrs – Explore the rest of the Georgetown World Heritage zone 

  • Bengali Mosque
  • Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion 
  • Han Jiang Ancestral Temple / Teochew Temple 
  • Pinang Peranakan Mansion 
  • Sri Mariamman Temple

Day 3: 

7:30 hrs – 8:30 hrs: Catch the sunrise

While the lazy-me chose to do this right from my hotel room since we got a sea-facing room, you can start early and visit Batu Ferringhi beach to catch a sunrise over the beach. 

09:00 hrs – 12 noon: Go Buddhist temple-hopping or visit Penang National Park 

09:00 hrs: Visit Buddha temples in Burma Road 

  • Reclining Buddha Wat Chaiyamangalaram 
  • Dhammikarama Burmese Temple 

10:30 hrs: Visit Kek Lok Si Buddhist Temple 

13:30 hrs: Lunch at Annalakshmi, an Indian vegetarian restaurant   

14:30 hrs: Penang Botanical Garden or visit KOMTAR or vist some malls like One Pranglin Mall & 1st Avenue Mall 

17:00 hrs: Leave for the airport  

Sri Rajamahamariamman Temple, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

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Located right in the city centre and just a few minutes walk away from J B Sentral is this Sri Rajamahamariamman Temple. Filled with huge, colourful statues and colourful paintings of Gods and Goddesses all through the temple, this temple has such a divine, vibrant atmosphere.

The atmosphere resonates outside the temple also, what with so many shops selling lovely, colourful flowers and flower garlands. The colours continue outside in the form of some shops selling colourful Indian ethnic wear too. 

As soon as you reach the entrance to the temple, beautiful statues of peacocks and elephants on the wall greet you. 

Once you enter the temple, you can see the colourful carvings of Srinivasa Kalyanam near the shoe stand. Next to the place where coconuts can be offered to God, there are statues of men throwing the coconut. With tall statues of dwarapalikas and angels on either side, a series of steps lead you to the temple. 

This temple has sanctums of the presiding deity Sri Rajamahamariamman, Krishnar, Vinayaka, Muruga, Shiva, Durga, Navagraham, Bhairavar among other Gods and Goddesses. The shrine of every God has related paintings and statues in its surrounding walls, vimanam and the ceiling outside it. Every single painting and sculpture in this temple is very beautiful and colourful.

When in Johor Bahru, do spend some time to soak in this divine atmosphere and enjoy all the lovely, colourful art.

Sri Rajakaliamman Temple, Johor Bahru, Malaysia 

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This temple in Malaysia is famously known as the glass temple (கண்ணாடி கோவில்).

The statues of Lord Vinayaka playing musical instruments are on either side of the main sanctum of Amman. 

True to its name, almost every surface here including the walls, ceilings, pillars, mandapams, doors, vimanams and gopurams are plated with glass of different colours, sizes and shapes. Small chandeliers are placed everywhere to light up the glass. 

This is relatively a small temple, but houses the shrines of Lord Vinayakar, Muruga, Rajakaliamman, Perumal, Lakshmi, Durga and also Lord Shiva and Parvati in the form of Sri Arbaneswarar and Thilgavathy Ambal. Abhishekam can be done by the devotees for this Atma Lingam. 

There are statues of many saints like Sai Baba, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramalinga Adigalar, Raghavendra, Buddha and Guru Nanak. 

There are some colourful, beautiful statues like that of Hanuman, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shiva, Amman and Nataraja. 

This temple is open from 7 am till 12 noon and 7 am till 10 pm . It’s located about 10 minutes walk away from J B Sentral, Johor Bahru. Even on a Saturday morning, there were no visitors to this temple and it had a calm atmosphere.