Kek Lok Si
The Largest Buddhist Temple Complex In Malaysia, With A Pagoda That Changes Architectural Style As It Rises And A Bronze Kuan Yin Thirty Metres Tall · Air Itam, Penang
KEK LOK SI CLIMBS A HILLSIDE ABOVE AIR ITAM AND IS THE LARGEST BUDDHIST TEMPLE COMPLEX IN MALAYSIA, begun in 1891 by a Chinese abbot with the backing of Penang's merchant families. THE BUILDING TO LOOK AT IS THE PAGODA OF TEN THOUSAND BUDDHAS, AND THE THING TO NOTICE IS THAT IT CHANGES STYLE AS IT RISES: a CHINESE octagonal base, THAI middle tiers, and a BURMESE crown on top, which was a deliberate statement about Buddhism rather than an accident of taste. ABOVE IT STANDS A BRONZE KUAN YIN OF SOME THIRTY METRES under a vast pavilion, reached by an inclined lift. THE WHOLE SITE IS A CLIMB THROUGH A TUNNEL OF SOUVENIR STALLS, which puts some people off and is part of what a working Chinese temple has always been. AT CHINESE NEW YEAR IT IS LIT WITH THOUSANDS OF LANTERNS FOR A MONTH and is extraordinary. Entry is free, the pagoda and the inclined lift charge small separate fees, and mornings are cool and near-empty on a climb that is long and steep whenever you make it.
Kek Lok Si Temple, Air Itam, Penang, Air Itam, Penang, Malaysia
KEK LOK SI IS ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES FROM GEORGE TOWN AT AIR ITAM, at the foot of Penang Hill, and is easily combined with the funicular. ENTRY TO THE COMPLEX IS FREE; THE PAGODA AND THE INCLINED LIFT TO THE KUAN YIN CHARGE SEPARATE SMALL FEES. THE APPROACH CLIMBS THROUGH A COVERED MARKET of stalls and there is no way round it. MODEST DRESS IS EXPECTED and shoes are removed at the shrine halls. THE LANTERN FESTIVAL RUNS FOR ABOUT A MONTH AROUND CHINESE NEW YEAR, when the whole complex is lit after dark and the crowds and traffic are enormous - that is the best and the worst time to come. THE SITE IS STEEP AND THE CLIMB IS LONG; the inclined lift covers the top section only. Mornings are cooler and far quieter.