We stayed in Georgetown the capital of Penang which is a UNESCO world heritage site and has a real mix of European and Asian styles of architecture.
One of the nicest chinese style buildings we visited was the Cheah Kongsi which was completed in 1873. A Kongsi is a clan house built by Chinese immigrants who share the same family name and live outside of mainland China.
Another was the Peranakan Mansion which was the home of a rich Chinese merchant and has been restored and furnished as it would have been early in the 20th century.
Kek Lok Si is the biggest Buddhist Temple in South East Asia.
Building of the the main temple was started in 1890 but in 2002 the 30m statue of the Greatly Compassionate and Sagely Kuan Yin Avalokitesvara (sounds like quite a lot to live up to) was added.
We made a donation towards a new roof for the statue, the tile below will be used in the build. Luckily we didn't have to climb 30+ metres and fit it ourselves.
We visited Penang Botanical Gardens, the gardens were nothing special but the monkeys that live there were quite amusing.
We arrived in Penang by bridge but left by ferry, it's New Years Eve and we're off to experience our first land border crossing into Thailand. Hopefully we won't be seeing in the New Year at the border!
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