This is another port on the Straits of Malacca on the island of Penang. It was founded by the British as a trading center for tea and opium. The main city is Georgetown, named in honor of George III and is the site of Fort Cornwallis, named after the general that lost at Yorktown in the American Revolution. The city looks like any of a thousand other Asian cities that were created in colonial times by any of ten different European countries. This city just never had the resources to become a Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.
Our ship’s tour takes us to Penang Hill, a 2000 foot hill which dominates the city. We reach the summit of the hill via a funicular railroad which speeds us to the top in less than 15 minutes. Our view from the top includes, Georgetown, the harbor between the city and the mainland, the container port on the mainland and the bridge across to the mainland. The bridge is the reason our ship had to circle around the north end of the island to reach Georgetown. The top of the hill also included a botanical garden with a number of fancy birds, an upscale hotel and an amusement park. We were up there for about an hour before our guide rounded us up for the trip down the hill.
The next stop on the tour was to Kek Lok Si Temple with its spectacular Pagoda of the 10,000 Buddhas. To visit this temple, you approach via a set of stairs lined with shops and restaurants. Sandra and I started up this set of stairs, but Sandra’s legs gave out. I went a bit further up to a courtyard before my legs gave out. From the courtyard, I could see the rest of our group further up the stairs. I turned around and went back to where Sandra was waiting. We then finished the walk down to the bus. We spent additional time walking around the bottom of the temple and viewed a pond of turtles. I am not sure of the significance of the turtles. Still waiting for the rest of the group to come down, we shared a beer at a local open air restaurant.
Our group finally arrived back at the bus. Some were exhausted from the climb. There was some sort of small train at the top of the stairs to take people to the very top of the pagoda. However, the trained required a ticket that did not come with the tour. Some folks did not have any local currency, so did not reach the end of the journey. We returned to the ship without seeing much more of the city. By the way, this was a Sunday and most shops and venues were closed.
Our next destination is the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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| Kek Lok Si Temple |
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| Cruise Pier at Penang |
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| Kek Lok Si Temple |
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| Funicular up Penang Hill |
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| At the top of Penang Hill |
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| The fort at Penang |
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| Fancy Bird |
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| Funicular Line up the hill |
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| From the top of the hill |
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