Kek Lok Si Buddhist temple in Penang, Malaysia 11 Mar 2017

Posted on 11 Mar 2017

Buddhist temple Kek Lok Si in Penang

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The Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang, Malaysia, is the country's largest Buddhist temple. The site's architecture and services combine Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism and Chinese traditions. One of the best examples of this is the seven-tiered pagoda (the pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas). It is layered with Chinese, Thai and Burmese style tiers.

Housed within the complex are millions of Buddha images and hundreds of carvings and sculptures, including a 30-metre tall statue of Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy. The temple complex is also home to shops selling religious memorabilia and cafés.

Tour Penang, adding a stop at Kek Lok Si Temple, on Insight Guides’ Taking in The Splendour of Malaysia trip.

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Mike Fuchslocher/Shutterstock

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My husband and I always dreamt about a trip to Thailand and Rough Guides helped us putting together a perfect holidays. I messaged them with all things we would like to do - from yoga to scuba diving, temples, food, elephants, chat with monks! We had all mixed up and a personal trip advisor was so patient and knowledgeable and designed a total tailored private program for us. We went to Bangkok (Capella hotel), Chiang Mai (137 Pillars) and finally to Phuket (Rosewood). I just confess that we were a bit skeptical to pay all hotels and domestic flights directly to RGuides but everything went absolutely smooth. The local guides were so helpful - I guess that’s Thai hospitality anyway. We have packed the days too much with pre planned activities though. We ended up dropping one of the them (excursion to one of the islands near Phuket) so we could enjoy the hotel. We downloaded an app called grab a taxi (similar to Uber) and it was super easy to go everywhere with that. We also got a SIM card in the airport when we landed and had connectivity the whole period. I was hot spotting on my husbands phone and the solution worked for both of us. Avoid the temptation to have expensive massage in hotels. Best massage is at the streets! Can’t wait to travel with Rough Guides again :)

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