Penang 2024 - Wesak Day Spending the Day with 3rd Aunt

 

After all the walking, I was feeling pretty good about the day, so I decided to give my aunt a tea treat at one of the nicest cafe in the area, Kakfa. It's a place without a sign, and you would only know it if you have googled about cafe around the area, or if someone has brought you there before. 

I was dehydrated, so I ordered an ice lychee with lime. It was super expensive, yet super refreshing and delicious. But my aunt did nag me about how I could probably just make the same drink at home with 20% of the cost of the drink! Lol. She does have a point, so I now have two cans of soda water and a tin of lychee at home most days :P

I also ordered an onde-onde cake to share with my aunt. I actually wanted her to try the cempedak cake, but like those yuppy cafe, their cakes are as unpredictable as their cafe's longevity in the business :P

My aunt had a oat milk ice chocolate, and I love the message written on the cup. Yes, You're Awesome! And indeed, it was an awesome day for us :) Happy Wesak Day Everyone!

Penang 2024 - Wesak Day Buddhist Art

 

This post is just a collection of Buddhist art I saw at the Wesak Day Exhibition. I though some of simple yet lovely, so I wanted to document it here so that they may inspire me one day to make my own art. Or like those below that has a meaningful story or saying in each, along with the art. Do click to enlarge to read the wordings in each work. Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!

Penang 2024 - Wesak Week at Penang Malaysian Buddhist Association

The final stop of our Wesak Week Walk, was at the Penang Malaysian Buddhist Association at Burmah Road. This was also the location where the Wesak Day Float Processing would start and end. Hence this was the place the last float, which was of Buddha is housed. Above it what it looked like, just as I've remembered it since I was a young child. Certain things in Penang never changes.  

Devotees and volunteers where busy decorating the float with fresh flowers. The weather was super hot when we visited. I was amazed at how they are going to keep the flower fresh until Wesak Day itself, which was probably a few days from our visit.

Which visiting, we also saw there was a Buddhist exhibition at the hall above, so we made our way there. This was the first time I went to the hall. I used to attend Malay lessons here for free during my SPM years as I was afraid I might not pass my Malay exam paper, and my parents were too poor to afford proper tuition for me. The tuition classes provided here were free of charge. 

The Buddhist exhibition was of Buddhist art, paintings, wood carving, and some recycling repurpose products. I was told they have classes teaching students how to make these, and you were free to join their activities.  While admiring some of the paintings here, some of the nuns came to talk to us, at first in Mandarin. When I told them my aunt can't understand Mandarin, they spoke to her in Hokkien instead. And that's when I realise, my aunt can't understand much of their Hokkien too, cause our Penang Nyonya Hokkien was slightly different from theirs :P 

I had quite an interesting time chatting with the nun at some of the exhibition area. Nuns and monks can't lie, and they are often direct and honest, so I felt free to ask them anything I am curious about. And I learned so many fascinating thing from my conversation with a young nun there, from her Buddhist education, to her life at the temple etc. But as she spoke only in Mandarin, my aunt decided to wander off, and eventually came back to pull me away, lol.

My aunt pulled me away to a Tibet Buddhist area, cause she found someone who could speak to her in English and was excited for him to explain everything to me too. Again, I was fascinated by talking to the people attending the exhibition there. A young man walked me thru the exhibit, but since he knew I also speak Mandarin, he also tend to switch between English and Mandarin :(  I learned so much mystical information about the Tibet Buddhism. 

For example, the above are Tibet Buddhist charms, that a senior monk might make and pass to a junior monk. And each charm has a unique pattern, and maybe a different meaning or spells? Everything was so fascinating, yet complicated for me. I left the exhibition feeling that it was a day well spent!

Side note, the MBA building is actually just next to this Lee Kong building. This place holds much nostalgic memories for me, cause I used to follow my dad here every Sunday to play badminton. Often I was also rewarded with a Fanta orange drink here. There were also one or two arcade game here. And it was just fun coming here cause the hall it self was a fun place for me. To play, to watch people play badminton, to run around and filled my mind with imagination of the halls, the backstage, the halls etc. Good memories :)

Penang 2024 - Wesak Week Temple Visit Part 2

 

The second temple in our Wesak Week Walk, was just opposite the first one, which is the Burmese temple. This temple is less famous, newer, and more fancy, but it also has one of the nicest Buddha hall inside. However, I don't have a photo of it for this post, hehe. Above, the Wesak Day Buddhist Flag flying among the gold roof of the temple. 

Above is the main hall of the Burmese temple. It is a lot more different than the Siamese ones. But the hall I like is the newer hall in front of the temple that has a huge marble standing Buddha.

As it was holy week for the Buddhist, there were a lot of offering in the temple. Above is taken in one of the hall in the middle of the huge pond inside the temple. I also always feed the fish here and the other ponds whenever I visit this place. 

The deco here, is Burmese style. Above, a bright blue coloured wooden door with a golden heavenly being? And pink lotus. Love the vibrant colour of it.

There are some art pieces for sale at the front of the temple. I like the simplicity of these art pieces. I like seeing monks in robes. I think they stand out in any environment they are in. 

Above, one of the old original house of a monk in the temple ground. It's such a Burmese style house, like a village house. I'm happy that they decided to keep it as it is, cause it kinda give you an idea of the past just by looking at it.

You could also go up one of the building at the back of the temple (you can use the lift here), and get an ariel view of the temple ground, as well as the Siamese temple opposite. It is a surreal landscape, cause the two temples are surrounded by houses and high rise buildings all around it. 

We took a lunch break at one of the coffee shop in Pulau Tikus town, before heading to our next Thai temple which is located at the end of Perak Road. Above is my aunt, walking in the gates of the main entrance of the temple. Here, a few of my relatives' urns can be found, mainly my first, fourth and fifth uncle, my cousin's dad, my aunt's husband (an memorial urn without ashes as his ashes were released into the ocean). and some distance aunt as well. I think once my aunt passed on, no one would really remember all these relatives any more. They would all be forgotten as if they have never existed....

The main guardian found in the center surrounded by the buildings housing all the urns. 

There are a lot of other features in this temple, but I didn't take any photos in this trip. Except for the above two gold and white elephant placed in the middle of an old tree. They just kinda pop out at me, so I decided to snap this photo. And now they will forever appear in my blog.

Penang 2024 - Wesak Week Temple Visit Part 1

It has been ages since I attended the Wesak Day Procession in Penang. As the procession is held at night, and I don't have my own transport, it wasn't really convenient for me to attend, even when I am now staying in Penang. So I decided to do the next best thing, which is to visit all the temples around the area during Wesak Week. I invited my 80+ aunty to join me, and she was more than happy to say yes.

 

We started our little Wesak Week pilgrimage at the Siamese Temple at Pulau Tikus as this was where my paternal grandmother's urn was housed. We took a Grab there, and went in to pay our respect. I've been coming here more often now that I'm back in Penang. It used to be a place for family reunion during Hungry Ghost and Cheng Beng festival. But now, the most was just me, my aunt, and maybe my cousin coming here occasionally. 

Above is my aunt, inside the temple. It also houses one of the largest sleeping Buddha in South East Asia. And underneath it is where all the urns are kept, as well as at the back of it. My grandma's urn is placed here. There is a fortune telling machine there, and it's just a custom for me to go play with it and read my fortune for the year. 

Outside the main temple, there is also a smaller hall housing various Goddess of Mercy, as well as one gigantic one. It's always fun to come here just before Chinese New Year when they give the Goddess a bath and dresses her for the New Year.

Behind the statue are various Buddhist art pieces. I like the one above, for the colour scheme, as well as the lotus flower.

The opposite of the Goddess of the Mercy Hall, is another hall with a sitting Buddha in it. This one was more Thai influence in deco. 

The hall is decorated with various Thai art, like the above wooden window door, beautifully crafted from wood and painted gold.

Or this shinning blue mosaic piece of what looked like an old lady walking in the forest. 

We also went behind where the huge golden pagoda is. My aunt's brother in law's urn is placed here. Again, this is more a Thai influence deco.  I also love the art piece drawn on the ceiling. 

Above, the main idol. Love the space and emptiness of the hall. I sat here with my aunt and we chit chat for almost half an hour before moving on to our next temple. I like spending my time with my aunt, as I felt that it was easier to talk to her cause most of my cousins are all hard of hearing. My aunt also loves to walk, so that made her a good companion for me. However as she ages, I am more careful of where I took her, and often include Grab rides in our outing. It wasn't that she can't walk long distance. I was more worried about her rushing across the roads in Penang and falling down. I wonder how long more I would be able to spend my time with her....