Sunday 14 October. Another great day; after a delicious breakfast (no confusion – it was self-serve), we hopped a cab out to the bottom of Penang Hill and caught the funicular train up to the summit for views right across Penang island and also to the mainland (where the Butterworth Air Force Base, until fairly recently a RAAF base, is situated). We visited an exotic bird park and saw the very strange Rhinoceros Hornbill which looked like it has a banana on its head, then visited the temple originally erected for the labourers involved in the building of the first railway line, and the mosque erected in 1933. We had a nice lunch at the hotel atop the mountain. It wasn’t until we had finished our meal that our waiter told us there was a snake in the foliage above our heads – “No problem”, he told us, “it’s only a viper”. Back down in the funicular, a bit of a walk, then a taxi up the very steep mountain to the Kek Lok Si temple complex. It is stupendous; the giant Goddess of Mercy statue, which must be more than thirty metres high overall; several temples and prayer halls; stone statues including one of a monkey (that’s Elizabeth on the left right); a beautiful pagoda; and a long gallery of stalls as you wind your way down to street level. A memorable experience. When we reached the bus stop we were lucky enough to meet a couple of expats who are now living on the island and they gave us a couple of tips for our last night in Penang. Back into town on the bus, a bit more shopping then back to our hotel. Venturing out now for dinner and some local entertainment.
Tomorrow: fly back to Singapore about noon, then overnight there before we return to Australia on Tuesday (sob).
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