Penang, Malaysia

Kek Lok Si Temple

The largest Buddhist temple complex in all of Malaysia, Kek Lok Si, was built on the outskirts of George Town by Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century. The temple’s “calling card” is the seven-storey “Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda” (Ban Po Thar). It rises thirty metres into the sky and combines in its architecture and décor Chinese, Burmese and Thai motifs. At the top of the hill above the pagoda stands no less impressive a statue of the Chinese goddess of mercy, Guanyin, standing 36 metres tall. You can reach it by taking a small carriage on a recently refurbished funicular. The Kek Lok Si complex is a popular spot for Sunday strolls among George Town’s residents and its visitors-an incredibly beautiful and fascinating place that you simply must visit.

Khoo Kongsi Clan House

In the 8th century, a Chinese community began to form on Penang. The settlers from the Celestial Empire never sought to blend in with the local population; therefore, in George Town, Chinese clans did everything they could to preserve their traditions and bloodline purity. To do this, wealthy merchants built so-called clan houses-kongsi. These houses were used for meetings of elders, discussions of important matters within a large family circle, as well as religious and secular celebrations. The richest clans competed with one another in the ingenuity and sophistication of their kongsi decorations, so many of them look like imperial palaces. The most famous clan house in George Town is Khoo Kongsi, the Khoo clan house, distinguished by its luxurious furnishings and now turned into a museum.

Snake Temple

According to legend, the Temple of Serpents was built on the site of the home of a very devout and righteous man. During his lifetime, he never harmed so much as a fly-on the contrary, he gave shelter to all kinds of little animals in his home. Including venomous snakes. In 1850, a temple was built on the spot where his house had been, and the snakes promptly took it over. Among them today are also several “tourist” snakes whose venom glands have been removed. These reptiles can be picked up and posed with in front of photographers. On festival days, several times a year, the temple is literally filled with crawling creatures that gather here from all around.

Tropical Fruit Garden

In the Tropical Fruit Garden on the island of Penang, you can discover the world of tropical plantations. In the two hours of the standard tour, you will be told about and shown how the most popular tropical fruits grow: pineapples, bananas, mangoes, papayas, and even the “king of fruits”-durian. The farm is home to more than 140 varieties of fruit shrubs, trees, and herbs (yes-like, for example, bananas are nothing more than a giant fruit herb). The tour price also includes a tasting of fruits that ripen in time for your visit.

Beaches

The beaches of Penang are located along the island’s north coast. The water around the island is a bit murkier than at other beaches in Malaysia, but nevertheless you can certainly enjoy a beach holiday here. Of note is the golden beach of Batu Ferringhi. A wide variety of water sports and horseback rides are available here. Among the other excellent beaches are Teluk Bahang (“the bay of smoldering coals”) on the western edge of the island, Tanjung Bungah (“overhanging cliffs”) with giant reefs and lush vegetation, and Telun Bahang with its secluded little coves.

Butterfly Park

On a small but beautifully landscaped area of the park, there are waterfalls, ponds with crystal-clear water and fish, cozy gazebos, and winding paths. But its main attraction, of course, is the butterflies of the most diverse colors, with more than 5,000 species. The park also is home to insects, lizards, birds, and snakes. In addition to butterflies, visitors can also see scorpions, tarantulas, geckos, and centipedes. The butterfly farm is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Penang National Park

The Penang National Park is one of the smallest in the world. But, despite this, it is a unique sanctuary with several distinctive ecological systems not found in other major reserves in Malaysia. This is a meromictic lake, wetlands, mangrove thickets, muddy flats (a coastal strip that is exposed during low tide), coral reefs, and nesting sites for green turtles and olive ridley turtles on the beaches of Pantai Keruchut, Teluk Ketapang and Teluk Kampi, as well as eight excellent sandy beaches. The number of plant species exceeds one thousand, and the diversity of wildlife makes the park the only place where you can see a leopard, long-tailed macaques, dark-leaf monkeys, a mouse deer, a lizard, an otter, a porcupine, and other small animals.

Guided sightseeing tour of Georgetown

Founded by merchant Francis Light in 1786, the city was one of three British settlements in the Strait of Malacca (along with Malacca and Singapore). Since its founding, George Town has been an important British city in Western Malaysia and an attractive trading hub. The old town is brimming with historic buildings, from Islamic mosques to Buddhist temples, from traditional Chinese houses to English colonial mansions. It is a bustling, interesting, and, for the most part, Chinese city, full of rundown homes with impressive colonial architecture. In recognition of its rich heritage, on 7 July 2008, George Town (together with Malacca) was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status.

For a more detailed list of excursions and their prices, please check after booking your cruise in your “Client Personal Account”.