Penang

Hi, Our second port of call was Penang in Malaysia.  One of the buildings at the port had this sign.

This is where we docked on a very foggy morning.

As with most Asian cities, Penang is a mixture of the old and the very new.

I find the variety of fishing boats in the world to be fascinating.  These were tied up near the pier where we docked.
 

Penang is on an island and this ferry transported vehicles and people.

We took an all day shore excursion which covered most of the island.  In the morning we visited two Buddhist temples, the first of which was Thai.

This is a mummy of a Buddhist monk who was believed to have supernatural powers.  When his mummified remains were put on display people would pay tribute by covering his body in gold leaf.

Our next stop was this huge Chinese Buddhist temple.  It is built into a steep hillside.

In the middle of the temple was a pool filled with turtles.

This is the Pagoda of the 10,000 Buddhas.

This area was being prepared for prayers when I passed it the first time.

Later, I heard chanting and came back to find prayers underway.

After lunch at a hotel there was a bit of time to walk around the grounds.  A snake charmer was working with this small Cobra.  He asked for a dollar to take pictures.

Our next stop was a butterfly zoo.  The black and white butterfly was the most common species, with a few other species also present.

After a mid afternoon stop for souvenirs we had an opportunity to explore a Malaysian village.  The buildings are built on stilts to keep them above floods and to allow air flow underneath the floors which helps to keep them cool.

This is part of the longest bridge in Malaysia - 8.4 miles long.  It was open to traffic in 1985.

When we returned to the port I had good light to photograph a couple of container ships, and

our ship.

I hope you enjoyed the photos.