Thian Hock Keng Temple @ Telok Ayer Street

During the previous Car Free Sunday, I made a return trip to Telok Ayer Street to take photos of Thian Hock Keng Temple as well as the mural on the rear wall behind it by mural artist Yip Yew Chong.

Did you know that Thian Hock Keng Temple is Singapore's oldest Hokkien temple? Built between 1839 - 1842, many had contributed towards the building fund of the temple but the biggest donor is Philanthropist Tan Tock Seng.

The temple was designed and built according to Chinese temple architectural traditions by skilled craftsmen from China but what's amazing is that not a single nail was used in the construction. It has even received a plaque from Emperor Guang Xu (光緒帝) of the Qing Dynasty!

Imagine that! The great Qing Emperor knew of the existence of our tiny temple far away in South East Asia!

The temple was gazetted as a national monument on 28 June 1973 and among the many awards it has won throughout the years, it's latest win was an honorable mention in the 2001 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards.

Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang

In my previous post, we visited the Padi Muzium in Kedah. After that, we are headed for Kek Lok Si Temple (极乐寺) located at Air Itam, Penang.

Kek Lok Si Temple, or Temple of Supreme Bliss, was founded more than a century ago by the benevolent Beow Lean, a devout Buddhist from Fujian province. 

Do you know, the project received the sanction of the Manchu Emperor Guangxu, who bestowed a tablet and gift of 70,000 volumes of the Imperial Edition of the Buddhist Sutras?

Happy Vesak Day!

It is the annual Vesak Day today.

Also known as the Buddha's birthday, it encompasses the birth, enlightenment Nirvana, and passing (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha.

Buddhists all over the world celebrated this holy day by paying homage to the Buddha.

We do this by not taking lives (eating meat of any kind is prohibited), participated in the ritual of bathing the Buddha, singing hymns in praise of the holy triple gem followed by the candlelit procession.

I visited the Singapore Buddhist Youth Mission at Clementi with my parents just like previous years.

We first went to bathe the Buddha as usual.

Tang Kuan Hill, Songkhla

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Leaving Samila Beach, the coach made a few turns and before we knew it, we were already at the foot of Tang Kuan Hill. 

Remember the legend about the Mouse and Cat Island? 

This is the hill which the Dog turned into.

Where we are visiting is located right on the top of this hill and to get up there, we had to take a 3 minutes, 170m inclined-lift ride up where a breathtaking 360° panoramic view of Songkhla City awaits.