Wesak Day in Penang

Wesak Day commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Lord Buddha. It is a public holiday in Malaysia. So to celebrate properly we left for a holiday in Penang. (A USM colleague reminded me that I am on permanent holiday.)  On Wesak eve we looked out our 17th story room and saw a massive traffic jam and heard a symphony of horns. The next morning no traffic no horns.

We skipped the temple activities. To see what we missed check out this article from The Star.  Instead we drove around the island with Lina. The first stop was Queensbay, a stretch of beach that is often thick with picnickers and vendors, but not at an early hour on a day with overcast skies. Next was Sam Poh Footprint Temple. The myths surrounding the footprint vary. A local man said it was the footprint Hanuman (the monkey god) made as he flew over the sea to China. The temple overlooks a peaceful fishing village, where I had a terrific seafood dinner in 2008.

Later we stopped at the Mosque by the Sea. While the mosque, Sam Poh temple and the beaches suggest serenity, blocks of high rises are never far behind.

On of our last stops was to the Straits Quay - seriously upmarket. This car's windshield says it all.

On to the Wesak Procession.  A restaurant owner told us it started at night and to ask at our hotel. The desk clerk said it would be at 10:00 a.m. The final authority - an item in the paper - 6:00 p.m. The procession was part Thanksgiving parade (no bands but many marching Buddhist schools and associations) and the Rose Parade - the floats had real flowers. Choosing pictures was hard. We included  the march directors getting groups out of the field and linking them with the proper float.  The giant Buddha was the last one in the procession, not the only Buddha by far. The float with children, that had them singing throughout the procession, was unique. There were a few floats with Buddhists monks tossing water into the crowd for good luck.

We joined the procession (to see where it ended) but around 8:30 we broke off and looked for dinner.



We decided that this was the night for a fish dinner. Very fresh fish, but at least they didn't murder a specific fish for our meal. We "honored" the fish and ate every piece.  And as we headed back to hotel we ran into the processions as it finished its loop.