I was surprised to learn that not only is there a Thai Buddhist Temple but also a Burmese one just outside the city centre. I was told I would have to take a bus as its not possible to walk.

The hostel provided a breakfast buffet of toast, noodle, fried rice, and sliced fruit to start the day. It had been raining the night before as seems to be the norm and there was light drizzle as the weather cleared.

I waited for a bus at the end of the hostel street which went to the Thai Temple. The Wat Chayamangkalarm was built in 1845 and has one of the largest reclining Buddha statues in the world.

The bus was 1.40Rm (.45 cents) and it was quite far as it wound thru many city streets. When I got there it was very touristy with many tour buses and lots of tourists gathered. The Thai and Burmese Temples actually face each other so I went into the Thai one first

The outside had a pair of standing Gods in traditional style just like the ones in Bangkok. You had to remove shoes to enter and there was a warning about shoe thieves.

The sleeping Buddha took up the length of the building. However there was still much more to see inside.

The bed that he was sleeping on was decorated on all four sides with various art work. Along the far wall by its feet and the back wall were many standing or seated Buddhas

The back of the sleeping Buddha was a long wall with many small art scenes depicting different stories. Even the giant pillow he rested his head on also had different art works on each side.

There several adjacent building with smaller shrines. The opposite side of the street was the Dharmikaram Burmese Temple equally as busy with tourists. I've never been to a Burmese Temple before so was curious what the difference was.

To start with you go thru a long corridor with many artistic paintings on either side. They showed many scenes from different Buddhist stories.

This led to the main hall where there was a giant Buddha. To the side were monks offering prayers and advice to visitors

The temple was a collection of buildings on the grounds. To the rear was a several storied building. The main hall was decorated with carvings of 'memories of Burma'.

I took the elevator to the top floor for a stunning panorama of both the Burmese and Thai Temples. Then coming down on each floor each had its own shrine and decorated in marble and gold.

In the garden was a scene of horses riding in the air. Metal cups were spinning slowly from arms and people were trying to throw coins in.

Back near the front was another building I had passed by coming thru the corridor. This was of a giant standing Buddha with hand facing out.

These were two very impressive temples considering this is an 'Islamic majority country' and showcases the religious diversity of Penang even more.

Coming back the return bus was 1.40Rm again (.35 cents). I got off by the Sun Yat Sen Museum but it was closed for the three day holiday. I was to find that all museums were going to be closed so I was going to miss out.